The SQUARED Root

Posts Tagged ‘profitability’

Dion Hinchcliffe to Keynote Interactive Austin 2009

Posted by Mike Chapman on January 19th, 2009

Dion Hinchcliffe, an internationally recognized authority on Web 2.0 and its application to business and our personal lives, is scheduled to keynote and participate in this year’s Interactive Austin 2009 conference scheduled for April 27th.

FG SQUARED is the title sponsor for the event which will include a full day of timely and valuable sessions on achieving business profitability and learning how to effectively participate on the social web from an organizational perspective.

Hinchcliffe is leading the conversation in the Enterprise 2.0 and larger business communities on “How to Survive and Thrive in Business Today with Web 2.0.” As the founder and chief technology officer of the Enterprise 2.0 advisory and consulting firm Hinchcliffe & Company, he has extensive practical experience with enterprise technologies and he consults, speaks, and writes prolifically on IT and software architecture.

Dion’s work is more than ever focused on advising business leaders how to survive in the current business environment while fundamentally transforming what they’re doing to position them more effectively going forward.
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If you’re concerned with adapting to the new environment in business – an environment that will necessarily require increased openness, transparency and participation – while also driving growth and innovation in your company, you’ll want to be a part of Interactive Austin 2009 and participate in the day-long conversation on these and other topics.

Assumptions learned previously are giving way to new ways of doing business in areas such as product development, marketing, customer service, operations, line of business, finance, communications, humans resources and just about everything else in most organizations, according to Hinchcliffe.

If you want to get a first-hand vision of how to use 2.0 concepts to create growth, transform the customer relationship to drive revenue, drive operational costs down, improve productivity, safely restructure your business models, leverage and harness innovation, and effect change, you’ll want to meet and hear Dion.

I’ve plagiarized liberally from “Dion Hinchcliffe’s Web 2.0 Blog” to write this post and also to make sure that I gave you an accurate description of and feel for what he’ll be covering at the conference.

A complete agenda for the conference is being developed. Please contact me @Mike Chapman on Twitter or email me at Mike.Chapman@fg2.com to discuss it or make inquiries. Also search #IA09 for Twitter conversations before and during the conference.

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Social Media and Business Profitability

Posted by Mike Chapman on January 12th, 2009

If you’re reading this blog post, you’re a part of social media. If you have an email account, you’re involved with social media. If you’ve ever used Google or another search engine to do research or look something up, you’re right in the middle of social media.

Wikipedia, itself a great example of social media, describes social media as “primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings.” If you have a computer or a mobile with internet access, you’re most likely involved in social media.

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If done right, social media has the potential to enchance customer relations while simultaneously increasing brand awareness and increasing sales. And since social media is user-generated and digitally measurable every business should be interested in adding social media to their business strategy, right? Well, not quite.

Because of how social media has come to be what it is today, there is a certain amount of mystery and mistrust toward it. I have some recommendations for an enterprise and other organizations looking to adapt to the evolving world we live in and to do so in a way that will more likely be successful.

The first step is to consult with savvy professionals in the areas you hope to succeed in and that might benefit from a social media component. Ask the prospective consultant or new employee how they view social media.

Do they understand cultural trends and new technologies that digital natives and a growing group of digital immigrants are coming to view as standard? Have they devised strategies to incorporate social media into their offerings?

If you’re satisfied that you’re getting honest and satisfactory answers, ask if they can offer some solid evidence of their abilities and also find out whether they actually participate in or with social media communities. Listen to and evaluate what they have to say and consider their overall capabilities including, but not exclusively, social media.

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The economic downturn has increased the interest in social media tools for business. FG SQUARED is the title sponsor of an upcoming conference in April centered on utilizing social media to enhance enterprise profitability.

Stay tuned for more information on that conference here on the SQUARED ROOT.

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Brand Awareness

Posted by Mike Chapman on October 3rd, 2008

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I am a big fan of business management expert Tom Peters.

Long before the current emphasis on social media, and the individuality in branding it provides us online, Peters was evangelizing that we should passionately be in pursuit of developing our own brand.  We should engage in disruptive behavior, break out of the cubicle, and enjoy work again.

Peters has been warning for decades that massive changes were coming to large corporations and to the workers that comprise them. Talented professionals no longer should be dependent on the sponsoring companies for an income. Professional service organizations, PSOs, can perform many of the same functions at lower costs and with better results.

The percentage of workers who will spend an entire career with one company is dramatically lower. Career mobility is an accepted lifestyle choice and job security has been exposed as a myth. Loyalty to an employer is a two-way proposition and is not assumed. Tom Peters not only predicted these trends, he passionately advocates for them.

