The Forgotten Sales Team

Often, as companies try to pump up their sales volume, they forget to turn toward one of the most valuable and cost effective sales tools they have, their employees. By making sure your staff is engaged and interested in the company's operations and goals, you activate a powerful tool in your sales tool belt. There are a couple of reasons that this helps your sales efforts.

First, an engaged and motivated workforce tends to do a better job. They care more about the job they are doing because they better understand their role in the overall success of the organization. This always translates into fewer mistakes and more delighted customers. That translates into positive word of mouth, the holy grail of marketing.

Second, a staff that knows and understands the companies goals, can articulate those when they engage with others. When a customer or a prospect hears about the benefits of a product or services line from everyone she interacts with, and not just the sales manager, she is much more likely to accept the message and act on it.

So engage your entire workforce to get the most out of your sales efforts!

A Novel Approach to Marketing

Why would anyone expect to learn anything useful from reading classic literature?  

No one in their right mind would expect to have to navigate the traditions of the royal court in 18^th century Russia or have to survive the trials and tribulations of the debtors’ prisons in Dickensian London.  

Knowing how a whaling boat operates or what it was like to take a road trip with hipsters in the 50's or how it felt to be a slave in the American South will not help you prepare your presentation on social media for tomorrow’s webinar.

The truth is great literature is, by and large, about people.  It is about how people think and how they talk and interact with each other.  Great literature deals with human relationships, motivations, fears and ambitions.  

And great marketing is about developing and nurturing relationships.  I have learned more about relationships from novels than from how to books.  I have read more truth about the human condition in biographies and memoirs than in any journal article.

Pick up a novel sometime.  You might learn something!

On the go

If you're wondering if mobile computing is ever really going to "take off," check out these astounding statistics from a variety of sources:

• 1.7 billion people using mobile internet services by 2013.*
• By 2014, mobile internet is estimated to overcome PC internet use.*
• 56% of American adults are now smartphone owners. (Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2013)
• Mobile now accounts for 12 percent of Americans’ media consumption time, triple its share in 2009. (Source: Digiday, 2013)
• Twice as many web ready mobile devices today as PCs.*
• 700% growth in traffic on smart phones by 2015.*
• Of the 70 percent of shoppers who used a mobile phone while in a retail store during the holidays, 62 percent accessed that store’s site or app and only 37 percent of respondents accessed a competitor’s site or app. (Source: ForeSee, 2013)
• Retailers’ apps with store mode gather five times more engagement. (Source: Point Inside, 2013)
• Last year, only 12% of consumers bought anything through social media. (Source: PwC, 2013)
• By the end of 2013, there were more mobile devices on Earth than people. (Source: Cisco, 2013)
• Mobile internet is growing faster than desktop internet ever did.*
• Mobile data traffic is expected to increase by almost 4000% by 2014.*
• 25% of international media and marketing executives see mobile as the most disruptive force in their industry. (Source: AdMedia Partners, 2013)
• 65% of U.S. shoppers research products and services on a PC and make a purchase in-store. (Source: Cisco, 2013)
• 54% use or would like to use digital touchscreens in-store. (Source: Cisco, 2013)
• 48% use or would like to use a smartphone to shop while in-store or on the go. (Source: Cisco, 2013)
• 80% of smartphone owners want more mobile-optimized product information while they’re shopping in stores. (Source: Moosylvania, 2013)
• Nearly 50% of shoppers believe they are better informed than store associates. (Source: Motorola, 2013)
• Americans spend an average of 2.7 hours on mobile internet each day.*
• 75 percent of Americans bring their phones to the bathroom. (Source: Digiday, 2013)
• Mobile brand exposure can be more effective than other media messages. Mobile internet users are 60% more likely to be open to mobile advertising than the average mobile data user.*
• Mobile visits to Facebook increased by 112% and Twitter by 374%.*
• It took 20 years for the first billion mobile internet subscribers and only 40 months for the second billion.*

          *Data collected from Adobe Web Analytics, Omniture, Smart Insights, Mobile Marketing Statistics 2013 by eSchool.

