Danny Brown

podcaster - author - creator

Business

We Are the Supercool

We are the supercool

We are the supercool.

That?s not a smug or ego-stroking statement. It?s more a statement of celebration.

Why are we supercool?

We?re the conversationalists. We?re the network communities. We?re the end user champions. We?re helping to transform business into the way it?s meant to be played.

We?re the brand evangelists that the brands are listening to. We?re not the mouthpieces; we?re simply the words. But the words are being heard. We?re the provider and receiver of the eyeballs.

We?re the new storytellers and the old story sharers. We have a mass media appeal with a core media approach. We?re here to help and educate; we?re here to be helped and be educated. Our stories are the ones that are helping shape our needs and the people, and businesses, that want to meet them and meet us.

We?re no longer me; we?re now we.We?re no longer I; we?re now us.

We share; we learn; we teach; we absorb; we support; we offer; we respect; we build; we talk. Most of all, we converse.

We are at the dawn of the socialization age.

Isn?t that reason to feel supercool?

image: doctor paradox

You Answer to Nobody But Yourself

Respect yourself

When I was young and impressionable (and still trying to make an impression), I believed – foolishly – that I had to answer to people. Whether that was my boss, colleagues or peers, I was under the impression I had to answer to them in all I did.

Now, before folks get the wrong impression, yes, it’s definitely important to have some form of hierarchy to get things done. This doesn’t necessarily mean a boss/employee relationship, though – think of it more like expertise and the wisdom to make the right things happen.

But the idea that you have to answer to someone because they say you have to? Screw that.

Just like trust and respect needs to be earned, so does answering to someone. You want me (or others) to listen to you? Show me you know your shit, and show me you’ll use that knowledge to do things the right way.

Which brings us back to the opening statement.

People in positions of power may feel you have to answer to them, because their job title says so. But here’s the thing – people don’t stay in companies for 25 years or more anymore.

People also see through BS faster, and know that – thanks to social media – it’s easier to be connected to someone that can help them make their next move than it was just five years ago, when an old boy network and a good suit was the “in” to a new position.

What this means is that employees don’t need to take the kind of shit anymore that they used to stay silent about. Nor do they have to worry about a damaged reputation, since the truth always comes out. Always.

Instead, now people can choose what really matters to them – respect, reputation, family. Instead of answering to those that don’t deserve it, you now answer to those that truly matter.

Which, at the end of the day, is where the real rewards are anyway…

Your Business Is Not the Story

Social Mix 2012

Last week, on Thursday July 26, Jugnoo’s inaugural Social Mix 2012 conference took place in downtown Toronto.

A social media/business event, it saw the likes of Gary Vaynerchuk, Amber Mac, Geoff Livingston, Gini Dietrich and many more talk about building your brand and business success through social media.

Feedback has been amazing, and I was incredibly proud of the Jugnoo team pulling this off in just over three months!

I’ll be sharing more from the conference soon, both here and over at the Jugnoo blog – in the meantime, I just wanted to share my presentation, based around social search needing to be much smarter as we move forward and how good businesses will adapt to go beyond scripted responses.

Cheers!

Social Media Numbers and the Bottom Line

Numbers are important, because they give us an idea of how successful something is.

Even small numbers can mean a big success. While two might seem a relatively little number in the grand scheme of things, you probably won?t complain too much if your sales team doubles your profits for you.

Big numbers are easier. Ten million products sold is a big success in any language.

In social media, though, the waters are a little less clear. 100,000 Twitter followers might mean something substantial, or it might mean a lot of autobots and gaming the system. 30,000 blog subscribers doesn?t necessarily mean 30,000 active RSS readers.

But a lot of social media experts will tell you numbers are key to succeed in social media ? the more your social reach, the more your clout.

To business owners, though, there?s only one real number that?s important ? the bottom line.

So, Social Media Expert X, how are your numbers going to increase my bottom line? The clock starts? NOW.

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State of Independence

Years ago I worked in retail on both sides. I started out working for an electrical goods chain store, then moved onto a smaller local one.

Both jobs were great (at least for me), because they satisfied the tech geek in me. Surrounded by home theater kits and massive TV?s? Sign me up!

But as much as I loved working at the big chain store, it never felt fulfilling.

We had to pretty much stick to a sales script and only if we were lucky could we occasionally offer our own take.

We weren?t encouraged to be ourselves.

Same went for special promotions. If a brand was paying to be highlighted that month, you had to sell toward that brand, even if another product was clearly the better one for the customer. It was snake oil salesmen tactics at their worst.

Jump to the little store, however, and the difference was palpable. You actually talked with your customers; asked what they wanted; offered your advice; agreed on essentials versus luxuries; and built an understanding.

Most of all, you were talking as if you?were?the customer.

No BS; no sales crap; no false advertising. Just simple customer-to-customer selling. And it worked. And continues to do so today.

Think about it. When you last went to a record store, or DVD store, or video games store that belonged to a chain, did you come away with just a purchase or a transaction? Because there?is?a difference.

Did you feel that you had bought your purchase yourself, or had bought it because it was sold to you? And I don?t mean because the salesperson picked it up and showed you what was on sale; I mean it was really?sold?to you.

The Indie Effect

From my experiences, independent retailers score every time over the chain stores. Sure, you get the occasional bright spark at a major retailer who lets their passion shine through. But generally, it?s just a job to them.

Indie retailers, on the other hand,?love?what they?re doing. They live the atmosphere that the small store brings. They know customers by name. They know the difference between Product A and Product B because they?use?it and?learn?about it, and not because they?ve read some manufacturer spiel. Then they pass that learning on.

Sure, the major stores might get the big deals from the manufacturers, but as the collapse of some of the big brands in business show, it?s not always about the best deals. At least, not price-wise.

Instead, a lot of the success is coming from the little independent guys jumping in and making people know about their service. By talking to them. By listening to what their customers want. By?being?the customer.

Sound familiar?

Be an Independent Retailer

Social media. Marketing. PR. Advertising. Customer service. Business deals. Business building. Branding. Unbranding.

Everything you do day in, day out ? are you being a major retailer or are you being the independent retailer? Are you saying and doing what all your competitors are doing or are you doing what?you?redoing?

There?s a big difference in approach and sales time is fast approaching. So. What are you?