Where are you with Social Media -- Time to go to market

In a recent Convention South survey of more than 120 meeting planners, more than half -- 61 percent—said they're using social media websites and tools for business purposes.

In fact, of those who use social media sites:
47% use them to market meetings
43% use them to connect with attendees
19% use them to connect with other planners
25% use them to connect with suppliers/ vendors
17% use them to share ideas about event planning.

But just what sites are planners using?
According to the survey:
55% use Facebook
10% use Twitter
35% use various other sites such as Linkedln, YouTube and blogs.

The data shows that most meeting pros are using Facebook over Twitter; however, we weren't quite convinced that Facebook was the most-used social media site when it comes to conducting business. So, the editors checked in with its ConventionSouth Twitter followers and asked them to weigh in. Turns out, Facebook may not corner the market when it comes to the most-used site.

Here's a sampling of the results:
LinkedIn is used to share info and invitations with senior level planners
Twitter is used because its the easiest and concise
LinkedIn Facebook, and Twitter in that order to promote articles of interest, industry news, company news, and promotions

SOURCE: Convention South Magazine

Take a positive approach when a staffer's work lags

Most of your employees want to do a good job. Addressing performance problems right away helps them succeed. Don't confront the employee with harsh criticism; instead, explain specifically what you've observed and what's required, and listen to the employee's point of view.

Most of the time you'll be able to resolve the problem painlessly. Follow up as needed to ensure that the employee really is improving, and recognize that improvement and reinforce it.

If employees don't respond you may need to move on to a disciplinary approach, but take these positive steps first to show your workforce you're committed to employee success.

Source: The Motivational Manager, adapted from the Ewagz website

Five steps to high performance as a supervisor

You can't become a top manager by wishing for it. But you can follow these rules for becoming a high-performing manager that employees will want to follow:

Explain your role and responsibilities: First, be sure you understand everything you're accountable for in the workplace. Then communicate those responsibilities clearly to your employees. They need to understand why you're emphasizing certain goals and practices.

Set objectives that don't conflict. Take a good look at what you're asking employees to accomplish in the short term and in the long run. If you push employees to meet weekly goals that undercut long-term growth (selling defective products that need to be replaced later, for example), your organization's revenues will suffer, as will employee's motivation.

Share your decision-making process. Think about how you make decisions. Is your process rational? Can others see what criteria you're using? When employees understand the logic behind your decisions, they'll be able to make better decisions themselves.

Plan your actions. Don't make up your strategy as you go along. Invest time in determining where you and your workforce need to go and how you can get there quickly and efficiently. Plan for setbacks and obstacles so an unexpected failure doesn't cause panic.

Schedule your priorities. A to-do list is only a start. Rank your objectives and assigned clear deadlines for the most important items, and communicate priorities to your entire workforce so your associates can plan their efforts accordingly.

SOURCE: The Motivational Manager, Adapted from the Leadership Articles website

Make sure your team gets the task done

How do you assign ongoing tasks in your workplace? Most managers follow one of two approaches: The delegate responsibility to a specific employee or assign it to the team as a whole. Both options have advantages and disadvantages.

When you delegate to one person, you'll have the most qualified employee doing the job (ideally). But if that person is absent or busy, the task won't be always carried out. If you give the job to a team, you improve your chances of getting it done -- but maybe not by the best employee in every case.

The team approach ensures consistency, but take an additional step: Assign one employee the responsibility for making sure the job is carried out, regardless of who does it. This builds accountability into the process, and you can be more confident that the task will get done well.

SOURCE: the Motivational Manager, adapted from the Articlebased website

Striking while the customer interest is hot

With custom advertising programs, retailers enjoy full control over where the ads appear on their sites and the complete flexibility to serve house ads as needed during critical sales periods. You can also add revenue-generating sponsored content that deeply engage consumers, resulting in more time spent on your site.Shopping continues to shift to the Web.

E-commerce experienced a robust 10 percent year-over-year growth in the second quarter, while retail store sales increased just 1 percent, according to new research from MasterCard (NYSE: MA) SpendingPulse. With all this growth in e-commerce, retailers are focusing their efforts on better online merchandising, cross-channel integration and personalization to fine tune their sites for better conversion rates.