The summary of all that data (and there was much more I could have included) is that mobile computing is exploding.  What that means, is that while many of us marketers are struggling to figure out how to make social media relevant and valuable to our marketing strategy, we must now also consider mobile computing.

Including mobile computing into your marketing strategy is more than just making sure your website looks good on a smartphone.  It is figuring out how to use the unique aspects of mobile computing to enhance the customer's shopping experience.  It might include promotions or strategies to lure people who are near your physical location into your establishment, or it might be ways to engage visitors once they cross the threshhold.

It also means you need to understand that customers are comparison shopping while in your store; with your competitors and with your own online presence.

Marketing and communications are changing.  The tools that we have to reach customers and other stakeholders are constantly changing as well.  And the speed of that change seems to ramping up faster than the speeds of computers.

The important thing to remember is that the key responsibility of marketing to communicate with and develop relationships with customers and prospective customers has not changed.  You probably won't participate in every new tech innovation that comes along.  You probably shouldn't.  But don't have your head in the sand either.  Keep yourself aware of what the opportunities are and identify those that are strong opportunities for your business.  Then try your best to take advantage of all the new opportunties to make your brand shine.

You need to adapt some of the new technology.  You don't want to stay in one place because your customers are obviously on the go!

Related articles

• 7 Ways Mobile Will Change Business In 2014
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Change is Inevitable

"You can go amazing places when you quit stepping on the brakes."
Dr. Larry Iverson

"Oh the places you'll go..."  Dr. Seuss

Change is inevitable.

With technology growth, demographic shifts, political turmoil, and business evolution, "the way things used to be" and "we've always done it that way" just doesn't cut it anymore.

The challenge, then, is to figure out how to deal with change.  It is too easy to simply say you must embrace change, because not all change is good change.  Think of leisure suits.

The challenge is to figure out which changes are good for your organization; which changes will help you soar to new heights  Then embrace THOSE changes.

I know of no perfect way to identify which are the good choices.  Even Apple didn't have an iPad with every product release.

But once you decide to embrace a change, you need to commit to it.  Embrace it with gusto!  Push forward with it.  No two-footed driving with one foot on the brakes and one foot on the gas.  Once you decide on pursuing a change do it with courage and conviction.  Floor it!

As Drs. Iverson and Seuss suggest above, you can go to some pretty amazing places!

The Final Say

"Don't let it end like this.  Tell them I said something."
Pancho Villa, last words 1877 - 1923

Endings are important.  When it comes to customer service, endings are perhaps the most important time in the customer interaction, primarily because it is your last chance to leave the customer with a good impression, the last chance to correct any mistakes or missteps and the last chance to make things exceptional.

I was once eating lunch with a colleague at a restaurant that was part of a national chain.  During the course of lunch, a cockroach crawled across our table.  Neither of us at the table were happy about that, but neither of us freaked out either.  It did put a certain pallor on our lunch, which ended sooner than we had expected because of the unexpected visitor.  When I mentioned what had happened to our server, she expressed appropriate dismay and asked us to wait to talk with the manager.

My first response was that this was good.  They were taking our experience seriously and wanted restaurant management to know and have a chance to apologize.  But as my colleague and I waited for more than 15 minutes to talk with the manager (we kept being told he would be right there) our anger at the situation grew.
By making us wait for so long (this was a business day and we both had to get back to work), the manager took what would have been a minor situation and escalated it.  Instead of giving us the impression that they took the cleanliness of the restaurant and the quality of our experience seriously, the absent manager highlighted the fact that we just weren't that important.

We had more than 15 minutes to think about the little creature that crawled across our table and what that probably meant about how many of his siblings were crawling around other parts of the restaurant.  As we had more than 15 minutes to wait, we thought about the meals that we didn't finish due to this incident, the time this was costing us waiting for the manager and the poor attitude of the staff (actually only the manager, but anger has a way of painting with a broad brush.)

