Character shows up in those little things most take for granted like keeping your word especially when it’s inconvenient, taking personal responsibility even if it cost you, returning phone calls, looking out for others well being before your own.

Basically, the way I see it is business success in this new economy will depend largely on your intentions, your motives. That is the way it used to be and that is how it should be in my books.

Everyone gets it you are in business to make a profit but what are your intentions and motives towards your customer, your employees, your vendors, your competitors, your community, your country?

That is the question and observation on the minds of today’s new consumer. Gone are the days of “Sell, Sell, Sell!!” Consumers have so much choice when it comes to deciding who they will spend their money with. You can’t rest on ‘old model’ business thinking and processes any longer if you want to ensure they choose you to spend their hard earned money with.

The intent and motive of your heart (your business, corporation, whatever started in the heart of someone) is going to be a deciding factor on what side of the “Great Business Divide’ occurring now.

What I am talking about here as to having a ‘Good Heart’ should be the basics for anyone in business. If it’s not…the new consumer emerging today will demand it and if you don’t genuinely deliver, you will have a hard time with business success in the 21st century.

Just look at these recent numbers!

It doesn’t take a professor to see the immediate future is ripe for beginning to think about how you are going to connect with today’s incredibly connected mobile consumer.

Just looking at this snapshot of numbers you can see why you need to start adding mobile marketing to your strategy.

- 82% of all adults have a cell phone
- 58% of all adults send or receive text messages (7-in-10 of cell phone users)
- 27% of all adults have sent or read a text message while driving (1/3 of cell phone users)
- 14% of all adults bumped into something / someone while calling/texting (1-in-6 of cell phone users)

- Pew Research

65% of Americans’ Believe Business Should Lead in Social Good

Even though many businesses are jumping on the Twitter and Facebook bandwagon…they are finding they are on the outside of the bulk of conversations and not having the so-called instant success many of the Social Media gurus are promising. That is partly due to the fact businesses still think Social Media is just another form of advertising!! So how do they typically approach this? Well for the most part, they are still using the ‘old advertising model’ of shouting at people to get attention and conducting one way conversations about themselves, their brand, their great deal, and blah, blah, blah.

That is completely opposite of the way real live humans (consumers) converse and this certainly applies when it comes to social media. Conversations between people are two way. That is if you are really interested in connecting with people instead of just selling ‘at them’.

Marketers, businesses, and brands that are still pushing themselves on folks are being completely ignored and grouped with all the other annoying cyber noise class. Talking at your potential customer is OUT! It takes two way engagement to even get in the conversation game in the social media realm let alone influence someone to buy from you. Far too many believe they can just show up and Facebook friends will be eating out of your hands or Twitter broadcasts will ensure the masses come running. This is so far from the truth it’s sad.

Anyone selling you on the idea you can use cutesy or clever ads, quotes of the day, last minute deals or any other midway type of shenanigans to incite the masses to word of mouth you along like the greatest new ice cream flavor ever is just flat out lying to you.

People are talking! There is no doubt about that and this is what you want them to do about you. In my opinion, the social media platform is one of the greatest things that could ever have happened to businesses today if you understand what it really is, how to use it, and respect the people using it.

A perfect example of the incredible opportunities made available via social media is just this week Mashable.com reported on Facebook’s 500 million member milestone! That’s just amazing. One online application has managed to attack a cyber hangout of 500 million members and growing!!

Facebook 500 million

When it comes to Twitter, it’s also a powerhouse as well! Courtesy of Huffingtonpost stats as of the end of April this year check these few facts out…

• Twitter now has 105,779,710 registered users.
• New users are signing up at the rate of 300,000 per day.
• 180 million unique visitors come to the site every month.
• Of Twitter’s active users, 37 percent use their phone to tweet.
• More than 40% of all tweets start with @, which means they are directed at someone.
• 85% of Tweets are original and not re-tweets of other messages.

If you are in business, you MUST be in the social media space if you want to be taken serious and compete in this new business era. However…there is a right way to do it that can put you on the path to long term success. I’m telling you up front though, it’s not a quick BAM here I am kinda marketing thing. Expect it to take lots of smart work! And be clear here, Social Marketing Is Not For the Lazy, the Greedy, or the Arrogant. It not only takes smart and hard work to be successful in this sphere, but it also takes the RIGHT strategy, planning and execution. See more on this “Useless Social Media Plans” from my colleague Jay Deragon over at Relationship Economy.

Want Social Media Marketing to work for you?

