So, You Need A Marketing Budget!

Guest Blog Post By: Michael Sick, Partner, ITB Partners – San Diego

While every company is unique, a common question among business owners is “how much should I spend on marketing?” The correct answer is…it depends. There are many factors to be considered to establish the optimal spending level for marketing and advertising. Here are a few issues to consider:

Industry Norms – Most industries have a “success model” that defines line item spending ranges. Understanding this model is an important first step. Previous experience, feedback from other firms in the industry, or searches on the internet or trade publications are all good sources for this information.

According to a report in Ad Age, ad spending in the United States as a percent of GDP was 2.2%. That number is just for advertising and does not account for all marketing expenditures. Marketing services (trade shows, research, consulting, design, production, staff, etc.) can often comprise 25 to 50% of the total spending. McDonald’s (MCD) reports about 9% selling G&A with about half of that funding TV advertising. Boston Beer Company (SAM), maker of Sam Adams beer spends 25 to 30% of its revenues on advertising, promotional and selling expenses.

Spending ratios are influenced by the business model for the industry. Unlike lower margin business (consumer electronics or banking), high margin businesses (beverages and software) can afford to spend a greater amount of their revenue on advertising.

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“Fixed” Program– Some brands require a “minimum” level of marketing expenditures to be competitive. For example, a company may know that it needs to attend a given number of industry trade shows or regularly advertise in certain publications to maintain market share. In this case, their budget is driven by a “fixed” set of expenditures. As their business grows, these fixed costs will become a lower percentage of revenue.

Competitive Position – If Company “A” is in an industry where the norm is to dedicate 5% of sales to marketing, consideration needs to be given to the size of the competition. If the company does one million dollars in revenue, an advertising budget at 5% results in $50,000 of expense. If the other direct competitors have combined revenues of five million dollars and also spend 5%, they will spend five times the budget of Company “A”. To break through the noise, consideration should be given to increasing the spending percentage, focusing the budget on a specific vertical customer segment and/or limiting the geographic reach of the marketing plan.

Growth Goals – If a company has aggressive revenue goals, they should consider the additional cash flow available for marketing generated by achieving the higher revenue goal. Establishing the marketing budget as a ratio of the revenue goal is another approach. Growing quickly requires increased working capital for inventory, staffing, and accounts receivable. The prospect of increasing marketing spending can be challenging for high growth companies. Companies with plans to grow rapidly may need to spend a higher percentage of sales to achieve that goal.

Budgets in Recessions – Some companies find themselves losing customers and revenues during recessions. A natural tendency is to reduce marketing expenditures to keep them “in line”. If revenue is down 10%, should the marketing budget be reduced by 10%? Logic dictates that if you reduce your budget by 10%, your revenues should fall by the same percentage. Reducing marketing spending is likely to reduce the acquisition of new customers or jeopardize the company’s current share. Brands should resist the urge to reduce marketing budgets in a recession. Focus instead on improving the media mix, the creative or relevancy of the message. Recessions present an opportunity to gain market share, so look to reduce other expenditures first.

While marketing expenditures are recorded as expenses on the P&L, smart managers know that these expenditures are investments in the future. The “Chicken and the Egg” dilemma is confounding for some businesses. Which comes first, the revenue to support the marketing budget or the marketing budget to generate the revenue. Your CFO and CMO are likely to answer that question differently! They can probably agree, however, that revenues tomorrow are likely to be higher if you spend more on marketing and advertising today.

Setting a budget for marketing expenditures can be perplexing to business owners as the promised benefit is elusive. Every business has a slightly different situation that needs to be considered to establish a marketing budget. Prospects generally need to be exposed to a brand multiple times before they are willing to change providers or make a purchase. The Savvy marketing professional knows that it takes months, years even to nurture a prospect. [Tweet “Optimizing marketing expenditures by benchmarking and tracking metrics specific to the company’s situation is the foundation for success.”] Reviewing the approaches discussed in this article is a good first step. ITB Partners (www.itbpartners.com) has broad experience across many industries and domains, so we are capable of advising our clients on this subject and all other issues facing the enterprise.

