Posted by Genna Mazor on Wed, Feb 03, 2010 @ 03:25 PM
If you haven't yet heard of our grass-fed meat client, U.S. Wellness Meats, you will soon. John Wood's Missouri-based farm has been making the round on foodie blogs and in green mags (look for him in the May/June issue of Sierra!) and the meat is getting quite the rep for its gourmet taste, healthfulness and sustainability. Everyone at CVM can attest to the quality of the U.S. Wellness Meats grass-fed meat, grass-fed dairy and free range poultry. We even tried the jerky.
John was featured most recently on MediaPost's Engage:Green when yours truly wrote a post on how CVM made over U.S. Wellness Meats' image. With a little creativity, ingenuity and elbow-grease, we turned the collective of grass-fed family farms into a force to be reckoned with. Check out the original post on MediaPost here.
Posted by Kate Fleming on Tue, Sep 15, 2009 @ 11:21 AM
Yesterday I noticed this little blurb on The Atlantic’s Politics blog:
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Now, if I were an average person hoping to learn a little bit more about Rick Santorum (let’s just assume that I wasn’t aware of his fraught political past), my next step might just be to do a little research on the good old Internet. So I’m off to Google...doo do doo... Where I type in “Santorum” ‘cause, hey, I like to know who’s running for president—or even thinking about it.
(click image to enlarge)
Holy moly! Egad! Dear Lord! I won’t bother to quote from the very first hit on Google—I’m assuming if you made it this far, you’re capable of reading it yourself—but, um, yeah, that’s 1) gross, to say the least, 2) so not what I was expecting to find when I googled the name of a potential presidential candidate, and 3), assuming you’re wired like me, so compelling that I now have to click through and find out why, on the page that’s supposed to be leading me to presidential discovery, at least four are the kind of results I’d expect from a very different kind of search.
Of course, clicking through will pretty quickly help me understand that the “santorum” is the brainchild of sex columnist Dan Savage and his readers, who were none too pleased by the then-senator’s anti-gay stance, which linked homosexuality to incest, polygamy, and zoophilia (aka sex with animals). And, boy, oh boy, were they successful. I would imagine that to anyone under a certain age, Santorum slips in right alongside Carl and trombone for words that can pretty quickly take one down a particular associative path.
So the real question is, how the heck did Santorum—and his people—ever let this happen?! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted that they did, but isn’t this Online Crisis Management 101? Wouldn’t someone have had the common sense to organize some grassroots efforts to knock those less-than-ideal links off the first page of Google? Because—and I realize I’ve neglected to mention this additional little nugget—this all blew up in 2004. 2004! They have had five (5!) years to do something about it. And at least some of those years, Santorum has to have been contemplating a run for the presidency. I can only say, oy…
Fortunately, the egregiousness of the Santorum case offers some lessons—especially about online marketing, social media, etc.—for the rest of us:
Listen. Okay, I don’t even know why I have to say this, but we see it all the time: People are incredibly motivated to talk about themselves, blog about their interests, look for followers, make “friends,” but they’re not all that concerned about what other people are saying. There is nothing more important in public relations, in social media, in any sort of brand preservation and creation than knowing what people are saying about you, your issues, your product, even your competitors. You need to be out there listening so that when the crisis arises—and it will, at some point—you're prepared to nip it in the bud, head it off at the pass, and put out fires before they get out of control.
Build Relationships. Dan Savage engages with his readers and listeners, he’s funny, he’s honest, and his fans feel like he’s a real guy who connects with them and their lives. He doesn’t just talk at them. So when Dan decided to have a little fun at the hate-mongering Santorum’s expense by launching a friendly competition to see who could come up with the filthiest faux definition for “santorum,” they laughed. They got involved. They delivered. And the gay community, the people who listen to his show and read his columns, teens and twenty-somethings (and apparently lots of post-twenty-somethings) who like things that are funny, dirty, and a little insider-ish were happy to spread the word.
Know Your Audience. It’s clear that Dan Savage did. But it’s not so clear that Rick Santorum did. At the time, Santorum was a senator. Of a big state. With a relatively moderate voting history. Sure, they had voted him into office on his conservative platform, but statistically, it was safe to assume that only a minority of voters shared his extreme views. Democratic and Republican Senators frequently fall into more moderate, compromising lines once they are elected to office not because they lose their convictions, but because they recognize the challenges of representing a multifarious constituency in a complex and diverse country. Rick Santorum is perfectly within his rights to pursue an extreme path, but he couldn’t expect Pennsylvanians to follow. Which might explain why there wasn’t a strong voice countering Savage and his audience through websites, blogs, and discussions that outweighed or, at the very least, balanced out the “santorum” voices.