When the manager finally decided to attend to us, he immediately went into a rather lengthy and detailed description of all the pest control measures that the restaurant engaged in, which is now and forevermore the first thing I think of when I think of this chain.  I am sure their advertising agency will be pleased to know that.  It also seemed as if the manager was saying that we couldn't possibly have seen a cockroach because they invest a small fortune on chemicals and exterminators to keep them at bay.  In the end, the manager spent another 10 or 15 minutes blathering on about restaurant pest management as if he were preparing for the test on that chapter of the manager's manual.

When I finally interrupted him and told him that we needed to be going he asked us to wait just a minute more and scurried off (somewhat like a cockroach I was thinking at this point.)  When he returned he proudly handed us each certificates for a free dessert, next time we returned and purchased a meal.  He then charged us for the full meal we were unable to finish.  We shook our heads, paid our bill and left.  It took me and my family more than 10 years to go back to any store in that chain.

The manager missed an opportunity by a mile.  By ignoring us and our situation, he ended the situation poorly.  A little sympathy would have made us go away satisfied and we probably would have forgotten it after a few retellings around the office.  A discount of our bill or waiving the bill altogether would have made a bold statement and probably would have had us leaving the restaurant feeling pretty good about the place.  A bold action like that would have said to us that they cared about our experience and since our experience wasn't great, they wanted to do something about it.  I suspect it also would have helped us feel that it didn't happen very often because they couldn't afford to waive everyone's lunch receipt.

YOU have the final say on what type of experience your customers have.  YOU have control over the last impression you and your organization makes before your customer walks out or logs off.  Especially when a customer has a poor or less than excellent experience, YOU have the chance to turn it around into something positive.

YOU have the final say!  Make it count!

**********
Everything is Marketing will not be published this Friday as I will be out of state attending a memorial service for my father-in-law.  Please take the time you would normally spend reading my blog to call or write to a loved one and tell them what they mean to you.  See you again on Monday.
Bill

Discoveries

In recognition of Columbus Day, I thought I would briefly highlight some of the ways I make discoveries that help me solve problems and create opportunities in my work life.

• Networking:  By networking and maintaining that casual, social network of professionals in my field of endeavor, I almost always gather new ideas or possible solutions to old problems.  The simple act of talking with people can help me make discoveries of new ideas and techniques.  It also helps me develop, grow and maintain a support system.  I try to network with smart people from a variety of backgrounds and professions, because I find it more interesting and the conversations more worthwhile.  Anything that pulls me away from the desk for a cup of coffee, lunch or a drink every once in a while, while still providing work benefits, needs to be practiced with regularity!
• Contests:  I participate in professional contests in which I submit work to be judged.  The value of this is in the evaluation of my work by the judges more than any awards that I might win.  Having said that, it is always nice to be able to bring back awards certificates to the office to show my boss and board that I might know what I am doing!  
• Attend Awards Ceremonies: When I am not able to participate in contests (usually because I missed the deadline), I still try to attend contest award ceremonies.  Many of these programs allow you to view award winners and sometimes take samples.   Talking to winners and reading about their award-winning work shows me how others are addressing challenges and opportunities similar to mine.
• Judge Contests:  Better even than participating in a contest is judging one.  This is better because it allows me to see a variety of projects and forces me to evaluate them.  I have never participated in judging without coming up with at least one great idea which I later "borrowed."
• Read voraciously:  I try to read, or at least scan, material from a lot of different sources. The in-depth perspective you get from a book is different than the overview nature of a magazine article which is different than a blog or internet post.  By trying to expose myself to a variety of sources, I get different ways of looking at issues, different ways at addressing a problem or challenge.  My reading is not limited to books and magazines on marketing and communications related topics.  I strongly suggest that it is more important to read books of other disciplines and broad-based business publications as well as fiction, history, and other non-fiction.  All of these will help you gain a better insight into the workings of the human mind.  Reading outside of your current discipline can also help expand your awareness of issues you are working with, help you develop stronger business empathy and, candidly, be a nice break from dealing with the same topic all day!
• Volunteer:  Volunteering has many advantages.  In addition to being good karma and allowing me to feel the benefit of doing something for others, volunteering helps me get a fresh perspective on my job.  By getting involved in another organization, I can often find a different way of addressing tasks I have to deal with at work.  Whenever possible, I get involved in responsibilities different than those I have at work. When the marketer becomes the Little League treasurer, and the IT head manages the inventory for the homeless shelter, they gain a new perspective and greater insight into how organizations run.  That greater insight helps them do their job more creatively.  