Michael Sick, a nationally recognized, innovative management consultant specializing in strategic marketing, advertising, and business development. He spent 25 years in corporate marketing and was a Marketing Vice President for Jack In The Box, Pearle Vision, Arby’s and others. Currently, he serves as the part time Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for some clients around the US. Learn more at: www.itbpartners.com/michael-sick.html

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you enjoyed my point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber, President

New Century Dynamics Executive Search

Author of: Fighting Alligators: Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

JimWeber@NewCenturyDynamics.com

Current Assignments

1. COO- Atlanta-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company – New

2. Controller – Atlanta-based Consumer Products – Digital Company – New

3. Director of Biz Dev, Atlanta-based B2B Professional Services Company: Completed

4. Payroll-Benefits Manager, Atlanta-based Retail Company: Complete

5. Senior Accounting Manager – Atlanta-based Manufacturer. Complete

6. Controller – Atlanta-based Restaurant Company: New

7. Outplacement Assignment – Atlanta-based Manufacturer: New

July 29, 2017

Further Research Into Social Media and Talent Acquisition

My most recent posts have extolled the virtue of employing a social media strategy for talent acquisition. This week I decided to do some further research in this connection. I begin with phone calls to a couple of my clients. I wanted their input and to learn what they're doing. After a few conversations, I began visiting their websites and social media pages. I even built an Excel Spreadsheet to capture the data I thought might be relevant. What I learned was most interesting, leading me to believe that I must pursue this line of analysis further.

As I have a somewhat diverse client base, I was able to see top line results across various industry sectors. My clients range from retail to consumer packaged goods, business to business services, and manufacturing. All of these companies are using their websites to attract potential employees. Some have a more robust presence than others in this regard, however, all are posting jobs and providing a vehicle to take applications from job seekers. A few of the consumer brands are using their website to build a community of career minded followers. It was interesting to note, however, that none of these companies provided a compelling reason for anyone to join their team. There was no call to action. It was as if to say; yeah we have positions to fill, and we might be interested in talking with you if you want to talk to us. That was common across all platforms.

With one exception, all of my clients are using LinkedIn to promote their company. There is a wide range of effort in this area, but it is fair to say that none has a particularly strong presence on LinkedIn. Again, there was no evidence of a strategic message for talent acquisition by any of these brands.

Only one of these companies, a manufacturer, doesn’t have a presence on Facebook. Otherwise, there is substantial evidence that they are making good use of social media. There is a lot of variation in the frequency of their messaging, but they are all working to develop a community of engaged followers.

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All of these brands are active on Twitter as well. The consumer oriented brands are generating the most activity and followers. The manufacturing company scored lowest on activity level whereas the CPG brand is "rocking it." With the exception of the manufacturing company, each of these firms also maintains a presence on Instagram and Pinterest. That was a pleasant surprise, but understandable as those platforms are consumer oriented.

My Clients recognize the importance of leveraging their presence on the Web to support their talent acquisition goals. Some are further along than others, however, each has established a beachhead. They have extended their reach and are becoming more experienced. I suspect there is a budget issue in play here as well. Generally speaking, the larger companies have a bigger social media footprint. They must recognize the value of this medium and have resourced their efforts. A notable exception is the smallest company which has made the greatest commitment to social media. Of course, that could be because it is a CPG-Digital company that markets its products on the Web. Even so, it is most curious that they don’t offer a compelling message to attract potential employees. They provide the process to make it easy for the motivated job seeker to make an application or to send a resume but offer little encouragement. None offered a compelling reason to consider a career with their company. Their message is directed toward their retail customer and prospective customers, but not prospective employees.

I found this to be a very useful exercise which requires further investigation. I made an effort to follow each of these companies on Twitter and LinkedIn. I also gave them my email address to receive their marketing communication. I am eager to learn about their messaging. It will be fun to watch their progress.

Jim Weber, President

New Century Dynamics Executive Search

JimWeber@NewCenturyDynamics.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators: Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

Current Assignments

1. COO- Atlanta-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company – New

2. Controller – Atlanta-based Consumer Products – Digital Company – New

3. Director of Biz Dev, Atlanta-based B2B Professional Services Company: Completed

4. Payroll-Benefits Manager, Atlanta-based Retail Company: Complete

5. Senior Accounting Manager – Atlanta-based Manufacturer. Complete

6. Controller – Atlanta-based Restaurant Company: New

7. Outplacement Assignment – Atlanta-based Manufacturer: New

July 13, 2017

Social Media Is A Game Changer!