In addition, many of the best e-commerce retailers are taking another step: driving additional revenue by leveraging their site traffic with custom online advertising programs that are generating dramatic increases in profitability.

There are e-commerce retailers who are still apprehensive about adding advertising to their sites. The keys to overcoming this apprehension are understanding how consumers research brands online, and identifying the right third-party partner to help you monetize your site in a way that will enhance the consumer experience and increase your conversion rates.

Step 1: Understand How Consumers Research Brands Online
By 2014, 53 percent of total retail sales will be influenced by the Web, Forrester has predicted. Consumers use e-commerce sites to conduct their product research before they go to the store -- and they are looking for more than just product information. Consumers want to know about what's new and hot, and where to find coupons and free samples. They want to read articles, get new ideas, peruse product reviews, watch videos and see the latest promotions.

For most consumers who visit a retail website, buying online is not the objective. Rather, their goal is to educate themselves prior to their store shopping trip. Proof of this can be found in the conversion rates of most e-commerce websites, many of which are less than 5 percent. That means 95 percent of the people visiting the site are there simply for information -- not to buy online.

While customers are in the information-gathering mode is the perfect time for advertisers to deliver their brand messages.

Step 2: Choose Your Path to Monetization
Retailers have two choices when adding advertising to their e-commerce site.
They can decide to simply plug in banner ads from one of a myriad of major ad networks (e.g., Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), DoubleClick, etc.), but this choice is sub-optimal. Many retailers have found that they lose control of their site experience. Often, non-relevant advertising from brands that retailers would rather not associate with may appear on their site (e.g., flashing ads for online universities). In addition, the revenue generated from standard ad networks is often not compelling. Cost per thousand (CPM) -- the "price" you charge advertisers for your ad space -- generally averages less than US$1 from ad networks. After splitting that modest revenue, the retailer is often left with very little to show for its advertising effort.

A much better option is to partner with a media company that can help you execute advertising in a more controlled, customized fashion. This means you get to select the list of advertisers that you are comfortable publishing on your site. You retain control over which advertisers have access to your customers and which ads appear on your site.

With custom advertising programs, retailers enjoy full control over where the ads appear on their sites and the complete flexibility to serve house ads as needed during critical sales periods. You can also add revenue-generating sponsored content (e.g., articles and videos "brought to you by") that deeply engage consumers, resulting in more time spent on your site. Importantly, approaching monetization from a custom perspective will generate significantly higher CPMs -- $5 to $25 -- far greater than those generated through ad networks.

Step 3: Identify the Right Third-Party Media Expert
The vast majority of e-commerce sites are not set up to execute advertising. They lack a media sales force, IAB-standard ad inventory, ad-serving technology, metrics-tracking technology, and ad-savvy billing and collections processes. Many of the retailers who have attempted to execute an online ad program internally have failed due to their limited media-industry knowledge, as well as the expense of hiring a large staff to manage the program.

Retailers need to focus on their core business-selling product. A knowledgeable third-party advertising expert needs to be brought on board to plan and execute your ad program so you incur no incremental headcount or costs. Choose your partner carefully. A good third-party partner will be a qualified online media expert and will operate on a pay-for-performance, revenue-share basis.

Step 4: Become an Online Advertising Publisher
Once you've made your selection, your partner will help you create a sales pitch for media agencies that buy online ad space for their brand clients. Media agencies are looking for a specific set of deliverables from any publisher. IAB-standard banner ad sizes, video, above-the-fold ad locations, and links to brands' social networking and mobile efforts are important components that will get you "in the consideration set" to attract national advertising dollars.
The sites that are slow to adopt these key features or are timid about offering premium ad space and interactivity to brands will not garner significant ad revenue. As the saying goes, "To the bold go the spoils."

Before you get nervous about shrinking conversion rates, consider the facts. Incorporating custom advertising on your site will not decrease your conversion rates; in fact, it can raise them -- if you do it right. Nielsen studies fielded to determine the impact of adding ad campaigns to retail sites have clearly shown incremental sales volume lift over baseline. In addition, time-spent-on-site metrics have increased, because the consumer was being educated by the relevant ads, content and videos that appeared on the site. Customers who spend more time on your site are more engaged -- and as a consequence, they spend more money.