Well you better get in tune with the right information flows that give it to you straight and truthful. Really take the time to identify who you want to have as customers and start talking to them. The best place a business can start the transformation they must embark upon in order for any of this to make sense or even work for them is to consider your motives and intentions for being in the social sphere in the first place. Yes, I get it…you are in business to sell, to make a profit. That is understood and expected by even your customer. But what worked in the past does not work now. This is really an age of connectedness like never before and people don’t want to be connected to fakes, wanna-be’s, get rich quick quakes, ‘get more eyeballs’ types, or the socially irresponsible and so on. They want and demand to be connected to the real deal. And when they read your mail (in the conversations you have socially) and see you are the real deal…they will gladly share you with their sphere of influence and on, and on. Powerful, but it can be unsettling if one of your business values is not integrity. Integrity is at the core of meaningful conversations and relationships online and off. Always had been…always will be.

Every type of online advertising scored better with consumers in 2010 than a year ago.

Consumers say articles that include brand information are the type of online advertising they’re most likely to read and act upon, compared to banner ads, pop-up ads, email offers or sponsored links.

Article-based advertising was preferred by 53% of respondents who said they are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to read and act upon the material.

Coveted demographic groups are even more likely to express a preference for articles. According to the survey, 66% of people between the ages of 25 and 34, and 60% of those making at least $75,000 per year, say they are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to read and act upon article-based advertising. Pop-up ads were least likely to be read or acted upon.

In the national study of 1,053 adults conducted in March 2010, survey respondents rated their likelihood to read and act upon five types of online advertising: banner ads, pop-up ads, e-mail offers, articles that include brand information, and sponsored search engine links. Respondents said they were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to read and respond to:

Articles that include brand information: 53% compared to 51% in 2009.
Email offers: 51% compared to 47% in 2009.
Sponsored search engine links: 40% compared to last year’s 39%.
Banner ads: 28% compared to 25% in 2009.
Pop-up ads: 19% compared to 13% in 2009.

Sad to see these folks lose their jobs for sure but on the other hand I think this is a great wakeup call for those who depend on using custom social networks in their business strategy.

This is one reason I believe placing your most important digital assets in someone else basket is NOT a wise strategy. If you realize the advantage of valuing your digital assets…you will be way ahead of many competitors who simply want to pass this off to their web people.

Using free services is extremely valuable to businesses and groups today but the strategy should be to use these to lead the client, customer or members to your own web property so you have most of the control and say so. Not the other way around!

Keep in mind when using these 3rd party sites, the member data belongs to the site…not you! Your web presence strategy should be designed to ensure you end up being the owner of your tribe. After all, you are the one putting all the work into providing the platforms and opportunity for your tribe to connect. As you often hear me say…”He who owns the client wins”.

There are still many good options for you to own your social network platform and these can provide you the longevity and security to keep your online organization flowing, growing and safe.

Protect your digital assets! They are valuable to your business growth.

Now you tell me how anyone in business who is fairly intelligent can ignore this or not see the significance of what is going on here? Honestly, it does not take a PhD to see this in not just a trend! No this is the END of business as usual forever. This is a new age, a new business era, and huge shift in our culture.

This is so significant that anyone in business whether it be the local cleaners to the hair stylist…would be foolish not to embrace what is going on and partner up with professionals who can help them bring their business practices into the 21^st century way of doing business.

If you need referrals to fine folks who do this contact me. I will be glad to refer you.

Facebook Company Timeline

2010

• February

Facebook reaches over 400 million active users

2009

• December

Facebook reaches over 350 million active users

• September

Facebook reaches over 300 million active users

• August

Facebook acquires FriendFeed

• July

Facebook reaches over 250 million active users

• June

Facebook launches Facebook Usernames

• May

Digital Sky Technologies makes a $200 million investment for preferred stock at a $10 billion valuation

• April

Facebook reaches over 200 million active users

• February

Facebook reaches over 175 million active users
Facebook joins OpenID board
“Like” feature added

• January

Facebook reaches over 150 million active users
CNN Live/Facebook integration

2008

• December

Facebook Connect becomes generally available

• August

Facebook reaches over 100 million active users

• April

Facebook launches Facebook Chat
Facebook releases Translation application to 21 additional languages

• March

Facebook updates privacy controls to include Friend List privacy
Facebook launches in German

• February

Facebook launches in Spanish and French

• January

Facebook co-sponsors Presidential Debates with ABC News

2007

• November

Facebook launches Facebook Ads

• October

Facebook reaches over 50 million active users
Facebook launches Facebook Platform for Mobile
Facebook and Microsoft expand advertising deal to cover international markets; Microsoft takes a $240 million equity stake in Facebook