How do you discover new lands and new approaches to your problems and challenges?

Egg Baskets

When I was young, I had a best friend, Jimmy.  I spent most of my time playing with Jimmy.  We'd catch grasshoppers in the vacant lot, build forts in the strangest places, and and ride our bikes everywhere we could and a few places we couldn't.

Then one summer, something changed.  I didn't realize something had changed until Jimmy stood me up at the bus to go to the city pool for the third time. It bothered me when I realized that Jimmy just didn't show up instead of telling me that he didn't want to go to the pool.

While it hurt a little that Jimmy had found other friends, the larger problem was that I spent most of my time hanging out with Jimmy.  I really didn't have that many other friends.  It was a long and lonely summer.

A lot of businesses, particularly small businesses, have the same problem.  They have one or a few customers who make up the bulk of their business.  All (or most) of their revenue eggs are in that basket.

This creates a difficult situation for those companies, especially if they are small or medium-sized. Company A cannot afford NOT to focus on #1 Customer.  They can't divert precious resources (at least very many) to finding and cultivating new customers because they need to keep #1 Customer happy because without #1 Customer, Company A will have little or no revenue and they will be done as a business.  On the other hand, Company A needs other customers to make up the revenue if #1 Customer ever moves on to another supplier, for whatever reason.

When your company finds itself with most of its revenue eggs in one basket, there are two primary things you need to do:

1. Take care of the basket with all of the eggs!  First and foremost, keep that #1 customer happy.  Make sure they don't have a reason to move on.  Obviously, to this point the company has been geared to serving this customer or small collection of customers.  Keep that focus on specialized customer service as strong as possible.  Innovation and new services, to the extent that you are able to offer them, should be geared toward addressing the needs of your current customers.  Meanwhile...
2. Put a few eggs in other baskets...just in case.  Whenever possible, cultivate additional customers.  For small companies, this most likely will be a small move at first.  But if done with regularity, you will be able to build up a more diverse client list, which will mean more relationships for the company and, more importantly, more diverse sources of revenues.  The services and innovation you introduce to keep and grow your relationship with the #1 customer is bound to address the needs of other potential customers.  It is important to do this because you never know when you might drop your main egg basket!

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Why?

Last Friday, I published my 200th post to this blog.  When I hit 100 posts last December, I vowed to myself, and publicly to all of you, that I would get the second hundred posts written and published within a year.  I kept my promise.

I get asked from time to time, why I spend the time and effort writing this blog.  I mostly get asked that question by my Dad.  "What do YOU get out of it," he asks when the topic comes up.

There are many reasons, all simple AND complicated, that I write this blog.  One of those reasons is that it gives me a chance to write.  On topics of my choosing.  In a format of my choosing.  According to a schedule of my choosing.  Have you noticed a pattern?

I also write this blog because it gets me reading all of those books and magazines I keep meaning to read.  I need to read to get ideas, keep current on marketing and communications issues and find good stories to share with you.  I need to read so that all of my blog rantings aren't based just on lessons I learned in college way back in the 70s and 80s.

I write this blog because it is one of the ways that I exercise that creative muscle that I talked about on Friday (see here).  Trying to write interesting, somewhat original blogs three times a week takes some time and practice.  But I find that the more I do it, the easier it is and the better I am.  At least that's what I tell myself!

I blog in the hope of finding an audience.  Nothing thrills me more than getting a comment from someone who wants to explore a point I made in a blog.  Nothing surprises me quite so much as when someone out of the blue makes such a comment.  Every writer wonders if there is an audience for what they scribble.  I occassionally get an indication that there is.

I write this blog because it is fun.  I enjoy writing and being able to tell stories and share ideas.  I enjoy working on ways to enhance the look and appeal of this blog.  I enjoy trying strategies to find new audiences.