Join the ranks of other leading online retailers as they innovate their customers' online experience, and enjoy the significant incremental profit generated by adding customized advertising to your site.


SOURCE: MultiView, Inc. Greg Murtagh

Agree in writing on goals and rewards

The first step in establishing a positive and productive relationship with an employee is to agree up front on what you expect from the worker, and what he or she can expect from you. Put it in writing. Your agreement should includes these three points:

1. A clear definition of your goals and the company's objectives
2. Your goals for the employee, with clear standards for performance
3. A summary of the rewards for achieving those goals (and consequences for missing them)

Source: The Motivational Manager; adapted from the Leadership Management International Website

5 trends that will shape the next few years of social media

The past few years have seen some spectacular changes in the technology that embeds itself in our daily lives. The perfect storm of social media, smart phones and location awareness is only beginning to take full effect. We’ve gazed into crystal ball and considered how we think these technologies will combine to become such an established fabric of our lives that in the next few years what we’ve written here won’t be considered amazing at all.

Identity will become embedded in your devices

Your social media identities (Twitter username, Facebook profile, LinkedIn profile, Digg profile, etc.) will be entered as part of setting up your devices and propagated into all applications. Apps will then be able to access social network functionality through APIs and be able to use embedded identity without need for entering credentials.

You’ll no longer have to enter your Twitter or Facebook credentials to access Twitter and Facebook functionality on mobile phone apps, they will seamlessly access your profile in the same way that a “mailto:” link opens an already configured email client on your desktop. The recently rumoured Facebook phone is an example how this approach could be applied.

The sign of success for a major social media platform will become whether device manufacturers and browsers include its identity as part of their configuration settings.

Online sharing will become embedded into your media life

As soon as social identity is embedded into our day-to-day devices, social sharing will become an integral part of the way we enjoy media on our regular tv’s, dvd players and music players.

Media servers and the like will fade into history as our living room tv’s, PVRs and hi-fis will be internet enabled and allow us to share likes, links and personal commentary. Remote controls will include “like” buttons which autopost to your Facebook page. Music players will sync preferences to Facebook and / or Ping.

Location will become embedded into all activities

It all began with Flickr showing photos on a map view using EXIF data. Over time, geo-tagging photos grew in popularity and some digital cameras now include positioning chips to embed geo-tags in all photos.

In the online world, Foursquare and Gowalla have slowly carved out a market for the location check-in market and the recent launch of Facebook Places brings this to a mainstream audience. Twitter has allowed location meta-data for some time and introduced it into the twitter.com client in March.

The “holy grail” for location aware functions will be pre-emptive use of location to alert the user to things or people nearby that may be of interest. Users won’t have to check-in to a place to see if their friends are nearby, their device will just alert them. The potential commercial tie-ins are obvious – vouchers and discounts in Foursquare are really just the tip of the ice-berg.

Smart devices and web apps will automatically check-in and post updates

One thing that frustrates me about Gowalla is that I need to open it up and check-in every time I’m somewhere of interest. I would like to pre-approve some places – my favourite restaurant, my local cinema, my local pub, etc. – and have the app automagically check-in on my behalf.

Interestingly, the much derided Facebook Beacon was perhaps the first mainstream application of this type of functionality. Facebook got the privacy and permissions model all wrong and probably delayed further development of the idea by some years. I don’t want everything I buy on Amazon advertised to my friends as a matter of course, but I might be happy with an option – available for each order – that enables this, especially if my Twitter identity is already embedded into my browser.

The coming onslaught of identity aware devices, empowered by embeddable RFID tags, will allow this type of technology to spread much wider than just your mobile phone. Smart handbags, for example, could enable auto-checkins and send coupons to your phone as you enter your favourite store.

A few examples of ideas in this space: Facebook Beacon, Blippy (credit card transactions),RunKeeper (exercise information).