It should seem obvious that smart companies would look for ways to get out ahead of the new trends, including those made possible and preferable by the new world of 2.0 technologies. To do so would empower their employees, make their jobs more interesting, and encourage them to stick around, and thereby making their companies more competitive.

So it was notable, if not surprising, last week when Susan Scrupski, nGenera’s research guru, offered this commentary on where many large enterprises actually are today:

“we find that social, emergent behavior can be viewed as dissent in large enterprises. In the enterprise space, we find the major barrier to adoption of 2.0 ideologies is culture. Even if there is a groundswell of support to embrace social media, corporate cultures can run counter to its actual widespread acceptance. Marketers in large companies are more inclined to recognize the benefits of building relationships via social media sooner, but they run into roadblocks from other, more conservative, areas of the business. It’s a huge challenge for some large brands.”

At least one very large corporation is leaning into the trends and taking steps to allow employee empowerment on a large scale.

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Recently the Social Media Club of Austin met on the IBM Austin campus with Chris Almond, IBM Redbooks Project Leader. He shared some of the innovations in social computing taking place at IBM.

He stressed that IBM has developed specific guidelines for using blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds and social media, and is allowing their integration into the workplace. With IBM stock doing well, they are not making these moves under pressure, but instead to stay current.

Chris didn’t give away any company secrets, but he did give us some real insights into steps being taken within the firewall at IBM to tap into their own employee talent pool. By allowing the creation of innovation networks and collaboration between different areas of the corporation, employees are able to take advantage of the newest tools.

They’re also considering ways to tap into the social capital they have with the many retirees of IBM using social media and other forms of social computing.

Qualified, former IBM employees might find it satisfying to work on a project from time to time. They already have a vested interest in the continued success of IBM, as pension plan participants, and they could enjoy the work knowing they were not going to be permanently back on the payroll.

By establishing clear guidelines and setting expectations from the beginning, and by accepting and embracing the changes occurring outside the firewall, a large company can adjust into the “groundswell.”

Bottom line considerations will always be bottom line. Proprietary information is still proprietary. Employees and, in this case, former employees are empowered. Managed disruption occurs from within and for the benefit of the corporation.

Chris Almond is definitely a brand unto himself. Chris is also a valued employee of IBM. Other large enterprises – and those not so large – would be wise to learn from his example. Chris says he’s very happy at IBM.

Please read the social computing guidelines being used by IBM and comment below on them or anything else I’ve written. You don’t have to agree with me. In fact, critical thinking is encouraged.

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Facebook and the Business World

Posted by Beth Ranson on June 6th, 2008

Some of the hottest topics of the business world these days are centered on social media. One of the main issues is around Facebook as a business networking tool.

To really begin this discussion, let’s look at business in general. One of the key elements in growing your business is increasing sales. Coming from a sales background, I have attended many different sales classes and seminars and they have all said the same thing. Building strong relationships closes sales and increases profitability.

We were taught to look around a prospect’s office and find a nick-knack, a photograph, a trophy; anything that would give us a glimpse into their personal life. Maybe you see a picture of a sailboat on their wall, so you ask them how long they have been a sailor and to what destinations have they sailed. Immediately a conversation has begun.

Finding these little connections helps sales people build a small trust between them and the prospect. Applications like Facebook, can help you accomplish this before you even walk in your potential client’s door. You can see that they have two kids and that they love the Red Sox. You have a glimpse into their personal life before you even meet them.

Basically, if you are in business, you have been “social networking” your entire career. You just haven’t been able to network on this large of a scale. According to Facebook, there are more than 70 million users with more than half of them college graduates. In fact, the 25 years and older demographic is the largest growing group on Facebook today. That’s a whole lot of business prospects to get to know.

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Social Commerce: Word of Mouth, applied to Business

Posted by Dave Evans on May 31st, 2008

The subject of “social commerce” — social media applied to business and specifically to commerce-related transactions and customer processes — is gaining in recognition as a significant tool in the standard business toolbox. For example, of the top 100 retailers with online operations, 50 are using the Bazaarvoice social commerce platform. Powering these commerce applications is, at the core, social media: digital word of mouth turned media, produced and presented by current customers for consumption for consumption by potential ones.

If you’re wondering about who is using social media — and in particular experiencing it in the context of a purchase — the answer is “everyone,” a point driven home in a recent Universal McCann study. It’s basically a given that if you sell it, someone else is talking about what happened after they bought it. That conversation is being tapped and inserted into the purchase funnel, right in between your ad (awareness) and the check out (point of sale).