During my career working for major retail brands, I knew the value of advertising on radio and television. Also known as major media, we could see the results of our buys, almost in real time. However, I understood the cost and limitations of traditional media. Successful advertising was all about the message. A lot of money could be quickly wasted if the message was not relevant. Social media has changed the game, especially for small business. These tools allow smaller companies to leverage their marketing budget to compete on a larger stage. It gives them a voice they could not achieve through major media. They can dialog with customers and prospects in a cost effective way. It is akin to the difference between a rifle and a shotgun. I have found social media to be very helpful in building my business.

Executive search is an interesting business. I am hired by employers, my clients, to find people who want to become their employees. One could say that I am selling prospective employees, so I guess Job Seekers are my inventory. Often, candidates become clients and vice versa. Over time, I have become more productive as my industry knowledge and relationships have grown. These relationships serve to generate more contracts and to complete assignments faster. My business is not unlike any other service-sector business as success is all about building lasting relationships. I learned that building and managing a large network is a viable strategy to build my business.

Early on, I recognized the value of talking to my clients and prospects. I created a database of followers and invited people to sign up for my periodic updates. By today’s standards, it was fairly primitive. I used Microsoft Outlook to manage my list, and mail merge. It began as a collection of clients and prospects. In time, as I received more unsolicited resumes, I added job seekers to my outreach. Later, I added strategic partners. I would tell these folks about my new assignments as well as assignments I had completed. That activity generated new business and more followers. I was an early adopter of LinkedIn and became involved with Facebook and Twitter. I didn’t understand the full potential of those applications at first. However, now I am a believer. I even migrated my email marketing campaign to Constant Contact and Mail Chimp.

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I learned the importance of blogging to engage prospects who needed employees, and to professionals who are interested in career advancement. The focus of my blog is on career issues facing Baby Boomers, my prospective candidate base. This is an important target audience, as they represent my primary placements. When I began blogging, social media became even more important. I began using Twitter to generate interest and to direct readers to my website. I subscribed to Hootsuite to expand my message to my followers on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+. I believe my experience with executive search is relevant to all small businesses. It is an effective business practice to maintain contact with customers, prospects, and prospective employees.

Now that I am building a Consulting Company, I am using the same digital marketing techniques to promote this line of business. In fact, I have adopted the social media platform I built for my executive search business to present this opportunity to my network. The results of this effort have been remarkable. I use social media to speak to prospective clients and to freelancers who may be interested in joining our company.

As I have done with my business, small companies should consider for theirs. Build a community of prospective job seekers. Last week I talked about using the company website to generate interest in employment opportunities. In the same way that one would reach out and cultivate prospective customers, companies should be talking to prospective employees to build a following. Maintain their interest in your brand for future employment opportunities. Depending on the nature of the business, prospective employees could become current customers. Social Media is an excellent way to engage these people.

Jim Weber, President

New Century Dynamics Executive Search

JimWeber@NewCenturyDynamics.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators: Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

Current Assignments

1. COO- Atlanta-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company – New

2. Controller – Atlanta-based Consumer Products – Digital Company – New

3. Director of Biz Dev, Atlanta-based B2B Professional Services Company: Completed

4. Payroll-Benefits Manager, Atlanta-based Retail Company: Complete

5. Senior Accounting Manager – Atlanta-based Manufacturer. Complete

6. Controller – Atlanta-based Restaurant Company: New

7. Outplacement Assignment – Atlanta-based Manufacturer: New

July 2, 2017

Talent Acquisition: Put Out The Welcome Sign!

A week ago Thursday, my colleague David introduced me to the principals of a small design-build company. These folks have a bit of a conundrum. Last year they hired an individual to fill a key position, however that person is not performing to their standards. He requires too much supervision and follow-up. The principals are having to cover much of his workload. They've decided to replace him and wanted to talk to me about conducting a confidential search. These folks have never hired an executive recruiter so they are curious as to my background and method of operation. They also want to know the cost of my services.

During our meeting, they spent a lot of time talking about their expectations for successful job performance and the shortfalls of the incumbent. They talked about the process they used to recruit him, including compensation and qualifications. It was clear to me that there was a major disconnect between the strategic importance of the position, the experience and skill set required, and their compensation package. Frankly, this is not uncommon for a small company.

Note: Successful companies are always recruiting talent, even if it's nothing more than networking and cataloging potential hires.

The following Monday morning, David called to advise me that the prospective client had been presented with the employee's resignation. Now they are really in a pickle. This is a key position that needs to be filled immediately. Productivity will suffer along with customer satisfaction. Their P&L is sure to be affected. They are serious about a search engagement and wanted to schedule a phone call with me to finalize an agreement.

