Monthly Archives: July 2011

BRO’s before HO’s

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A couple of nights ago, I got a call around 2 a.m. from my 15-year-old son. Before you get on me for letting my son roam the streets at 2 in the morning, I need to defend myself and tell you that he was at his dad’s house that night. I was off duty. Anyway, I get this call at 2:08 a.m. and the kid is stranded at a park that is about 2 miles from my house and 3 miles from his dad’s house. In a nutshell, the buddy who was driving my son home after a movie decided to drop by a cute girl’s house for a few minutes, which turned into “let’s go to the park” – yes, in the middle of the night – to “hang out.” My son was bored; he didn’t want to get in trouble with his dad; and to be totally truthful, he was irritated with his buddy for ditching him for a chick, so I got the call.

Before you get on me for bailing him out or instructing me to lecture him, I wanted to give this scenario as an example of leaving your buddies behind for a passing girl is not cool. Well in the same sense, leaving your teammate out to dry isn’t cool either. I learned early in my career that it sucks to be “thrown under the bus.” Yes, that is what we called it when a peer blamed you for something that went wrong.

If you think about a football team, no one person can carry the team to a win. Yes, there are leaders, but unless everyone is moving forward in a clear and concise direction, the team will lose. A running back can’t score the winning touchdown without the hand-off from the quarterback. The quarterback can’t hand the ball off without the center hiking it, nor without his lineman to protect him from the other team. Get my point? So why is okay for a peer to throw another peer out to dry? It really isn’t.

Like so many teams, there are always going to be personality conflict. You can have the best team ever, but not everyone is going to get along every day, every minute. This is the reality of have different personalities. Good leadership helps drive the team in a clear direction, but it also comes down to you. Whether in a meeting or via email, other people notice snide remarks or uncomfortable innuendos. Others also notice when you say “I” a lot. As in, “I finished the project” or “I had a good idea” or “I rock.” What works better is “we finished the project” or “Mark had a great idea and we flushed it out.”

Giving others credit will most often reflect positively on you. For one, your team mates will respect and trust you and two, you will make others feel good about their contribution. You might be surprised at how giving others credit makes you feel good. There is no need to toot your own horn. There is no need to leave your buddy stranded either.

If you are worried about that teammate who takes all the credit or takes advantage of you – don’t be. Trust your leadership; they know who is a valuable employee.

P.S. I did give the lecture on nothing good happens at 2 a.m. and don’t do it again. A mom is never truly off duty.

Customer Service isn’t just for the Customer Service Department

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Several days after reading about companies that offer great customer service, I started thinking about how marketing offers customer service. That week I was interviewing several candidates for a marketing specialist role within my department. During each interview, I posed the question to each candidate on what their thoughts were on how marketing offers good customer service. Not surprising, I stumped each candidate.

As marketers, we don’t think about offering customer service. As I thought through this notion of marketing offering good customer service, it seemed so clear to me. In every marketing department I have worked, we would tell ourselves that our customers are internal, but do we act on it? Have you as a marketer ever sat down and thought about the customer service you offer the folks around you?  I hadn’t in those terms.

It is a well-known fact that sales people irritate marketing folks because they do not read the materials sent to them on campaigns, offers, promotions, etc. Yes, I said it out loud; sales folks drive me batty sometimes. What marketers, myself included, don’t realize is that sales folks are our true customers. At the end of the day, my job as a marketer is to help grow revenue. To do this, I need a sales folks.

Keeping in mind a great customer experience you recently had – maybe it is Nordstrom’s or Zappo.com or a great little restaurant you enjoy – what did the service person do that made you take note? I bet I can guess. They listened to your need, they didn’t tell you “no” right away, if they did not have the answer, they found an answer, they helped you figure out a solution to your need and they were pleasant to work with. Am I right?

Back to my irritating sales rep, next time he calls me asking for something he could have found if he just looked on the Sharepoint site, I am going to take a deep breath and think about how I can make sure he walks away feeling good about his experience with marketing.

Here are my tips for good customer service:

  • Listen!!! Many times folks just want to be heard.
  • Don’t say no right away. Maybe you can’t do exactly what they are needing, but maybe you have a better solution
  • Compromise. Giving sometimes will get you further than just being right.
  • Be helpful and respectful. That sales rep may be distracted because he has a big deal that is going sour and needs your help right away.
  • Pay it forward. Helping others actually does feel good.

Change!?! Again!!!

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Change management – I love that term. In all my years of corporate life – change was the inevitable. It became a joke really.

“Oh, look, another reorg. Yep, it has been six months, guess it is time.”

“We are behind in revenue, let’s change our marketing.”

“This is Joe, your new Vice President of Whatever, and he thinks we should change our brand.”

I bet you have heard one of these statements over your work career. It seems no matter what industry or profession, change is, well, just that, changing. You know you are in for an adventure when your company hires someone as the Chief of Change Management. That happen to me. Mr. Change came in, changed everything, and conveniently left once everything was in disarray.

So this brings me to my key point – why is change necessary? When did we get to the point that change equals better profits? What does change really produce? Are we so greedy for double-digit growth numbers that we think change is the answer?