Own Your Name. It takes work, it takes involvement, it takes pr, it takes content creation… you get the picture. You need to be out there driving the discussion, making the news, owning the keywords that relate to you and, above all, owning your own name. Sure, the occasional piece of negative publicity or a critical website, article or post might creep into those top ten search results, but if you’re consistently shaping, generating, and driving the conversation, it’s only going to carry so much weight. Check out other lightning rods for criticism like Hillary Clinton or Rush Limbaugh. You know people are saying lots of nasty things about them, and yet somehow they still manage to control the top spots in search.
When All Else Fails, Triage. So you let things get away from you. While busy managing one crisis, you didn’t see another brewing. Your team was too busy developing strategy to think about the external face of your brand. You simply weren’t listening. It’s time to take the horse by the reins and get things under control. First things first… Look at your own website. How frequently are you updating it? Are you giving people a reason to go there? Are you building your relationships with your supporters so that they’ll drive traffic to your site? Are you creating fresh, readable, informative content that people will make people return to your site regularly to see what’s going? If not, it’s time make that a priority. Next, think about enlisting the help of your enthusiasts, supporters and target audience. By tapping into this community, you build your audience and shift the conversation. Finally, if you need more help, hire an SEO firm, get a better publicist, enlist the help of marketing strategists who know this stuff. Do you really think other people aren’t fighting off criticism too? And for goodness’ sake, don’t let five years pass before you get started!
Posted by Kate Fleming on Thu, Aug 13, 2009 @ 06:26 PM
This morning Genna forwarded me a little article from the New York Times Thursday Styles section. About J.C. Penney. Yawn.
Or maybe not.
Genna prefaced her sending with, "it's really kind of offensive," but I was thinking, it's in the Times, how bad can it be?
But of course, then I felt compelled to read it, and boy was Genna right.
But why? Everywhere you look these days some blogger or critic is spewing clever snark, trashing everything from celebrity cellulite to Obama's healthcare plan. So what's the big deal, why would this particular article be so troubling when it's fairly run-of-the-mill in comparison to some of the vitriol that's out there?
On a fundamental level, because it was in the New York Times. No matter how often people like to claim that blogs and the mainstream media are running neck-and-neck, that blogs are just as valid a source of news as respected media outlets, the reality just doesn't back that up.
While blogs may be factual, insightful, and truly informative, I expect them to have an author's personality, for better or for worse, infused into the tone and perspective. If someone goes off the deep end in a rant or draw obscene figures on faces a la Perez Hilton, I tend to think, whatever. It's a blog. I didn't come for journalism. I came for something more social, chatty and personal -- I want to read news through a filter.
When it comes to mainstream media (and I'm not including anything overtly partisan in this group), that's just not the case. I'm certainly not naïve enough to think that news outlets and their journalists don't bring biases to their coverage, but I expect, at the very least, a good faith attempt at respectful reporting. Sure, that doesn't mean the reporting will be good, but at least there's some semblance of a legitimate attempt. There's editorial oversight. And even if someone's a critic, tasked with giving readers an opinion and review, I expect that critic, even at his/her harshest, to know the line between critique and snark.
So when an (apparently) editor-approved article appears in a mainstream publication -- even under the "Critical Shopper" headline -- that is petty, bitchy, elitist and just downright mean, it's not cute or funny. No, it ends up feeling like the mean girl picking on the overweight/less attractive/glasses-wearing/nerdy/unathletic girl. And that's just gratuitous cruelty.
(A particularly choice paragraph: "It took me a long time to find a size 2 among the racks. There are, however, abundant size 10's, 12's and 16's. The dressing rooms are big, clean and well tended. I tried two fairly cute items: a modified domino-print swing dress with padded shoulders by American Living (a Ralph Lauren line created for Penney's) and a long psychedelic muumuu of a style generally worn by Rachel Zoe. Each was around $80; each fit nicely and looked good. I didn't buy either because I can do better for $80, but if I were a size 18, I'd have rejoiced." Yeah, we get it, you're a skinny bitch.)
And that brings us to our very own Degrassi Junior High (the original version)-worthy teaching moment...