The fact that the incumbent offered his resignation came as no surprise to me. When the relationship between employer and employee becomes strained it is mutual. Surprisingly, many employers fail to grasp this fact. I am equally confident that if I was to do an exit interview with this employee, he would say the job wasn't what he expected either.

When we had our conversation later that day, I got a clearer picture as to their thinking and how they wanted to proceed. I learned that they want to pursue a parallel path evaluating the acquisition of a W-2, regular employee, or a 1099 contractor. They also gave me a sense as to their cash flow situation and budget parameters for the search. I told them that I would outline a proposal for their review before noon the next day.

The smaller the company, the more critical turnover becomes. They typically have little excess staff. They are totally focused on work at hand and business development to the exclusion of an active recruiting program. This is understandable, if not something of an extreme case. An active recruiting program is an effective insurance program.

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Larger, more stable companies have the same issues as my perspective client. Working on an engagement last year, I quickly learned that the client underutilized the talent acquisition value of their web-site. They did not feature a “careers” tab prominently on their main menu. In fact, it was inconspicuously buried as a sub menu item. This company has had difficulty with ongoing recruiting, yet failed to put out a welcome sign for prospective team members. This was easy to correct. The follow-on step was to add a plug-in that collected resumes and job applications from interested candidates.

Minimizing the risk of turnover should be a priority for all organizations. Putting out a welcome sign to attract prospective employees is the starting point. A prominent page on the company website and on social media is ideal.

Jim Weber, President

New Century Dynamics Executive Search

JimWeber@NewCenturyDynamics.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators: Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

Current Assignments

1. COO- Atlanta-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company – New

2. Controller – Atlanta-based Consumer Products – Digital Company – New

3. Director of Biz Dev, Atlanta-based B2B Professional Services Company: Completed

4. Payroll-Benefits Manager, Atlanta-based Retail Company: Complete

5. Senior Accounting Manager – Atlanta-based Manufacturer. Complete

6. Controller – Atlanta-based Restaurant Company: New

7. Outplacement Assignment – Atlanta-based Manufacturer: New

June 25, 2017

Talent Acquisition In The New Normal Requires A Social Media Strategy

It isn't easy managing human resources in the new normal!

In the past year, I've been involved in consulting engagements to help small to midsize companies improve their team building efforts. These folks are finding it difficult to attract talent, especially as the market has tightened. They need help, but they're reluctant to engage professional help.

In this connection, I had an interesting discussion with a senior executive for a major financial services company located in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. He is having difficulty attracting new agents and keeping existing employees engaged. I listened to his frustrations for ninety minutes. What I found most interesting was not what he said, but what he didn't say. He did not speak of a recruiting strategy using social media. As we were closing our discussion, I suggested that his company would be well served by treating employees and recruits as customers. His feedback to that comment was entirely nonverbal, a blank stare indicating total confusion. If I was to draw a cartoon image of the encounter the caption over his head would've read "tilt." He failed to make the connection.

Major companies have the resources to support their recruiting program and to understand the needs of their labor force. They actively manage their culture and invest in tools to achieve their recruiting and selection goals. They monitor the attitudes of their employees and respond to their needs. They treat their employees like customers.

I am reminded of a former employer before I started my recruiting business. It was a major consumer products company that placed a high value on manpower planning. In many respects, they set the standard for creating a highly productive, engaged workforce. One year they did a climate survey of the corporate office staff which generated some interesting results. The employees complained that they worked so many hours that they had little time for mundane personal tasks like banking or Dry Cleaning. This company, being highly responsive to the needs of their internal customers remodeled the corporate office adding a branch bank and laundry service. Clearly, their heart was in the right place, even if they missed the point of the feedback. The employees wanted their company to dial back the workload so they could choose how to improve their quality of life. Now I must admit that this is third-hand information so it could be erroneous, however, based on my time working for this company, this story rings true. I am confident that their response today is more on target.

Smaller companies have a more difficult time with recruiting, selection, onboarding, and retention. They're focused on client acquisition, but don't quite understand how to maintain a highly productive workforce while minimizing turnover. Most have had little training in the fundamentals of interviewing or making effective hiring decisions.

Much of the labor pool is composed of Millennials who Baby-Boomers find difficult to understand. They have a distinct set of values and expectations from employment. They must be recruited and managed differently. Social media can be a very powerful tool in this regard.