• July

Facebook acquires startup Parakey

• May

Facebook launches Marketplace application for classified listings
Facebook hosts F8 event to launch Facebook Platform
Facebook Platform launches with 65 developer partners and over 85 applications

• April

Facebook reaches 20 million active users
Facebook updates site design and adds network portals

• March

Facebook reaches over 2 million active Canadian users and 1 million active UK users

• February

Virtual gift shop launches as a feature

2006

• December

Facebook reaches more than 12 million active users

• November

Share feature added on Facebook, simultaneously launched on over 20 partner sites

• September

News Feed and Mini-Feed are introduced with additional privacy controls
Facebook expands registration so anyone can join

• August

Facebook development platform launches
Notes application is introduced
Facebook and Microsoft form strategic relationship for banner ad syndication

• May

Facebook expands to add work networks

• April

Facebook raises $27.5 million from Greylock Partners, Meritech Capital Partners and others
Facebook Mobile feature launches

2005

• December

Facebook reaches more than 5.5 million active users

• October

Photos is added as an application
Facebook begins to add international school networks

• September

Facebook expands to add high school networks

• August

The company officially changes its name to Facebook from thefacebook.com

• May

Facebook raises $12.7 million in venture capital from Accel Partners;
Facebook grows to support more than 800 college networks

2004

• December

Facebook reaches nearly 1 million active users

• September

Groups application is added; the Wall is added as a Profile feature

• June

Facebook moves its base of operations to Palo Alto, Calif.

• March

Facebook expands from Harvard to Stanford, Columbia and Yale

• February

Mark Zuckerberg and co-founders Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin launch Facebook from their Harvard dorm room

Source http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?timeline

Although I this one is last, it can be just as damaging for a business as the other three I have already covered.

I call this Business Suicide Mentality #4: The “I Don’t Have Too; I Don’t Want Too, I Will Not Change!” Mindset.

Yep, Change…it’s a word we all know yet often we find we are naturally opposed to the meaning of this word.  We find change is disruptive and unsettling, so we resist it.

The dictionary defines change as…

Change

to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one’s name; to change one’s opinion; to change the course of history.

to transform or convert

to transfer from one (conveyance) to another:

When it comes to business, resisting change can be a deadly mindset, especially in today’s economy! I can pinpoint some of my worst business decisions and business problems from not embracing or anticipating change in my business.

Here’s something interesting I have observed in the past few years as a digital strategy business consultant and coach. I am realizing many businesses are not really interested in understanding the great change which is occurring in the marketplace today.  Rather, they are more interested in maintaining status quo or using what I call the ‘band-aid’ approach. Read Seth Godin’s book Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync?

The band-aid approach boils down to businesses taking a “patch-it-up” approach rather than a ‘reinvent it’ approach to their business operations. This process usually involves incorporating a few things which make them appear they are with it, or they are cutting edge (whatever that means) such as a website, some new customer service technology, a Facebook presence, etc. but in reality, they are still the same old company using the same old model, same old mindsets, and same old same old…just still the same.

I find this happening among entrepreneurs and with large businesses as well. Anyone locked into the old way of doing things, the old way of looking at things, and resisting the change necessary to be relevant to today’s market…will find using a band-aid approaches will not work for very long and often will backfire.

Here’s my observation and strong belief on what’s going on with the marketplace. The world has changed. I mean it just up and changed…fast! Therefore business has changed, marketing has changed, the customer has changed so it makes sense…your business has to change if you want to be profitable and stay the course. Yet, in all my years in working with businesses of all sizes have I seen such a resistance to change and yes, even a fear to embrace this changing economy we are experiencing every day.

As I have said before, 21^st century businesses are going to be those who are of a different cut, a different DNA. It does not matter what kind of business you have, from the local cleaners to a top line retailer, you are being forced to change in many ways you have not had to deal with in the past.

Some will have to create and redefine new business models for themselves. Some will have to hire completely outside of their industries and set aside their old hiring model standards (like requiring degrees) to get the kind of talent that can help transform their business. Some will have to invest in professionals and experts that can help them get re-educated and reposition their businesses. Some will have to invest in research and statistics to re-chart their course. Some will have to seek out strategic alliances in marketing, services, events, etc. to add value for their customers. All will have to fall in love with their customers, vendors, suppliers, etc. again. Sadly, some will have to just close the doors.

Change.

It is happening, and has happened already!

We can’t control it or stop it. The best we can do is to embrace it. Even better though, is to anticipate it.  To not give this serious thought and consideration is sealing your doom as a business. You simply will not be around if you don’t understand what is really going on in the marketplace today and embrace it and in some cases radically change to transform yourself into a New Era business.