Just because the cool kids are doing it, it doesn't mean you should too. Yes, all those of you who have respected media outlets, brands, or whatever, the coolest kids might be writing snarky and nasty but devastatingly accurate little articles that we read gleefully from our cubicles (I don't even watch The Real Housewives, but when Richard Lawson over at Gawker writes about them, it is pure bliss.), but that doesn't mean it's a good look for you.
For a brief, shining moment you might bask in some cool-kid glow, but then reality returns, and everyone sees you for what you are: someone without respect or authority.
Really, NYT, we expect so much better.
Posted by Genna Mazor on Wed, Jul 01, 2009 @ 02:29 PM
Warning: this blog post may incite some very strong opinions. This is part one of a three-part series on coastal supremacy.
In our office, there are two kinds of people: those who love California (me) and those who hate it (Kate and Gretel). The three of us could bicker endlessly about why California is or isn't immensely better than New York City (email me for my list) but since we're in New York City, I guess they win. For now. And because I just returned teary-eyed from my LA trip and Gretel is begrudgingly boarding a flight to San Diego this week, I thought now would be a good time to examine why the east coast/west coast rivalry may be even bigger than Suge Knight said it was.
Like most things in our media-driven culture, it boils down to image, some of it true to life, and some of it not. Ask anyone what they think of when you say "Los Angeles," and they'll probably responded with things like, "blonde," "palm trees," and "Clueless" (you're not helping my cause, Amy Heckerling). Say "New York" and you'll get things like, "real," "big city," and "Annie Hall." Don't get me wrong. I understand that since the time of the Dutch, New York has been crucial to the country's development in commerce, culture and character. But as the urine-soaked garbage piles up on the streets in the summer heat (can you say, "yum"?) I kind of feel like we're all just running on "I HEART NY" fumes. So how does New York City keep the dream alive? With a few elements that any successful brand campaign should take to heart: Clear messaging, clever design, (some) substance, and a lot of concrete.
In today's blog post, we'll examine how New York has used the power of its messaging (both old and new) to bring people into the City, and keep them there (sometimes against their will).
The Messages
New York City
Because of its location, New York has always held a unique place in the hearts and minds of immigrants. Birthplace (I make no claim of historical accuracy) of the American dream, this port-of-entry became the first place to put down roots, sell your wares, and make it big. So the lore and the lure grew. To paraphrase Ol' Blue Eyes, if you could make it here, you could make it anywhere. Much of this message's propagation was thanks to a catchy tune-an accidental PR campaign, so to speak. The City's hardscrabble reputation made it a challenge for any American looking to better his or her situation, and as Tom Brokaw reminded us, the Greatest Generation was certainly up to the task.
Now in the era of brand strategy, careful PR, and good old-fashioned cleaning up the streets, the Mayor's Office has tapped in to the already magnetic power of the city to draw in those who would have moved to the suburbs in the past, to the point where there is no space left in the kindergarten classes in some choice areas. Oops. The new messaging is not just for those who are trying to make it, but for those who already have and who want the city life without too much of the "real" life of the city. The rough-and-tumble City has transformed, and least in messaging, into a family-friendly place, complete with patio furniture in Times Square. This softer crowd can more readily support the City's economy, is off the streets by 11 PM, and is pro at carrying baby strollers up and down subway stairs. One thing is clear in the shift-the Mayor's Office has figured out its new plan, and is sticking to it.
Los Angeles
Unlike New York, Los Angeles has never been able to latch on to a single message for its city, and the horrid reality shows that glorify the superficiality of life in the sun have not helped the city's image. Founded by a Spanish governor in 1781 as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Rio de Poriuncula, LA (and California) was part of Mexico before being purchased by the United States as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. The population grew steadily, but the city was really no different than others across the country until the Biograph Company sent director D.W. Griffith and his troupe of actors to the area in 1910. The combination of good weather, ample space, and willing talent made LA the ideal place to make movies. By 1915, the majority of American films were being produced in the area, and LA has been inextricably linked to "the industry" ever since.
While the industry has been a boon to the city's (and state's) economy, this connection leaves many wondering what LA would be like (or if it would even exist) without it. Forgotten are the spectacular attributes like hikes, wildlife, great produce, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and mountains that run right up along the Pacific. A new California Board of Tourism commercial attempts to spread the good word about the state, but only the surfing can be most directly connected to LA. The city, for all its glorious sprawl, is most known for its smog, traffic, and a great deal of plastic. And while New York prides itself on being "real," LA only exists in many minds as the polar opposite: fake. Los Angeles needs to streamline its message and capitalize on its natural wonders as well as its creative endeavors if it can hope to stand a chance against the behemoth of New York.