Social networking will revolutionise the way large organisations collaborate

Earlier this week a client said to me “If we knew what it is that we knew, we could make this company double as productive.” Large organisations have always struggled to share knowledge across multiple teams, divisions and geographies.

Social media inspired design patterns applied to existing enterprise software and/or intranets opens up opportunities for collaboration on an unprecedented scale. Employees in large organisations will finally be able to find colleagues with knowledge or experience they could benefit from. Collaboration will no longer mean simply sharing documents and version control, but the ability to find colleagues by shared interest and collaborate seamlessly in a multi-channel environment.

At the moment, current examples include disruptive innovators like SocialText, Yammer, Podio and SocialWok. In time, the established intranet software vendors will begin to include social functionality as part and parcel of their offering. It also seems likely that vendors of HR software, which already contains much profile related data, will be looking to expand into this space.

Bringing it all together

It’s about ongoing convergence (tvs becoming social media devices, corporate intranets becoming private social networks etc.) enabled by embedded identity and enhanced by location awareness.

The meta trends – convergence pushing towards ubiquity of a given set of technology – has been the natural order of events for years. Applied to the current crop of cutting edge web and mobile technologies, it looks like the next few years are going to be quite exciting.

SOURCE: Mulitbriefs

Build workers' trust in three key areas

Studies show that trust and confidence in leaders is the single most important factor in employee satisfaction.

The key to trust? Communication -- particularly in three specific areas.

1. Explaining the organization's strategy.
2. Showing employees how they contribute to achieving organizational goals.
3. Sharing information on the organization's progress, and the status of the employee's own department.

Source: The Motivational Manager, Adapted from the Compassion Capital Fund website

Best day to get the word out?

Everyone's busy, so look to the weekend for downtime. And those are the best days to share info and links on Facebook, says recent study. Take a few minutes to post updates about your group's activities including a link to the group's Facebook page.

Soucre: bit.ly/bcRacf

Start meetings by celebrating successes

Recognizing and celebrating succes takes planning. Sure, some accomplishments are a surprise, like an unexpected big sale, but many slip under the radar.

Make successes a regular event in your meetings: ask everyone what went well since your previous meeting

Most meetings focus on problems to be solved, and that can create a negative atmosphere. Starting each meeting with a short discussion of positive developments gives employees an opportunity to talk about their everyday successes, which will improve morale.

Employees will also start to prepare for meetings by thinking of some good news to share -- and carry out their work with that "good news" goal in mind. The results: better communication and a higher level of motivation to do good work.

Source: The Motivational Manager Adapted from the Suite 101 website

Online video use to soar

This year, two-thirds of U.S. Internet users, or 147.5 million people, will watch some form of online video content at least once per month, according to eMarketer. By 2014, the number of U.S. online video viewers will represent 77 percent of Internet users, or 193.1 million people, according to eMarketer's forecasts. This growth will be driven by an expansion in content availability, technology advances and an increasing comfort level with the activity, the firm reports.

Source: Multi Week AdWeek

Motivate yourself in minutes a day

Motivation doesn't have to take a lot of time. Try using some short motivation exercises to stay focused on your goals. Here's how to do it:

Every morning, spend two minutes reviewing your goals and going over what you can do that day to meet them

Every afternoon, spend another two minutes reviewing what problems you have already solved, which goals you have achieved, and what else you should do before the end of the day.

Finally, spend two minutes at the end of the day reviewing that goals you have achieved,a nd setting up tomorrow's goals.

Done right, this may be the most productive six minutes you spend all day.

SOURCE: The Manager's Intelligence Report, Adapted from 1,001 Ways to Inspire Your Organization, Your Team, and Yourself, by David E. Rye (Career Press)

Walking the talk effectively: How to practice MBWA

Your management duties shouldn't prevent you from getting away from your desk and talking to employees as much as possible.

"Management By Walking Around" can enhance your overall efforts to communication and engage with your workforce.

Just remember these caveats:

• You may not agree with everything you hear. Don't punish people or get angry when they disagree with you, as long as they do so respectfully.
• You'v egot to stay focused. One-on-one conversation show people you take them seriously. Don't try to include everyone in your informal talks.
• Business isn't everything. Don't limit yourself to what's going on around the office. Ask about families, activities, and anything else to show your interest in employees as individuals.