Many mid-caps are out of phase with the labor market in the new normal. They may be making a heroic effort toward consumer outreach, but they are old-school in the way they recruit new employees. In fact, many don't understand the new employment dynamic. They are using outdated strategies that just don't work.

Most companies are doing well with their digital marketing efforts to attract new customers. To be competitive at talent acquisition they must employ the same strategies. They should be developing communities of prospective employees and keep them interested in the opportunity for employment. The goal is to generate a continuous flow of job seekers, minimizing the need for outside recruiters. To support this strategy, training is recommended to become better interviewers and to improve candidate selection decisions. To minimize turnover and to keep employees engaged, customer loyalty programs should be developed for employees.

Treat job seekers as customers for successful talent acquisition in The New Normal.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber, President
New Century Dynamics Executive Search
JimWeber@NewCenturyDynamics.com
Author of: Fighting Alligators: Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

Current Assignments
1. COO- Atlanta-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company – New
2. Controller – Atlanta-based Consumer Products – Digital Company – New
3. Director of Biz Dev, Atlanta-based B2B Professional Services Company: Completed
4. Payroll-Benefits Manager, Atlanta-based Retail Company: Complete
5. Senior Accounting Manager – Atlanta-based Manufacturer. Complete
6. Controller – Atlanta-based Restaurant Company: New
7. Outplacement Assignment – Atlanta-based Manufacturer: New

June 19, 2017

New Century Dynamics Has Landed Another Controller Search Assignment!

New Century Dynamics is pleased to announce a new search assignment for a Financial Controller. The Client is an Atlanta-based, CPG-digital company.

This position reports directly to the President and CEO and has responsibility for overseeing the Human Resources functions.

This position is part of the company’s leadership team. It is responsible for interfacing with financial systems to ensure that financial and operational data are available in a meaningful format to support timely decisions. The function’s strategic component centers around developing new ideas, systems, and technology, while analyzing and improving on old ones. Areas of primary concern include inventory and supply chain, relationships with professional and financial services providers, and providing leadership to SITP.

Position Requirements:

Must have a minimum of 10 years of strong operational experience: ideally has worked in a senior management role for two years in a small business or startup. Experience working for a consumer product or Ecommerce company is strongly preferred.

Demonstrated experience in financial planning and analysis with previous experience overseeing human resources, information technology, and legal.

Skills should include organizational development, personnel management, budget and resource development, and strategic planning.

For more information and your referrals contact me at:

James E. Weber, President

NEW CENTURY DYNAMICS EXECUTIVE SEARCH

Experts in the Confidential Search!

770-649-7051

JimWeber@newcenturydynamics.com

www.newcenturydynamics.com

Blog: FIGHTING ALLIGATORS

June 17, 2017

Exit Planning or Succession Planning is a Team Sport.

Article by David Shavzin

Exit Planning or Succession Planning is a Team Sport. When I speak on exit planning/succession planning, I talk about four high-level steps; Succession Planning; Knowing Your Business Value; Transferable Value Drivers; Exit / Succession Planning; and Business Exit Options.

Step 1: [Tweet “Exit and Succession Planning is a Team Sport”]

We have advisers and coaches in all facets of life. But in this most important area for our future, for our family and for our retirement, most business owners are pretty much just “winging it”. Oh, they may have an accountant but not much more of a team to focus on exit planning in all its facets.

That team is critical for successful succession planning.

Business owners start their companies to create their future. But they often lose sight of the key to making that future happen – building value. They get caught up in the day-to-day and don’t get to implementing the sustainable, positive change that allows them to transition on their own terms.

Consider: “…78 percent of small-business-owner clients plan to sell their businesses to fund their retirement. The proceeds are needed to fund 60 percent to 100 percent of their retirement needs. Yet, less than 30 percent of clients actually have a written succession plan…”

[I would suggest that 30% is generous, and even if accurate, that those plans are not very effective, for growth or for exit planning.]

When I speak on exit planning/succession planning/transition planning, I talk about four high-level components. The first component is to Build a Team of Advisers.

Nobody knows everything about everything. Many of my clients are in creative industries, designing, creating, building. You don’t want me in that role. But I have worked with many organizations and have a different experience and skill set than my clients. I bring ideas and experience from many industries and many client engagements. The other critical exit planning team members bring their own expertise to the table. These should include:

Business Consultant / Coach
CPA
Financial Adviser
Business Attorney
Insurance Expert
Estate Planning Attorney
Banker
Business Transaction Expert

When I work with a client, we build this team. The players may already be in place. Or, we may bring in advisers where there is a gap. Either way, we need this core team working with the owner. A business is complex. An action taken in marketing impacts finance, HR, and more. Big decisions need to take into account the effect on the whole organization and should support clear goals focused on building value.