Today's winner? It hurts me to say it, but New York City. The City has figured out its (new) ideal audience-not just who they are, but what they want out of their city/brand experience, and is giving it to them.
What do you associate with the "brand" of LA? (BTW, if you say anything close to The Hills, I may have to travel to where you are and nicely knock some sense into you.)
Next up: I HEART NY vs. the Hollywood sign.
Posted by Kate Fleming on Tue, Jun 23, 2009 @ 11:26 AM
I am a shockingly lazy consumer.
Well, not really, but the Internet can really make me start to feel that way. I don't, for the most part, blog/comment on/tweet about my brand experiences. I rarely am so moved in any direction that I'm motivated to contact customer service. Before the dawn of the web (or at least the dawn of a truly interactive web), I can think of only one time when I actually bothered to go out of my way (in this case to complain): On a flight to Caracas, American Airlines lost -- for three (3!) days -- my backpack with all of my clothing and camping equipment, basically ruining all of my carefully-laid vacation plans. I had to pay for a hotel in Caracas for two nights and cancel an entire leg of my trip, but never received so much as an apology from AA, let alone any reimbursement for my expense. When I got home, I sent a long, ranting -- though very articulate, if I do say so myself -- letter to the airline and had a long, ranting -- a lot less articulate, if I do say so myself -- phone call with some random AA customer service rep. And I got exactly nowhere. Not one to make taking on companies for bad service my life's mission, I ended up letting the whole thing drop. (Though clearly I still have some unresolved issues since I got annoyed just thinking about the whole thing again. Damn you, American Airlines!)
Now with social media, blogs, and even the ability to easily design an entire blog/website dedicated to bashing a company, it seems like it's become a whole lot easier to take dissatisfaction to a whole new level. Which is why I often feel lazy. Even when I'm really annoyed, I might put out a feeble Tweet vaguely conveying my frustration, but I'm unlikely to do much in the way of wave-making. Partly because, in the end, I feel like I have bigger fish to fry, and partly because I feel weird about closely intertwining my personal identity with complaining -- and about a product/service no less. I mean, if I'm going to use space to complain, maybe I should take up things like the toxic swill in my neighborhood (I live near the Gowanus Canal) or advocate for social issues that really matter. There's something that starts to feel really cheap to me about using my voice and the little online capital I have to complain about not being treated respectfully by a flight attendant or about getting fat on my skinny latte. Obviously, companies are answerable to consumers and they should be held accountable for bad service or shoddy products, but it can start to feel like a lot of entitlement when people make a habit of complaining. And sometimes it feels suspiciously like people are angling for some special treatment -- a gift certificate, an upgrade -- rather than really venting about something that is a legitimate grievance.
So here's the real point of this post -- a question (and one that I don't necessarily know the answer to -- shocking, I know...):
Where is the line between accountability and entitlement? And how accountable should brands be, especially now that just about anyone can do some damage with a little time and a computer?
I am genuinely curious about the line between using social media, networks and communities:
- to hold companies accountable for shoddy products and services, misguided marketing campaigns, or offensive or exploitive practices, and
- to complain incessantly -- and very publicly -- about the littlest inconveniences, to make unfair and excessive claims in the hope of getting something free.
Thoughts? Anyone, anyone?
Posted by Genna Mazor on Thu, Jun 04, 2009 @ 01:30 PM
Last week, I sat down to chat with a friend who I hadn't spoken to in nearly a year. The friendship didn't end well--there were complications to say the least--but he reached out to make amends, explain things, and start over. A few years ago, I may have rebuffed these attempts at reconciliation, but in the name of maturity and personal growth, I decided to hear him out. At the very least, I thought, I may get something useful out of the chat.
I did: a blog post.
As we treaded carefully through the steps of explanation, forgiveness, and some finger pointing, I realized that the art of forgiving and forgetting in personal relationships is really no different than returning to a product after an incident (like when I threw up a tuna sandwich from Miami Subs), or a much-needed break (yes, you can OD on Honey Bunches of Oats). And because brands have to survive the occasional maelstroms of bad press and social media turmoil that can turn thousands, if not millions, of brand loyalists away, there must be a system in place that allows them to win their once-loyal followers back.