As a business coach and consultant whose specialty is in digital marketing strategy and positioning, I believe many businesses can get a jump start on coming up to speed on all this by connecting and securing the services of the right professionals who offer services to help guide you and coach you.

A word of caution on this though, everybody says they are a social media or internet marketing expert these days. I saw this happen in the web development industry. We have had a web development company for 13 years now and have accumulated lots of experience and skills sets under our belt to in fact claim we are experts in this field. But more and more we begin to see everyone and his High School son was a web designer and this industry became saturated. Of course, most businesses don’t really know how to select a web development professional that will really give them an online business solution. So they look at price and the ‘shiny’ stuff to make that determination in most cases when in fact there is so much more that is vital to web success that most designers or developers don’t know how to deliver like…the marketing strategy defined and built-in to the website, marketing metrics to determine if what you are doing is working, a clear understanding on how to emotionally connect with the user so they will take desired actions, and on and on. Don’t get me started:)

My point is, no…not everyone who says they are a marketer, coach, consultant, guru, etc. are. If you want to really excel in making changes to reposition your business and are looking for outside help (which you should) I suggest you focus on three key areas for assistance. The first is strategy, the second is emotion, and lastly is creativity. These three elements are in my opinion the driving forces of business transformation. They are the jump off points to rethink your business and determine your new roadmap for change.

P.S. The most fearful and resistant business types I have come across regarding the drastic changes occurring in this crazy, evolving, marketplace are small business owners. Especially the baby boomer crowd (OUCH). It’s true though. And sadly, they are the major holders of small business ownership in the U.S. I’m not trying to make this a generational thing as I (and I say this with pride) am a baby boomer as well. But I fear this group has the most at stake here but offers the most resistance. I’m sure I will get some comments on this and I really welcome them!

So far I have covered two of the four mindsets I believe are deadly in today’s new marketplace.

The first was the Status Quo Mindset and the second was the Arrogance Mentality Mindset.

Today I will cover the third mindset I find very noted for the season we are currently in.

It is the Business Suicide Mentality #3: The “Hunker Down” Mindset.

The reference to hunker down means two things: One is preparation for some type of pressure you’re anticipating. The other relates to hiding.

With the jobless rates soaring, consumer spending way down and the incredible shifts occurring in new millennium business across the board today, it’s no wonder hunkering down would be a serious consideration for you if you are in business. The worst thing a business can do during this time is to hunker down and hide.

Hunkering down is not the same as being prudent or making more calculated decisions. There is nothing wrong in tightening the belt and paying close attention to your overhead and operating expenses. This should be a normal part of your everyday business processes.

The problem with hunkering down is it is mostly an action driven by fear rather than confidence. When you are making decisions based on fear for your business, you are positioning yourself to be moved into a negative mindset that fosters protection instead of retooling or repositioning. It dampens creativity and change and without these in today’s marketplace you are pretty much just going through the motions until there are no more motions left to go through!

In my line of business (digital marketing consulting and digital media development) we have seen a huge slow down of business as well in this tough economy. We have seen both large and small projects scheduled for production being postponed or pulled altogether. The story in each of these cases is just about the same. “We have to trim our spending, jobs are getting cut, or we don’t think we have the budget for this right now”.

Here is the sad truth about those kinds of decisions though. First, when you are faced with tough times no doubt you need to make some changes. But…don’t operate with a status quo mindset and purposefully resist change because of fear and because you are out of your comfort zone!

Rather, understand this is a remarkable time for you to redesign, retool, reposition, rethink your business. After all, we are in a new business age. If you are not aware of this then I would have to say you have some serious catching up to do. But for those who are aware of this but not sure what to do about it…I would like to offer some suggestions you may want to consider.

First, come to grips with we are in The Change Era. The world has changed. Business has changed. Marketing has changed. Your Client has changed.

Probably the biggest change any of us will see in our lifetimes is the amazing magnitude of change on modern society the Internet (and the World Wide Web in particular) has delivered. As it continues to morph and expand and reinvent itself something more deep-seated is going on as a result. A movement of sorts is being termed as the rise of the “New” customer as technology empowers consumers like never before.

Understand this is not merely a shift in new forms of technology use but it’s a shift in doing business in accepting the mindset of partnering and engaging with your customer on their terms…not yours. That’s a huge shift for many of us in business today!

Second, we are never going to see ‘business as usual’ again. This is not a temporary departure from business as usual…it’s a structural transformation, a lasting change.

• The old business models used for the past 60 years or so are going to be replaced with new ways of doing business that look nothing like we have seen so far because this no ordinary shift. It is a once-in-a-lifetime shift challenging the very foundations of the all economic order.