But to me, probably the most important reason I write this blog is it is a way that I can give back. Perhaps it is the latent teacher in me, but I feel a need to share all of these life lessons learned and stories I've heard or read.  I feel driven to try to stimulate some thinking about marketing and communication, business and social responsibilty with whomever wanders by.

I feel drawn to teaching, and this is my classroom.

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10 Tips on Writing from David Ogilvy

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of learning from our elders, even if they have never used Twitter.  With that in mind, today I bring you a 10 tips on writing by advertising great, and original "Mad Man," David Ogilvy.  As I read these tips, I find myself reaching for a skinny tie and a martini as much as a pen and paper.  The tips below can be found in the book, The Unpublished David Ogilvy.  Enjoy!

The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather.

People who think well, write well.

Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches.

Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well.

Here are 10 hints:

1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing.  Read it three times.
2. Write the way you talk.  Naturally.
3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally.  They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it.  Read it aloud the next morning -- and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don't write.  Go and tell the guy what you want.

                                                         David

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The Local Newspaper

There is nothing quite like a local newspaper.  It is a unique information source.  It is a unique community resource.

It is the local newspaper that lets you know about the high school soccer team or the city council debate on zoning law changes.  It is the local newspaper that highlights the local almost-celebrity, tells you about the opening of a new business, and provides you a review of a local theater production.

It is a local reporter who works for a local newspaper that often uncovers a local politician who bends the truth, or the law.  It is that reporter who writes the Freedom of Information Act requests and sits through the city council meetings to ensure that someone is paying attention to the actions of those in power.

It is the local reporter and the local newspaper who hold up the small town heroes, philanthropists, business owners and politicians when they do something extraordinary.  It is that same reporter and newspaper who tell you, sometimes with barely contained disappointment, or rage, when those same people puts their own interests in front of the interest of the public.

Because of these things, I subscribe to several local newspapers.

Because I want to make sure there is someone to sit through the municipal meetings, I subscribe to a local newspaper.

Because I think the fourth estate is a vitally important part of the United States governance structure, I subscribe to a local newspaper.

Virtually every major news story started with a local reporter, somewhere, noticing something and following up on his instincts.  Because I want a strong and active news media and because I feel that local newspapers are more independent and more likely to follow a lead regardless of the implications, I subscribe to local newspapers.

I understand that my subscription fee actually does very little to cover the expenses of publishing the newspapers I read.  BUT, those newspapers sell advertising based on the numbers of readers and subscribers they have.  By subscribing and reading my local newspapers, I am helping them sell advertising and stay alive.

By subscribing and reading local newspapers I am supporting grassroots journalism and community development, community focused media and editorial engagement.  I am supporting an open and informed society.

Not bad for a little bit of newsprint and ink!

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False Advertising

The reputation of the advertising industry is such that most people expect a certain amount of exageration and stretching of the truth in commercial messages designed to sell you a product or a service.

It has become somewhat anticipated that the hamburger won't be as big or juicy as it is in the photo, the shampoo won't make your hair as shiny and manageable as it shows in the video, or the service provider won't be as cheerful and knowledgeable as they claim in the webinar.  Many people expect that the three out of four doctors who recommended the toothpaste/pain killer/weight loss treatment are getting paid or are relatives of the CEO.

This cynicism is exponentially more true for those born since 1980.

Think about the shock a company would create if they avoided hyperbole and puffery and simply shared the facts and told the truth.  Anticipate what the reaction would be if they said, "You need a car for transportation and our car will get you there safely and at a reasonable price."  Imagine the ripple effects it would cause if consumers responded to a straightforward recitation of product features and how those features might help address some of your needs.

Some would probably be looking for the catch.