The most recent disgusting and gag-worthy example of a brand loyalty test comes in the form of the YouTube video from two Domino's employees. We all saw it, or at least heard about it. One Domino's employee in North Carolina prepped sandwiches and pizza for delivery while putting cheese up his nose, mucus on the sandwiches, and rubbing other food all over his body, especially on his naughty bits. The other employee recorded and narrated the scene. Domino's was blindsided and a company spokesman said that, "Even people who've been with us as loyal customers for 10, 15, 20 years...are second-guessing their relationship with Domino's, and that's not fair." Fair? Probably not, but the cringe factor alone is enough to make a person think twice before chowing down on a MeatZZA Feast.
So what can companies do to minimize the time consumers stay away? A lot.
Provide a place for them to vent (or rave) about you
First, as a preventive measure, tried-and-true brands (ahem, Motrin) must establish their own social media presence if they are going to have any chance at combating this type of fallout. Consumers need a place to both laud and lambaste a brand, and if the company can provide the forum, they have a better chance at controlling (some of) the message. Gretel explained how large companies can integrate social media into their traditional marketing campaigns here, so I won't retread her fantastically-written steps. Read it for yourself. I promise you'll learn something.
Admit it
A primary step in the road to recovery for just about anything is admitting that there's a problem. Doing so quickly and maturely goes a long way in making things right. Companies, even more likely to want to save face, may not admit wrongdoing or missteps right off the bat. Amazon's "glitch" on a Sunday in April 2009 rendered gay-themed books unranked and therefore unsearchable and unavailable. The company took two days to address the issue, and in the meantime, the "#amazonfail" tag on Twitter was among the most popular topics on the site. Affected authors started a petition to boycott Amazon and as of Monday afternoon, they had over 18,000 signatures. Not good.
The big lessons here are that consumers never sleep, and if social media has made the spread of good news fast, it's made the spread of bad news even faster. Companies should have people on staff--newbies, interns, outside agencies, whoever--who are in the trenches listening to what's being said about the company. The sooner a company learns about a problem, the sooner it can admit it and take steps to fix it.
Just a tip: Get creative. Sure, a video is easy to produce and broadcast, but a boring corporate video response probably won't help much unless it's just as dramatic and gossip-worthy as the offense that prompted it.
Say "I'm Sorry" and Mean It
JetBlue's screw up in 2007 seems like ages ago, but I don't think that most of the passengers who were stranded on runways for 11 hours are rushing back to the airline for free Terra Blues any time soon. Still, JetBlue's quick action, public apology, and genuine regret over the incident helped them back-pedal just enough to win the JD Power & Associates Award for #1 Customer Satisfaction for the airline industry that year. Crazy, right?
This worked because the genuineness did not only come in the form of words, but actions. The company established a Passenger Bill of Rights that was retroactive to the date of the screw up, spent an estimated $20-30 million to appease the thousands of angry customers, and pledged to revamp its plans and backup plans so that nothing like it ever happens again. If you're going to say, "I'm sorry," show it, don't just say it.
Revamp your image (for real)-and make it stick
Like that crazy high school friend who is now reformed, a company known for a murky or unappealing past should take special care when revamping its weak image, lest it seem disingenuous. Simply keeping the status quo is not acceptable, nor is becoming something you're not. Instead, become the company your customers want you to be. The aforementioned JetBlue fiasco was as big as it was because they were expected to be number one in customer service-the company had built itself around that ideal. To fix it, JetBlue had to go above and beyond where they were before.
Though it seems a little old school now, let's go back to when Target stores rebranded from Kmart status to what it is today: Tarj-ay. Knowing that a fancy ad campaign can't sustain a company that has little to offer, Target took special care to differentiate itself from its competitors. By cutting expenses, the company was able to offer high-quality merchandise at low margins, rather than low prices on cheap merchandise. It worked. Target stores tend to attract younger, more educated, and more affluent customers than its competitors and even though its newer advertisements focus on low prices (the "Hello/Good Buy" ad comes to mind), the quality of Target stores still stands out. Because the company had the goods to back it up, Target morphed its humdrum discount store image into a shining example of smart, trendy shopping on a budget.
So that's it. It sounds easier than it really is, but take the lessons of Domino's, Motrin, Amazon, JetBlue, and Target to heart. There are ways to get yourself (or your company) out of a tough situation--by being aware of it, coming clean, apologizing, and truly reforming--but you better be sincere about it.