SOURCE: The Manager's Intelligence Report -- Adapted from the Washington Business Journal

2010 Meetig Trends

The meeting industry is forging ahead with signs of growth and new methods of conducting successful events. Here are some top trends:

• Meeting providers are cautiously optimistic for the year and are experiencing a booking pace that is ahead of 2009.
• The booking window for corporate meetings remains very short term -- from 30 to 45 days.
• The severe business climate of 2009 helped re-educate hotels on the merits of aggressive meeting package pricing.
• Meetings today tend to be more regional vs. national in nature.
• No frills meetings are ROI driven.
• Today's meeting planners generally expect hotels to be green and some, like government planners, may even require it.
• Planners have honed their negotiation skills over the last 12-18 months.
• Health-conscious food and beverage options that keep attendees focused are more desired.
• Websites like TripAdvisor.com are growing in importance to planners as they seek feedback on properties.

Source: Benchmark Hospitality International

Address poor performance with hard questions

The answer to employee performance problems isn't always complicated. Sometimes it's a matter of asking the right question. Here are some common reasons for poor performance:

• Does the employee know what to do?
• Do employees know why their tasks are important?
• Does the worker know how success is measured?
• Have you explained the rules?
• Do they understand the consequences?
• Do they have the proper training?
• Do you show your appreciation?

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report; adapted from the Open Loops blog

To set better goals, begin at the end

Like a road map, a well-defined goal tells you where to go and how to get there. But without a specific endpoint, a map is just a piece of paper tat can send you anywhere. Setting a goal is like unfolding a map -- it's a beginning, not a destination.

Before you set any goals in your workplace, clarify your organization's strategic objectives. What does your company want to accomplish in the long term? Build your goals around these big-picture achievements.

Goals that support strategic objectives will make more sense to your employees, leading to greater commitment and effort as everyone moves forward.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report -- adapted from the Birmingham Business Journal

Are you listening?

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals -- Johann von Gothe

The Case for CVBs

How convention & visitors bureaus can help produce successful, affordable meetings

(compiled from staff reports from Association Meetings Magazine) CVBs are a sales engine. Meeting planners partnering with them should do so early on. Even if the planner is brand loyal, linking up with the CVB can help search out tips and suggestions.

Through the Eyes of Planners

• The CVB will make you look good. They know everything that has ever worked for groups and planner can depend on them to be a partner to be a bridge to a community. With selecting services and suppliers, the planner needs the CVBs help.
• CVBs are getting more and more creative in finding ways to assist the planner. Sales Efforts are more aggressive, and they're planning more familiarization tours and featuring the city as a destination, not just a hotel. Some CVs are taking their cities "on the road" with media presentations. Those are fine, but nothing takes the place of experiencing the touch and feel of a destination.
• The planner should be be fair and honest when submitting a request for proposal. CVBs represent a large number of properties; CVBs can be of the help if the planner provides an accurate, detailed RFP.
• The planner should be realistic with attendance estimates. Don't say, "We had 40 last year, but we're expecting at least 90 this year."
• If the planner has had a bad experience in a city, check back later with the CVB. New people or new practices might be in place.
• Look for professional and competent staffing in CVBs. With sales, look for people are knowledgeable about the market and are responsive to needs.
• After the planner has booked a meeting, they should turn to the CVB's event-management team and ask to help identify all the things that the CVB can do for the planner's organization.
• For housing, generally, the planner can work with the CVBs housing bureau. If you go this route, get assurances that the CVB is capable of processing reservations promptly.
• Planners can look to the CVB for help with volunteers. Many cities have volunteers who are available to help throughout the event
• If a city is no longer being considered for a meeting, the planner should let the CVB know.