The rise of social media good news for those brands with a tight link between Marketing–where the expectation is set, and Operations, where the promise is delivered on. These are just some of the topics I’ll be speaking about at the upcoming Interactive Austin conference in June. I hope to see you there. In the meantime, let me about your experience with social media and its use in your company.

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Interactive Austin 2008

Posted by Cynthia Baker on May 30th, 2008

Social commerce, the use of social media in business, is putting companies on an even playing field; and the companies that aren’t getting on board are going to find themselves falling behind the competition.

Think about it – social media is everywhere! Wiki-ing, blogging, podcasting, twittering, FaceBooking, and MySpacing – this is how the world is communicating now. And if your company isn’t playing along, your message is less likely to reach your target audience. For this reason, major corporations, like Austin-based Dell, Intel and AMD are integrating social networking and other social media into their marketing plans.

To help companies get to where they need to be, interactive professionals in Austin that understand the power of social media in today’s world have converged to create Interactive Austin 2008. This forum which takes place on June 19th, is an event dedicated to educating companies on the advantages of Social Commerce, the importance of it in the rapidly changing corporate environment, and how to harness its power for profitability.

The event will feature two prominent keynote speakers. Brian Magierski, Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer of nGenera Corporation, will speak on “Social Commerce and It’s Impact on Business.” While the Vice President of Corporate Marketing & Communications for AMD, Pete Hayes, will speak on “Get into the Click Stream: An Alternative to Driving Traffic to Your Site.” Aside from the keynote speakers, this will be a day full of educational and informative panel discussions and case study presentations from Austin’s social media experts.

If you have a company, it would be a wise decision to attend Interactive Austin 2008. For more information about it, check it out online at http://www.interactiveaustin2008.com.

We will see you there!

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Interactive Social Media Metrics and Parenthood

Posted by Steve Golab on March 7th, 2008

This evening I stumbled upon some research findings that each of you who are parents will surely relate to. Namely 91% of mothers prefer to purchase brands that other moms have recommended.

Wow, that is a powerful idea! As marketers, we spend so much on traditional media and new media, and in the end, the buyer’s purchasing decision is most heavily influenced by referrals that occur on a personal level rather than originating from your tightly controlled marketing message. I am speaking about the thickest root of any truly successful business, namely word of mouth from a current or former Client and Customer.

With that in mind, I’d like to introduce a video you may find interesting. Dave Evans was recently interviewed as part of a South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) Festival promotion. Dave is our own FG SQUARED Social Media Practice Director and a very close friend of mine. I wanted to share this interview with you because I find it very timely and relevant to innovative business folk. Perhaps the biggest question I continue to face is “How should I measure the ROI impact of interactive social media?” Dave is a forerunner in this kind of thinking so I thought you should hear more about what he has to say:

http://blip.tv/file/701835/

After watching the full 20 minutes of Dave’s interview, I’d love to know what you are thinking. Even if all you have to share is a chuckle about the Red Bull he is chugging throughout the interview.

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Zen and the Art of Interactive Marketing

Posted by Steve Golab on March 5th, 2008

You don’t need an MBA to know the bottom line in business is about profit and performance.

That’s why “Be The Bottom Line” currently serves as my office-hours mantra.

Be The Bottom Line.

In a metaphysical sense, being the bottom line requires training that unites the body and mind – not to mention a fusion of eastern and western ideologies.

Be The Bottom Line.

Four little words that say so much about FG SQUARED. This yin-and-yang microthought neatly summarizes the holistic viewpoint we bring to our clients — visionary people in organizations that are market leading — willing to examine and adopt new interactive tools to create a faster track to profitability.

If you’re a business leader — someone responsible for making sure your company competes at the highest levels — I’m sure you are constantly considering new ways to increase sales, reduce cost or improve productivity. Perhaps for you, the role of Corporate Marketing is already shifting to a profit center rather than a pure cost center.

Innovative social media technologies like social networks, podcasting, mobile messaging (SMS), and collaborative tools can be applied to make new connections at a fraction of the cost of traditional creative media. And when executed intelligently with passion, it is possible to dramatically increase overall marketing communications effectiveness.

Ultimately, though, it’s through integrated thinking that you can fully harness the power of interactive marketing. And that’s when the FG SQUARED mantra begins.

I’ll delve deeper into context in my upcoming articles. In the meantime, welcome to The SQUARED Root!

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