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Fun and Inspired Marketing Ideas

In honor of US celebration of Labor Day, instead of laboring over a blog, I thought I would share some fun and creative examples of marketing that I have come across.  I only wish I had labored on these creative and unique ways to raise awareness of a brand.  The link after the last picture takes you to a longer list of these fun and creative examples of marketing.  What are your favorites?  Let me know in the comments.  I have a hard time choosing between the radio station air guitars stand and the hot wheels billboard.  Happy Labor Day!


































http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2012/02/23/48-inspired-marketing-ideas/gallery/image/ngg-image-5648/

A List of What's Unique About The Inc. 500

We love lists and rankings.  My daughter's college just sent out their alumni magazine and the cover was festooned with their latest rankings on the various publications that list and rank colleges and universities.  The local newspaper does an annual best of the county and some local companies work very hard to generate the votes to allow them to claim that they are "One of the Best of the County."  Whenever I write a blog that has a numbered list of points, I get more readers and more comments.  We love lists.

So with that in mind, I present to you the 11 things that make the Inc. 500/5000 interesting and a top list among lists!

1. The Inc. 500 recognizes and ranks private companies.  Private companies are...well...private.  They don't have the public reporting requirements that publicly-traded corporations do.  Because of that, it is harder to get information on these companies.  Each year the Inc. listing provides a peek behind the private boardroom doors.
2. The Inc. 500 has more.  If you pour over the list of the 500 fastest growing companies and just haven't had enough, you can go online and find 4500 more companies, similarly ranked and similarly laid out for inspection.
3. The Inc. 500 has longevity.  This is the 32nd annual list.  It started out as the Inc. 100, expanded to 500 shortly thereafter and has been the Inc. 5000 for the last several years.
4. The Inc. 500 is a positive sign of the times.  The Inc. editors headed this year's 500 list with the statement "Five hundred reasons to be optimistic about leadership, innovation, and the health of the American dream."  In the American mindset, business growth has always been a sign that things are going well.  If we look at the growth represented by the Inc. 500/5000, things are going very well!
5. The Inc. 500 seems attainable.  We are talking about companies that a few years ago were operating out of someone's garage or basement.  We are talking about leaders who started companies by maxing out their credit cards and asking their friends and relatives for a financial vote of confidence.  Only 15% of the Inc. 500 got their start-up capital from venture capital or angel funding. 71% used personal savings.  This is grassroots stuff. This is how we would all have to do it if we were starting a business.  
6. The Inc. 500 is about superstars and no-names.  And often the no-names beat out the superstars.  Yeah!
7. The Inc. 500 is about individuals as much as it is about companies.  Related to #5 and #6, many of the companies on the Inc. 500 (and even more on the Inc. 5000) are on the list because of the dreams, determination and drive of an individual.  As important as Steve Jobs was to the resurgence of  Apple, it is impossible to say that it was just because of him.  He was the conductor, but he had an orchestra to conduct.  Many on the Inc. 500/5000 list are like conductors of one-man bands.
8. The Inc. 500 is about the American Dream.  Actually it is about entrepreneurial dreams which I think goes well beyond the shores of the United States.  While the list focuses on US private companies, it is easy to see that the entrepreneurs behind those US companies come from all over the world.
9. The Inc. 500 is understandable.  Inc. uses a simple, straightforward formula for calculating its list.  Agree or disagree with the value of listing companies in terms of growth (I questioned if it was the best measure of company success in my last blog) you can understand how the rankings are determined.  This simplicity is one of their strengths.
10. The Inc. 500 is about growth, not size.  There are some pretty small, regional companies on the list.  There is a good chance that you may do business with a company or two on the list.  It is guaranteed there are several companies on the list that you have never heard of, or never will hear of again.
11. The Inc. 500 is constantly changing.  By its very nature, it is hard for companies to sustain the level of growth that puts them on the Inc. 500 for very long.  Because of that, the Inc. 500 avoids the type of list stagnation that plagues many lists.  For example, the company that topped the Inc. 500 in 2012, Unified Payments, is at #2374 on the 2013 list.  The company that topped the list in 2011, Ideeli, is not on the list in 2013.  That doesn't happen with regularity on the Fortune 500 or the Forbes list of wealthiest individuals or US News and World's top colleges and universities list.

Next blog I will have a few final observations from the Inc. 500 list.

Questions About The Inc. 500

Inc. Magazine came out with its list of the top 500 fastest growing private companies in America last week.  4500 more are listed on the website for the list obsessed.