The client receives much better advice and guidance with this approach.

This does not mean that you are going to start hiring all of these people and employing them full time as you work toward your transition…especially if you have a few years to go. But, you should use them strategically as you build your business plan/succession plan. With major decisions on growth, expenditures, hiring…engage their expertise.

The Bottom Line;
Find advisers who understand what you are all about. And, find those who understand your growth and exit planning objectives. More importantly, find advisers with whom you can feel comfortable. Make sure that they can work together and with you as a team.

David Shavzin, CMC
Shavzin & Associates, Inc.

770-329-5224
Our BLOG // LinkedIn // www.ShavzinAssociates.com

dshavzin@shavzinassociates.com

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber, President

New Century Dynamics Executive Search

JimWeber@NewCenturyDynamics.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators: Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

Current Assignments

1. COO- Atlanta-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company – New

2. Controller – Atlanta-based Consumer Products – Digital Company – New

3. Director of Biz Dev, Atlanta-based B2B Professional Services Company: Complete

4. Payroll-Benefits Manager, Atlanta-based Retail Company: Complete

5. Senior Accounting Manager – Atlanta-based Manufacturer. Complete

6. Controller – Atlanta-based Restaurant Company: New

7. Outplacement Assignment – Atlanta-based Manufacturer: New

June 11, 2017

Business Development’s Role in Digital Social Media

The Currency of Digital Social Media is Visibility

The Value of Visibility is a Derivative of Relevance of Content

Trying to frame the workings of the internet within the context of traditional offline business activity is analogous to applying the terminology horseless carriage to describe the automobile circa 1900. The internet opens up seemingly unlimited possibilities; however one must be ready to expand their range of thinking to maximize its potential much like comparing playing chess on a traditional chessboard to playing on a 3D chessboard.

This new way of thinking can be illustrated by how CBS has shifted its evaluation of its programming from traditional Nielsen ratings to their ranking on social media. Quick question: Which late night TV host is most followed on the internet? You might be surprised to learn it is not Jimmy Fallon or Stephen Colbert; the two leading hosts ranked by Nielsen, the arbiter of television ratings. They are not even close. Nor is it one of the other 11:30pm primetime late night show hosts. It is James Corden, who follows Stephen Colbert on CBS at 12:30pm EST.

Fallon, Colbert and the other late night hosts are not carried by local broadcast stations globally, neither is Corden. But Corden’s popular recurring sketch, Carpool Karaoke in which he sings with singing sensations and celebrities such as Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, and with Michele Obama have been outrageously successful on the internet. The clip of Corden singing with Adele alone had over 129 million views and was the most-watched YouTube video of 2016.

CBS, the network that broadcasts Corden’s, The Late Late Night Show refers to Corden’s global popularity as having relevance and defines relevance as a value in the currency of visibility. Similar to bitcoin currency, the currency of visibility is ethereal and must be converted to U.S. dollar currency. CBS monetized Corden’s relevance by creating a Car Karaoke YouTube channel and partnering with Google AdSense generating revenue from the number of views from the show’s nine million subscribers.*

The fundamental marketing principle for developing business through digital social media is that the more people who become aware of your company increase the potential for doing business with them and their companies. Search engine optimization for online social media sites allows for individual customization of your marketing message. More importantly, it provides the opportunity to have a dialogue between your potential client and your company.

The challenge for most companies is how they can profit from digital social media. One rule has been established by the market; you should not use digital social media to blatantly advertise or to directly sell anything.

As dramatically demonstrated by CBS and Corden, relevant content is the secret sauce that distinguishes and elevates your visibility over the competition. The question most often asked by companies is how they can increase their company’s visibility. The currency of digital social media is visibility. The value of visibility is a derivative of the relevance of content.

Content needs to be current. You can identify current issues and trends that are of interest to businesses in your industry by reviewing what is being posted on digital social media and craft your company’s social media to respond to the culture.

There are volumes readily available on the internet for why it is important and how to develop business via digital social media. However, consideration should be given to work with companies that specialize in digital social media because of the connectivity for all of your online activity from security, e-commerce, and other Internet issues.

