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Posts from the ‘Networking’ Category

Jul 10

Rules of the Game: How to get your customers motivated

When I was quite a bit younger, I remember digging deep into the box of Cracker Jack for the toy prize. Now that I think about it, the sticky snack of popcorn and peanuts was actually a better treat than the cheap token ring or paper tattoo sunk deep within the box. Who doesn’t like to be rewarded, though? Just buy nine sandwiches to get the tenth one free. Sure! I’ve got a wallet full of loyalty cards from my favorite businesses. I’m earning discounts and frequent flier miles with every credit card purchase. I enjoy my perks from earning select shopper status and admit to playing a few rounds of McDonald’s Monopoly to win more than free fries. It’s all just a game, but smart businesses know these incentives work on consumers. If they can make it fun and engaging in the process, then even better.

Now that our massive social framework is in place, gaming has the potential for even greater influence. Look no further than Farmville, which at 80 million active monthly users and 30 million daily, has more active users than Twitter. That’s a lot of pig. Game designer Seth Priebatsch discusses this growing game dynamic and its value to businesses at a Boston TED conference. He says that the game dynamic is more prevalent in the world around us than we may realize. Consider happy hour, a long reliable traffic driver for bars and restaurants and one of my favorite times of day. Priebatsch calls this the “appointment dynamic” as it requires people, or players, to be at a predefined place at a certain time. Show up at the right time and place and receive a reward. Farmville uses this same gaming technique. If players don’t show up at a certain time, their crops wilt. A powerful driver considering the magnitude of people arriving at their computers each day. Other gaming principles we may also be taking for granted include:

1) The progression dynamic: This requires players to progress through various steps to reach a goal. Consider your LinkedIn profile progress bar, or loyalty cards that draw customers repeatedly back to a business to earn and unlock rewards.

2) Influence and status dynamic: Consider the bragging rights of reaching level 30 on World of Warcraft, becoming Mayor on Foursquare, or reaching for your American Express Black card. The motivators here are status and influence.

3) Communal discovery: This dynamic truly leverages the power of social networks by relying on communities to solve problems. Digg is a great example of crowdsourcing to identify the most interesting news. This dynamic is also ideal for adding legs to promotional campaigns. Businesses can encourage customers to reach out to their networks to vote for consumer-submitted videos, win game challenges and support causes.

As this gaming framework is taking shape alongside our social networks, how can we leverage it for good? It’s more than fun and games — it’s a powerful influencer.

Mar 15

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Top takeaways for entrepreneurs at RISE Austin


Austin’s leading businesses came together last week at RISE Austin to share ideas, resources and support for the entrepreneurial community. This unique conference for entrepreneurs is independently organized by entrepreneurs and connects people from wide backgrounds with leaders in non-profits, high-tech, government and more. Business owners come to the conference for many reasons, but there is an overall spirit of collaboration and cooperation rather than competition.  Here are my favorite takeaways from the conference:

Think big. Work small. A home-based business can still be big business if you’re resourceful, creative and passionate about your work. Lorie Marrero, author of The Clutter Diet, has grown her business into a very diverse and successful company. Yet, she still prefers the flexibility that a small home office gives her and doesn’t see this as a limitation. Big goals attract motivated people who can help you achieve them, so no matter what the size of your business it’s important to dream big.

Go fish. Leave the shrimp. This metaphor came from Anne Tiedt, owner of Momentum Public Relations. While it was meant in the context of media relations, I also found it useful when thinking about ways to grow a client base. The arduous process of shrimping requires casting large trawl nets and then sifting through the enormous catch to remove shrimp from seafood that isn’t of value. In comparison, fishing focuses your time and attention on producing the big catch. Rather than pitching your message indiscriminately, in much the same way as shrimping, first determine the most efficient media outlets and spend your efforts on those media for the big catch. Similarly, get choosy about the clients you want to work with and place your resources and efforts seeking them out.

On the far side of a fear is a freedom. Many of the RISE Austin presenters and those of us in the audience were interested in discussing ways to overcome fear, which was no surprise given the uncertain economy. Gay Gaddis, president & CEO of T3, reminded us that a setback is also an opportunity for innovation or change. Apart from finding opportunity even during a recession, I found roomfuls of encouragement for overcoming the very common fear of taking risks. Why not embrace it instead? Fear can keep us motivated, focused and aware of potential pitfalls. Melinda Garvey, publisher of Austin Woman Magazine, summed it up well by saying, “Your goals aren’t big enough if you don’t have fear.”

Give back to your community. Offering up your time and your talents ties in well to being passionate about what you do. Austin is a dynamic city and offers many ways to plug in to the community. Carol Thompson, president of The Thompson Group, reminded us always to ask, “How can I help you?” VolunteerMatch and Austin’s own I Live Here, I Give Here are excellent resources for finding a cause that you can feel passionate about supporting.

Oct 13

We all come in different shapes.

The eWomenNetwork in Austin held their monthly luncheon last week. What a sharp group of women from so many diverse backgrounds. While I enjoyed the chance to head out of my office and make some new connections, I was most looking forward to hearing from the master of networking, Carol Thompson of The Thompson Group. A legend in the Austin business community, she’s delightful in her delivery and gets down to what you need to know. Among her advice for stimulating your career in today’s economy was to know yourself. In the context of shapes, are you a square, a circle, possibly a triangle or more of a squiggly line? It’s important because much of being successful depends on being true to yourself. Draw on your best qualities and talents, and you’re more likely to shine. You’re also more likely to have fun. 

When you’re able to connect with your strengths, then building your brand becomes that much easier. Your brand is your reputation and sets you apart from others. This is where powerful marketing begins. I can’t stretch myself and offer up design services, but I can deliver ad copy that is compelling and on target for my client’s audience. This is my brand promise and my value. Know your shape. Define your brand. Then let’s go to market.