Let’s think about the cost of change. We can look at changing a company’s brand as an example. When a company goes through a brand change, they usually hire a big agency, go through focus groups of customers and non-customers, research competitors, analyze the data, and then produce a positioning document. Once the positioning is completed and approved, it is time to redo all the marketing materials. From writing new sales collateral to redesigning the web site to creating new press release boilerplates and about us copy, it takes months and months, plus lots of dollars to re-launch a new brand. As marketing materials get underway, then a company has to train every employee on how to represent the brand. Every spokesperson and customer facing employee needs to be able to recite the company positioning. Never mind the years it can take to get your target audience not only recognizing the brand, but also liking your brand. The cost can be outrageous and can really deter your marketing team from the priorities, which is growing revenue.

On to my next point, when did “doing what you do best” stop working? Whether it is a local restaurant that makes the best burgers in town or the plumber you call in a pinch to fix a stopped up sink, some businesses don’t need to change. They concentrate on doing what they do and they do it very well. Here is an example for you – McDonald’s French Fries. What happen to them? I have loved McDonald’s fries since I was a kid. Through two pregnancies, a divorce, and multiple ups and downs, the fries never disappointed me when I needed comfort food. A couple years ago, I stopped eating them. They weren’t good anymore. Apparently, trans fat concerns or whatever the latest fattening issue was, McD’s decided to change their fries. Not necessary.  The fries were perfect.

I can give you many more examples. From the regional airline that wants to change its name just because someone said so, to the dentist franchise that wants to bring in more revenue by making its dentist partners work every weekend, change isn’t always good.

So the next time you get the urge to change, don’t. Instead, take a few minutes to think through what you do, why you do it, and when you can do it better. Remind yourself what you set out to do originally and ask yourself “am I doing what I wanted to do.” If the answer is no, maybe you should change back.

Whether its teenagers or employees, micromanagement never works

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Over the years I have realized that managing people and rearing my children run parallel in the sense that what works with one often works with the other. Not to simplify parenting or call employees children. I have found much of the lessons I have learned in my professional life also apply to my personal life. Take for instance micromanagement. Most of us, except for the bad bosses, realize that micromanaging staff demotivates. When an employee feels like their boss is hovering over their shoulder, it builds resentment. The employee often feels they are not trusted, nor respected. Employees can feel a lack of motivation to take smart risks or question their own abilities. This same effect can happen with teenagers as well causing distrust between parent and teenager.

Like many moms, I worry about my 15 year old son excessively. I have always worried about him, but as he gets older, meets new people, extends his boundaries and becomes more independent, I worry even more that he will make smart decisions. Let’s face it, teenagers don’t always think before acting – mine is no different. Then I remember that I raised him. I taught him values, ethics, and honesty. I expected certain behaviors as he grew up. I led him down the path for 15 years to be a good person. I discussed underage drinking, drugs, steroids, sex, smoking, respecting others, driving safely, treating others with kindness, so on and so forth. When I remember our discussions on these topics and think of my son’s big heart, I realize that I have done the best I can. He is a good kid and doesn’t need me hammering him. This helps me to give him some space, not hover, and not quiz him until he shuts down.

My son doesn’t want to be micromanaged and neither do employees. Just like my son, employees need room to grow, opportunity to take risks, and most importantly, be allowed to fail. If you have hired good talent and taught them along the way, then it should be easy to support them without micromanaging. Of course this is if you hired well. Most employees want to do a good work, meet or exceed expectations, and feel good about what they have accomplished.  If you have built a good relationship with them, they will want to work for you. Here are a few tips to help you from over-managing your employees:

  • Give your employee the benefit of the doubt
  • Just because it isn’t the way you would do it, doesn’t mean it’s wrong
  • Listen to your employee, you might be surprised what she has to say
  • Encourage your employee to grow, she isn’t a threat to your job
  • Remember, we all make mistakes, some bigger than others
  • Don’t cloud what needs to be done with unnecessary work
  • Eliminate passive-aggressive behavior, be candid

Keeping these simple themes in mind, you will be well on your way to creating happy employees – and teenagers.

Hello!

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Welcome to Jacqueline’s Observations blog. This is a new endeavor for me. After spending the past 17 years working and leading marketing teams in large corporations and small businesses, I wanted to share my knowledge with others, but with a different twist. Much of my work life streams into my personal life and vice versa. I don’t believe this is necessarily a bad thing. Have you ever heard “wear your heart on your sleeve.” I have many times. It was always delivered in a negative way. But I am here to tell you that it isn’t and doesn’t have to be negative. Being true to who you are as a person and as a professional will take you further in life than not.

Additionally so many parents, both moms and dads, are trying to do it all. Work full time, create a success career, and raise healthy children. I am no different. As a single mother of two sons, I have driven myself hard to accomplish it all. However, sometimes I feel like I am not doing any of it well. Through my challenges and struggles I have learned two important lessons – one, always laugh even when you don’t feel like it and two, raising children is the most important job I will ever have. With these two things in mind, I hope you will find some relief in knowing you are not alone out there.

In this blog, I am sharing with you my observations over the years. Through my writing, you will hear many stories – some sad, some funny and probably some that are embarrassing too- that involve my professional experience, my children, and my friends. In no way do I feel I am doing anything perfect and many times I am not sure I am doing it “right,” either. However, I hope you will enjoy what I have to say and if you happen to disagree, please do it with kindness.

Best Regards to my readers,

Jacqueline