Through the Eyes of CVB Personnel

• Nobody knows the city better than the CVB. The CVb will try to determine the purpose of the meeting and the planner's priorities. The CVb can save a lot of time, and best of all, most if not all services are free
• The CVB is the face of the city.
• CVBs can do as much or as little as the planner wants. For example, if the planner wants welcome banners, the CVB can do that. If the planner wants letters of welcome from elected officials, they can do that too.
• Typically, the purpose of CVBs is generate revenue for their cities. The CVBs goal is to relieve the planner's stress and make the meeting a great experience so that the organization will come back again.
• CVBs do bid proposals -- they even do presentations to decision makers.
• CVBs join the meeting planner's team when they come to the city and you're the boss. The CVB does what the planner tells them to do
• If the planner needs funding for a meeting, the CVB can help find sponsors.
• The CVB can help put the planner in touch with local members of the organization.
• CVBs know the hotels and attractions and work well with them.
• The CVB will help that planner with whatever services needed, even if the planner has already committed to a hotel.
• The CVB wants the conference to well attended and will provide attendance-building tools.
• The CVB cannot recommend one hotel over another based on which one the CVB likes.
• If the planner is new to meeting planner, the CVB can look over the meeting spec and find ways to save the organization money.
• The CVB can inform the planner about what else is going on in the city, and about groups in town that might be incompatible.

Making a Business Case for Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing creates opportunities for timely and intimate consumer experiences, but is often poorly understood. And unlike online tactics like search, email, and social marketing, few brands have dollars set aside for mobile development, meaning business cases and ROI models must be cemented upfront. The good news is consumers are already mobile. Hundreds of millions of North American consumers are engaged with their mobile devices. 



Many marketers are overwhelmed by the technologies and terminology that fall under "mobile." However, the foundational components of mobile marketing are straightforward, support core marketing and communications programs, and deliver clear and measurable outcomes.



Here are a few tips for making a mobile business case:



The Foundation



1. Text Messaging (SMS)

There are more than 300 million mobile subscribers in North America, representing approximately 90% of all adults. Virtually every mobile device supports SMS. Studies indicate day-to-day use of SMS has quickly migrated into older age groups, with as much as 50% penetration among boomers. After voice, SMS is the most ubiquitous mobile technology. Any ROI metric looks better when the potential audience is 300 million consumers.



2. E-mail and Social Media

The number of consumers with feature phones or smartphones accessing personal or business e-mail accounts, and monitoring Facebook statuses and tweets, is growing quickly. E-mail and social media must be understood as components of mobile marketing. Considering how engrained e-mail and social media are within online marketing, the incremental costs to adjust for mobile-friendly content delivery should be very tolerable and seen as the lowest hanging fruit. 



3. Mobile Web

Twenty percent of mobile subscribers have both the device and data plan needed to access the mobile Web. The small number of subscribers with the ability to access the mobile Web creates challenging ROI metrics. The potential audience diminishes while development and infrastructure costs increase. The mobile Web, however, is vital to more interactive experiences and provides access to greater information on-demand, all while supporting SMS and mobile e-mail tactics. The mobile Web is a lynchpin of effective mobile marketing.



4. Device-specific apps

Many marketers envy the buzz around other brands' iPhone apps. But marketers looking to create apps must be cautious. The ROI of apps is inherently challenging. Among the 20% of all mobile subscribers with smartphones, only a fraction own iPhones. To deliver meaningful app experiences to all smartphone users, marketers must create several apps (Android, Blackberry, Symbian and Palm) and make a large investment. Marketers that focus on iPhone users only rely on a small relative audience of potential consumers to balance their investment.



5. Mobile Advertising

Paid search and banner advertising are growing mobile marketplaces. It is necessary to understand the potential audience is those with mobile Web access. In contrast to traditional online search, mobile search is implicitly urgent. The consumer is ready to take action; they need information and direction now. Mobile search ads can include results for local stores, access to driving directions, or a simple click-to-call to convert interest into a sale. 
The foundational components of mobile marketing must be mapped to business or consumer use cases to bring the ROI metrics into greater clarity.



The Examples



1. Customer service, care and support

The business objective is to replace high-cost, reactive customer service experiences with lower-cost, more proactive experiences. Examples include extending online assets and automated services to mobile devices for maximum cost efficiency and on-demand access.