And as for my personal experiences: no, I will probably not ever eat from Miami Subs again, I'll likely OD again on Honey Bunches of Oats at some point in the near future, and my friend and I seem to be on the road to recovery.
Posted by Genna Mazor on Mon, Dec 08, 2008 @ 09:45 AM
When Peter Dunn (aka "Pete the Planner") came to us with his baby, GreenCandy.com, we promised to take the best care of it that we could. We lovingly coddled the financial tool (and yes, Peter too) and when it was it was time, we let it loose into the big, bad world. Since Peter delivered on his promise to actually have something good to say, we delivered on our promise to get him noticed. Our time (so far) with Peter has been a whirlwind of radio, print and television interviews.
Check him out here:
Who knew that an afternoon at Fox News could be so gratifying?
Posted by Gretel Going on Tue, Mar 11, 2008 @ 03:51 PM
Maybe you like that your boss makes all the big decisions, that you can dash out of work right at 5 and that no one gives you any responsibility at all. Whatever you do, don't change a thing-it sounds like you've got the perfect gig. On the other hand, if you're constantly dreaming up big ideas that would never fly at your current company, or if you crave ownership of projects and clients, love working on your own terms, and are not afraid of a little uncertainty and risk, then maybe it's time to shake things up a bit. Maybe it's time to think about working for yourself.
That's what we did. And now we are.
Two months ago, we launched Channel V Media. As we write this from our new office in Manhattan's Tribeca, we're looking at a to-do list a mile long, long hours and not enough sleep. We're figuring out who we want to be and how to attract our ideal clients and when we want to hire more employees and, and, and the list goes on... But at the end of the day, we're happy. Really.
What do you need to start your own PR firm?
Confidence: Above all, you need to believe in yourself and your abilities. Going into business for yourself isn't for the faint of heart, so if a few rough patches and naysayers are all it takes to make you doubt yourself and your decisions, this might not be for you. Highs and lows are part of the adventure-have the perspective to take them in stride...not personally.
Experience: If you're even thinking about going into business for yourself, chances are you have a fair amount of experience under your belt. So what's holding you back? That nagging feeling that you need to know everything before you can possibly do it. Get over it. Even the most experienced professionals learn as they go-the most successful people are constantly learning-so take what you've got, throw in your common sense, your creativity and your winning ways, and go for it.
A Little Money: Or a lot, depending on your needs and ambitions for your new company. You can save money by working from home, but an office goes a long way in inspiring confidence in clients and confidence in yourself. There's something about having a place that you go just to do work that helps it feel real. The downside? There's a lot to pay for-computers, rent, Internet, and subscriptions to publications and services. Plus, to make your new company official you'll need to incorporate. And you'll need something in the bank as back up-you don't want to be knocked down by an unexpected hit.
A Good Server: Or a service that will stand in. We spent our first month figuring out how to get our pitches and releases out. Unless you're starting big, you won't be able to afford the T-1 line, the server and the tech guy necessary to make it all run smoothly (we use Lucy Solutions for our IT needs). And if you're small, your remote server isn't going to let you send out mass mailings. We've discovered JangoMail, an economical email management system that lets us send out all of our necessary communications.
Clients: Before you take the plunge, find business you can count on. And find it through your own contacts and relationships. Sure, you can leave your current job and take all of your old clients with you, but that feels a little shady. And if you have a non-compete, it's also illegal. Since we started our firm, everyone's asked us how we got business. "What'd you do? Steal away your old clients?" And you can tell from the tone, they're looking for the dirt. Our sense? Avoid it. It feels really good to be able to say that we got our clients on our own and that we didn't leave our old jobs on bad terms.
Dream Big... Even If You're Small: Web sites and other online media allow small companies to establish a BIG presence. But even more important than the image you project are the ideas you present to your client and, ultimately, your ability to execute them. We've made it a rule not to let our ideas be hindered by our seemingly limited man power. We dream big and then outsource a virtual team come production time.
Vision: We're still figuring this one out ourselves, but what's going to make your firm stand out from all the other ones out there? Maybe you're ruthless, maybe you know new media, maybe you know how to give clients all the TLC they could possibly need. Figure out who you are, then go after clients who share your sensibility. If your new client proposal process looks something like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, then the odds are good that even if you win new business, it's not going to last because you're not going to have a shared sense of purpose and values. Look for clients you really want-you'll be invested in their success and be excited to be part of it. And they'll feel your enthusiasm.
This article was written by Kate Fleming and Gretel Going, partners at Channel V Media.