This list shines an interesting spotlight on American culture.  It also raises several questions in my mind.  I intend to spend the next few blog posts looking at the Inc. 500/5000.

Inc. says, at the top of their list, "Five hundred reasons to be optimistic about leadership, innovation, and the health of the American dream."  And I suppose they are right.  These 500 companies enjoyed an average 1,739% three year growth rate.  They earned $14.1 billion in total revenues in 2012 and created 44,912 jobs over the last three years.

I think the list raises some significant questions pertaining to important societal issues.  I was surprised and a little thrilled when I read that the best represented industry was the advertising and marketing industry with 58 companies represented.   When you compare it to only 9 manufacturing companies on the list, it seems to confirm that we are becoming a service economy.

Another area that concerned me was the demographics of the Inc. 500 CEOs.  90% are male and 77% are Caucasian.  I don't know how this compares to previous years.  I also don't know if this is because  fewer women and non-Caucasians have the inclination to become entrepreneurs or if it is they don't have access to the resources to start and grow a business.

Finally, and most significantly, I have to question if Inc.'s focus on growth is really the best measure of a private company's success.  When focusing just on growth, the Inc. editors only capture certain types of companies at certain points along the growth curve.   Fuhu, maker of the children's tablet, Nabi, is the number one company on the list this year.  They posted an amazing 42,148% growth over the last three years.  I will be surprised if Fuhu is even on the list in a few years.

The editor of the magazine dubs the 500 list as "an unapologetic celebration of entrepreneurial success."  While there is no doubt a lot to celebrate, there is just as much to ponder and examine.

Privacy

Privacy is an issue getting lots of media attention right now.  Privacy is in the headlines virtually every day lately.  While privacy and the protection of it HAS become a political issue, it also is an issue of great social significance.  It is also shaping up to be an issue of generational divide.  Young people today seem to have a different view about privacy than their parents.

According to a recent Pew Internet study, about teen social media use and privacy:

• Students are sharing much more personal information about themselves of social media

• 91% of teens posted a photo of themselves in 2012, up from 79% in 2006
• 71% posted their school name, up from 49%
• 71% posted the city or town where they live, up from 61%
• 53% posted their email address, up from 29% in 2006
• 20% posted their cell phone number, where virtually no one (2%) did just 6 years earlier
• At the same time, 60% of teen Facebook users report high levels of confidence in their ability to manager their settings.
• Just 9% of teens indicated that they were "very" concerned about third party access to their data on social media sites.

On the other hand, there are a lot of adults over the age of 40 that won't even dip their toe into the Facebook pool because of concerns of privacy.

I cannot tell if these differences are generational or experiential in nature.  Are teenagers less worried about someone mining their personal data from Facebook because they are young and naive or because they are used to the quirks and tendencies of a Facebook-driven life?

This is not to say that young people are not concerned about privacy issues.  They undoubtedly are. According to the Pew study, more than half of them limit access to their information using privacy settings.

Despite all of this, there is a growing school of thought among all generations of users that the greatest danger to internet privacy over social media is advertisers, not individuals with malcontent.  People are genuinely afraid of the time in the near future when advertisers have gleaned all there is to know about an individual and use that hyper personal information to make highly personalized offers.

The challenge for marketers is to be culturally and demographically sensitive to the issue of privacy.  Most people sincerely enjoy the recommendations on Amazon or Netflix that are based on past purchases.  Fewer people enjoy those same recommendations when they are based on non-purchase past behavior on the site.  There are even fewer (dare I say almost no one) who would enjoy recommendations based on their internet activity on other sites other than the recommendor's site.

The opportunity for marketers is to recognize that privacy is an important issue in the marketplace, albeit one that is viewed differently by different generations.  A smart marketer can use respect for customers' privacy as a marketing advantage.  A smart marketer can identify the generational similarities in views about different types of privacy and/or can take advantage of the differences.

A smart marketer will recognize that privacy is not just a political issue or a generational issue but also an image issue.  Companies that are seen as respecting our individual views on marketing will, I predict, have an advantage over those who are seen as indifferent to those issues.

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