The broad reach and low operational cost of SMS provides a logical starting point for proving ROI. SMS programs can tap into back-end business systems or Web applications to make important information available on-demand, or through automated notifications. Examples include account balances, shipping status, appointment reminders, store locations, and more.



Mobile web sites are ideal for providing consumers with self-help services like FAQs or help tickets. Apps are suited to high-value experiences such as live chat or intelligent automated response programs.



2. Acquisition, sales, and purchase influence

Mobile users demonstrate shorter buying cycles. They want actionable content like reviews, discounts and directions now. For mobile users, convenience trumps all. Deliver actionable content and convenience, and revenue will follow.



SMS and mobile search are good starting points. The two tactics are well suited for driving foot traffic with precise timing of scheduled messaging (SMS) or relevant, location-based lead-generation (mobile search).



Mobile Web content can add more interactive substance necessary for some purchase decisions. For instance, existing online content like product reviews, feature highlights, or promotional videos can be re-purposed for mobile access to shoppers in store. The content can influence purchase decisions for large ticket items, technology, and fashion goods, or help fill a larger cart.
Device-specific app investments are more costly, but support robust mCommerce, making a new line item in the channel revenue reports. 



3. Branding is perception and experience

Mobile devices are relatively small, but mobile experiences can have a huge impact on consumer brand perception. Why? Consumers appreciate valuable, relevant content delivered when and where it is most needed. Leave the consumer saying "that was easy," "that was helpful," or "that was convenient" and the brand experience is held in high esteem. Valuable mobile experiences become addictive, and the foundation of brand loyalty and advocacy. 



The Math



Budgets for mobile marketing are elusive. How can marketers get started? Attack the opportunities that, by the math, are best suited to deliver positive ROI.



1. Invest in foundational mobile components first such as SMS, e-mail, and select mobile Web experiences


2. Identify the low-hanging fruit in consumer use cases that best map to business objectives


3. Convert initial wins into investment capital, funding more sophisticated solutions and creative exploration


Bryce Marshall (bmarshall@knotice.com) is the director of strategic services for Knotice.

Encouraging employees to participate actively in meetings isn't easy. The secret is providing the kind of leadership that's crucial to getting everyone to join in. Consider these tips:

1. Break larger groups into smaller ones
2. Open with a very safe agenda topic
3. Dont' change gears too suddenly
4. Use the right language

Source: Adapted from the Consulting Skills for Professionals Web Site

5 things a team needs to succeed -- No. 3 CLEAR GOALS

Team managers must set well-defined goals, and make sure the team has the necessary authority and resources to meet those goals. Important: As soon as one goal is reached, it's crucial to set another one, so the team always has something to shoot for.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report -- April 2010

Five things a team needs to succeed -- No 2 A COACH

This person has to help the team overcome such hazards as mental laziness and indecisiveness. The coach forces the team to brainstorm new ideas, and then makes sure those ideas are implemented. Without a coach, many teams tend to get too bogged down in routine details to be creative.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report, April 2010

Five things a team needs to succeed -- No 1 TIME

As a manager, you need to make sure your team has enough time for free-flowing discussion, especially if they're working on a special project outside their normal duties. This is how problems are solved and new ideas generated.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report, April 2010

Make up your mind (but know when to change it)

One thing people look for in leaders is decisiveness Your inability to make a decision, or stick to one, can be highly frustrating to employees.
That doesn't mean you can't change your mind when necessary, though. The question is costs versus benefits. When you;re considering whether to shift course, try to measure the cost and rewards of changing against the costs or rewards of sticking to your present path.

If they're roughly equal, don't confuse your employees by switching things around. Consistency is generally better for everyone concerned.

Source: Key Leader Consulting Web Site, Leading for Results

Consider...

A committee is a thing which takes a week to do what one good man can do in an hour -- Elbert Hubbard

Test your commitment to ethics: five essential and revealing questions

As a leader, your commitment to ethical behavior sets the example for the rest of your organization So making the right decisions is critical. When you're uncertain about whether a course of action is ethical, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is this fair to other people?
2. Are you being honest?
3. What promises have you made?
4. Whom will your action help or hurt?
5. Are you following the rules?