• 20th century business practices will not work for 21st century economics. Yesterday’s businesses were built for a world of over consumption, artificially cheap production, mass sales. Industrial-era dinosaurs are going to bite the dust hard if they don’t redefine and transform. This is true for both small and large business.  (Read the amazing Umair Haque)

Thirdly, strategy and creativity rules! They matter more now than maybe ever before in today’s marketplace.

I remember my days in corporate America and if you were strategic and creative, that was almost a liability for you if you wanted to be taken serious and be moved up in a company. But today, you need these working for you in just about everything you do in your business. From your marketing positioning to your niche, to your employees, etc., even right down to your logo!

Not just any old strategy and creative approach will work either. That is what is a bit tricky here. It must be totally in the know of this new business era we are in. It must understand the new consumer; it must embrace the digital world and know how to emotionally connect with your specific target markets.

There’s not a shortage of business to be had in this tough economy… there’s a shortage of knowing the rules have changed in business and marketing and what it is you going to do about it. Now is the time to reconsider how you are responding to a living, breathing, evolving and changed marketplace.

As I have said, fear has gripped many people in business today and to make matters worse, the course of action most are taking to deal with a soft marketplace is to ride it out by hunkering down and pulling back!  Believe me…being paralyzed by fear and hunkering down is NOT the answer.

What are you doing to position your businesses the rest of 2009?

Here in part two, I will address The Arrogance Mentality Mindset. This mentality is not as easy to put your finger on at first glance. Rather, it has the ability to rear its ugly head in many disguised forms.

For instance, I had the unpleasant encounter with this mentality during a business cold call activity I was engaged in recently. I had emailed the business owner (whose business I frequent) because I felt for sure I could help him increase his website marketing results. I introduced myself and let him know I would like to take him for coffee and get to know him a bit better and talk to him about some possible ways I could help them increase their business revenue. After a few days I got no response which is not an uncommon thing since anything could have happened to the email from SPAM filters to him actually deleting it.

I strategically took note of their least busy time during the day and paid him a visit. When he came out, he had this unfriendly look on his face but I proceeded to introduce myself and refer to my email, etc., but before I could finish my sentence he abruptly told me he was not interested and had no time to talk to me then turn and walked away from me! Needless to say, he not only was rude to me, he also talked very loud so others around could hear us and he embarrassed me.

Now, if you have ever done a cold call of any sorts you know they are not very fun in the first place and they are not for the faint at heart. With that said though, I find there is no reason to be ugly to people trying to connect with you.

Do you think I am going to spend my money there again? You think I am not going to tell my circle of friends about my experience? You bet I will. I certainly see his business in a whole different light after that incident.

As I said previously this is only one example of how arrogance can show itself to your customers, vendors, potential strategic partners, service providers, etc. It does not matter how arrogance is displayed…it’s a deadly mindset for a business to practice in today’s marketplace.

Why?

Well for starters, your brand does not belong to you. You have to get this if you want to participate in the new business era we are in.

Your brand (that is not just a logo, it’s everything that identifies your business, you product, your service) is now subject like never before to the conversations. Conversations that are going on everyday about your business…by someone.

Those conversations are being conducted by the people that interact with you and your business at many levels. From the board room, to the guy ordering at your drive-thru. And with the FREE and easy tools social media has given us all…those conversations can reach further and faster than ever thought and it can pick up passengers along the way that can and will be persuaded by the conversations concerning your brand even though they may have not had any firsthand experience with your brand. Crazy huh?

This is so powerful it must not be ignored. So powerful that you’re misbehaving, your lack of integrity, your “I don’t care about you” attitude and behavior can have deadly consequences for your business.

The dictionary describes arrogance as…

ar⋅ro⋅gance
-noun
offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride.

With all the competition in the marketplace both online and offline, the social empowered new consumer, and the demand for integrity and transparency in business today…surely it’s clear why The Arrogance Mentality is such a bad business practice and mindset to have.

You never know who it is you’re dealing with these days you know. It could be a nationally syndicated blogger in your shop, or she may be the president of the company you have wanted to sell your widget too, or the son of your son’s boss.

Comon people, if you’re in business its an unspoken rule you never treat people rudely or unfriendly. What happened to professionalism and courtesy? Heck we should not be treating people badly anyway…period. But for businesses to engage in this practice…it’s flat out unacceptable.

One last thing…If you have employees doing this…fire them! If the leadership practices this…fire them! If it’s you…get a complacency check or fire yourself. If you don’t, your customers will do it for you eventually.

Stay tuned for Business Suicide Mentality #3: The Opposition Mentality.

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