An online marketing campaign requires the equivalent strategic process for crafting an offline outreach plan that communicates your company’s value proposition. The key is to carefully define your company’s target firmographics and demographics who would be interested in your company’s products/services. The same consideration should also be given for ROI for digital social media costs, measured regarding dollars, time and effort required.

There is a multitude of social media sites. eBizMBA Rank continually updates averages of each website's U.S. Traffic Rank from Quantcast and Global Traffic Rank from Alexa and SimilarWeb. The most popular social media sites as determined by eBizMBA Rank on May 1, 2017, are listed below.

Social Media Site	eBizMBA Rank	Est. Unique Monthly Visitors
Facebook	1	1,500,000,000
YouTube	2	1,499,000,000
Twitter	3	400,000,000
Instagram	4	275,000,000
LinkedIn	5	250,000,000

There is not an ideal social media site for every company. Understanding your target firmographics and demographics will determine your optimal social media sites for your company’s products/services. Measuring the value of having a lot of viewers and relevance are subjective and will vary from each company. For example, if you are an art dealer, having viewership or correspondence with only a thousand wealthy art collectors is more valuable than having viewership from ten thousand people whose interest and disposable income are not known.

Connecting your value proposition to your company’s target firmographics and demographics is essential for offline and online marketing. A business development professional can provide the strategy and implementation for offline strategies and for balance content and relevance for visibility for online social media.

*The author would like to give credit for references to Corden and CBS to A. O. Scott for his article, James Corden Is in the Driver's Seat, published by Esquire in Feb. 2017.

Arthur R Ruderman, Principal

InnovativeGrowthSolutions

A B2B Corporate & Business Development Company

Partner, ITB Partners

Artie.Ruderman@itbpartners.com

June 4, 2017

Breaking the Feast or Famine Cycle: Part 2 Tell your Story

Last week I listened to a social media marketing webinar. Recognizing the difficulty of selling for many, the presenter said, "make it easy for people to buy from you." A very subtle but interesting twist of thinking. Military tacticians might call this a flanking maneuver. In other words, don't approach your prospects where their defenses are the strongest. Contact them through their trusted associates and friends who know your work. Deploy the power of your network.

Your network may be your most valuable business development asset. To be effective, they must understand your strategy and capabilities. They must know what you are trying to accomplish and how to help you. You must keep them informed through periodic updates.

When I started my business, internet marketing was in its infancy. I began using email blasts to keep my network up to date on my work. My outreach reminded people that I was landing new contracts and that I was successfully completing my work. I would even profile exceptional candidates. It was an excellent way to generate interest and new business. I was pleased to learn that my emails had been forwarded three or more times, expanding my audience. Talk about the power of networking! To better manage my email marking program, I eventually migrated over to Constant Contact and Mail Chimp. These tools help me maintain top-of-mind awareness so that when the need arises my clients and prospects know to call me.

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You must work to build your network continually. If your network isn’t growing, it is probably shrinking. Become active, making new contacts. Give them a reason to follow you. I use ‘call to action’ buttons on my website, email signature line, and social media accounts, inviting people to join my email list.

Put your clients on your team and encourage them to support your business development efforts. If they are agreeable, identify them alongside your completed contracts. This is the time-tested “Band Wagon Strategy.” I have a friend who refuses to consider this technique. He considers it to be unethical. Unfortunately, his business suffers frequent famines, from this failure. When you complete an assignment successfully, ask the client for a reference and referrals. This is an effective way to leverage your relationship.

Most freelancers I know use LinkedIn, an excellent networking tool. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete and fully describes your services. This simple point is often neglected, which works against one’s goals. Spend the extra money for a paid subscription. The added benefits are worth the expense, especially the ease of direct contact with prospects, and the SEO feature. When I perform a Google search of my name or brand name, my LinkedIn page is listed before my website. This feature makes it easier for people to find me. Generate more exposure and contacts by participating in LinkedIn groups that match your interests. Another small but often overlooked technique is to place a link to your LinkedIn page in all of your correspondence, usually in the signature section. Simple, right?

LinkedIn provides your clients the ability to give you a recommendation. I like to place their quotes on my website as well. Make it easy for them by writing your reference. They can edit to their liking so you can cut and paste into your LinkedIn page.