Source: Leading Results Feb 2010

Let your fingers do the walking

Develop itineraries by type of travel and activity. Do half-day, full-day, two- and three-day itineraries. Include specifics, not generalities.

Source: Your Town A Destination

Trends to Watch

Travel Consultant Judy Randall, Randall Travel Marketing, tells us the biggest trend she is seeing are shortened meetings to cut hotel and other costs; mid-day meetings for drive-in attendees; and planners cutting out extracurricular activities so meetings start purposely and stay focused on purpose.

Advice: Content is king. "Everyone wanst to know what is going on," she says. "They want educational content that helps them sort through the volumes of information in their field. Where are the frontiers."Randall also says its important to keep you network alive and strong.

Source Connect Magazine

Fours Ways of Thinking Will Make You a Better Manager

Part of a good manager is knowing how to think. Here are four directions your thoughts should always flow in:

1. Think positively. Managers need to think positively about themselves, their company, their product, and their customers. if you feel that you can't maintain a positive attitude about all these things, you may be in the wrong job.

2. Think creatively. Train yourself to solve problems. Every day, write down a problem that you have to solve that day, and then write down creative solutions to that problem. At the end of the day, evaluate your success.

3. Think critically. Every day, ask yourself this questions: Did I do the very best that I am capable of doing? Be honest with yourself. Analyze what happens when you do something wrong. But also remember to praise yourself when you do things right.

4. Think objectively. Set goals for yourself, so you have a purpose to what you do. Set daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. Unless you have goals and a purpose, you will never be completely satisfied with what you accomplish.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report - adapted from the Greater Horizons Web Site

Tourism Day 2010

Tourism industry leaders met with Georgia state legislators to underscore the importance of tourism -- that Tourism is Economic Development. In Columbus, GA tourism generated a $358 million impact. BIG business for our city.

Create a "Do Later" list for your associates

It's important that your team stays on track and takes care of its most important priorities first. That's hard to do when they're constantly being peppered with smaller tasks that distract them from the job at hand. Try this tactic: Create a "Do Later" list for your team, listing routine duties that are necessary, but not a core priority. Tell your peple to do these chores only after your primary responsibilities are under control.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report

Leaders

When success comes in, the leader should give the credit to the team members. When failure comes, the leader should absorb the criticism and protet the team members.

Source: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in "Ideas That Have Worked"

What I have Learned (with apologies to Edward Kennedy)

Two hundred years from now, will people ask, "What was wrong with us?" We had exceptional prosperity, exceptional bounty, exceptional resources. Will they say, "They had the opportunity to do something about hunger, and they refused to address it?"

A shame that we have had so much opportunity to make a difference, because it would have been the right thing to do, yet we turn our backs or turn a deaf ear or simply do what is easy -- nothing.

Questions for Success

What are the general perceptions of your community?
Has your town had a visitor assessment?
Have you taken a hard look at your town's challenges and how you might be able to turn those into assets?

The exciting news is that Columbus has worked all three of these questions. And perhaps even more exciting is that the community continues to address these seemingly simple points. Not satisfied to do business as we have always done business, we follow the latest trends. And where appropriate we adopt those that will continue to propel us as a leader in the industry.

Our partnerships with hotels, attractions, community leaders, state organizations, etc. has positioned Columbus as a viable destination for those key market segments important for tourism in Columbus.

A Checklist for mastering closing

Closing is simple -- if you remember six fundamentals. Review the following checklist after your next sales call. Whether or not you made the sale, you'll see where you can improve your technique and closing rate.

1. Did you describe all the benefits your product or service offers and what they can do for the client?
2. Did you ask the client to buy? Did you ask outright for the order?
3. Did you discover they key issue in your client's buying decision? (Examples: You're too new. You're too much like XYZ company,which burned the client last time. Your company lacks name recognition)
4. Did you uncover the key benefit that your client wants from your product or service?
5. Did you make lots of little closes so that the client had an opportunity to make small decisions, rather than one big, threatening one>
6. Did you try one more time when you thought the sale was lost?

Use this checklist for two weeks. The fundamentals will become second nature and your'll be first-rate.

Source: Selling Power Editors