If you want to step it up a notch, start a blog and promote it to your network. My blog is based on my experiences. I like to reach out to contacts and prospects to get their thoughts on my projects, then quote them on my blog. This is a great twist on the Cold Call. In fact, it is a non-threatening sales call where the prospect is happy to talk with you. Admittedly, this takes a little more time but is manageable if spread over a few days. My blog posts become job search reference material for my candidates.

You have a vast array of tools to use, including Facebook, Twitter, and blogging to promote your business. They are low-cost ways to communicate the benefits of your brand. For a success, make time to put them into effect. Help your network help you!

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber, President

New Century Dynamics Executive Search

JimWeber@NewCenturyDynamics.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators: Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

Current Assignments

1. COO- Atlanta-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company – New

2. Director of Business Dev, Atlanta-based B2B Professional Services Company: Complete
3. Payroll-Benefits Manager, Atlanta-based Retail Company: Complete
4. Senior Accounting Manager – Atlanta-based Manufacturer. Complete
5. Controller – Atlanta-based Restaurant Company: New

6. Outplacement Assignment – Atlanta-based Manufacturer: New

May 28, 2017

Beating The Feast Or Famine Cycle: Safety In Numbers

It is gratifying to receive positive feedback for one of my posts, especially if it is a personal request for a discussion. Actually, I received inquiries from two freelancers who had read last week’s post regarding my recruiting efforts for In The Black Partners. They wanted to know if our program would fit their needs. I was pleased to learn that I had made an impression on these folks and we scheduled a time to talk.

I was interested in learning how they promoted their business. What were they doing to overcome the “feast or famine cycle?” Were they making a seamless transition from one project to the next? This question is important to me as our value proposition addresses this issue. I learned that they need help promoting their businesses. They are mostly focused on word-of-mouth marketing and networking. None of them talked about any digital marketing efforts.

Many freelancers rely on word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing. I am a firm believer in WOM as it is a powerful way to build a business. I endorse it completely. However, word-of-mouth marketing is too passive to be an exclusive promotional strategy. It is based on the hope that clients will say good things about you. As the saying goes, “hope is not a strategy.” Even WOM promotion must be managed proactively.

If you have made it to the point where you are ready to become a freelancer you probably have a well-established network. This is your principle asset. The goal is to turn those relationships into recurring revenue. The challenge is maintaining top-of-mind awareness for your brand. By managing your network you can create a Business Development machine. However important, this can be a time-consuming endeavor for free agents.

Time is the freelancer’s nemesis. If they focus 100% on their current projects there is no time left to prospect for new business. When you're not selling you aren't generating revenue. The first step in breaking the cycle is to schedule time to pitch your business. Making a commitment to spend one day a week promoting one’s business is an admirable goal. But, it is a goal that is very difficult to achieve. Most freelancers will agree.

Developing the skills to develop and execute a digital marketing strategy is also time-consuming. In fact, one could easily question the rationale for developing these skills unless one’s practice is related to marketing and public relations. It is generally better to focus your efforts on your strengths and employ outsourced solutions to compensate for your weaker areas. This is a sensible decision if funds are available.

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Executive search is as close to pure marketing as I have seen. There may be better examples, like direct mail marketing or network marketing but few other businesses seem to come close. Whomever I talk with is a prospective client, a prospective candidate, a referral source, or all of the above. Everyone! My work is all about talking to people, so every point of contact is brand building and selling in one form or another. Even so, in addition to networking, I employ a fairly comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

As mentioned in my last post, helping freelancers break the feast or famine cycle is part of our mission. Now, more than any other time in history, we have powerful tools to promote your business. Email marketing, social media marketing; blogging; and webinars, for example, have been game changers. However, it is still difficult for a single freelancer to find the time and resources to network, and to execute a digital marketing strategy.

Let’s face it, selling isn’t easy. For many freelancers, it’s dreaded; especially dealing with rejection, a normal part of the process. Rejection can be painful, and we humans tend to avoid pain. So, we devote less time to selling. Cold calling is the worst. Forget about it! But, we must sell or face the famine! To become a successful freelancer you must leverage your time and financial resources. The best way to accomplish this is to become affiliated with a larger group of free agents. We recommend an association with an organized group of freelancers working together as a brand.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber, President

New Century Dynamics Executive Search

JimWeber@NewCenturyDynamics.com

Author of: Fighting Alligators: Job Search Strategy For The New Normal

Current Assignments

1. COO- Atlanta-based Casual Dining Restaurant Company – New

6. Outplacement Assignment – Atlanta-based Manufacturer: New