Here’s a simple and efficient way to evaluate yourself and your employees. Clients, too, for that matter. Where do you think you and your closest friends would “plot” on the graphic below? Where would you plot your best employee? The worst?

Pretty neat. Like all brilliantly simple concepts, it is clear and useful. And it’s teachable. Yes, it is intuitive. What I like most is that it puts intuition to paper. It also helps to add volume to that little voice inside your head that is sometimes unfortunately ignored.

I learned about this technique from the very bright Melissa Murray, Chief Inspiration Officer of Mosaix Group and currently in Asheville, NC. Like most of us Melissa detests having to deal with dumb issues related to people management, but unlike most people she figured out how to deal with the problem.

This new “tool” allowed her to make good assessments quickly so she could get on with her real work. She developed it while traveling the world producing events for large corporations back in a former life. She found that time and distance amplified strengths (and defects) in the people working on the account with her.

The technique is founded on the principle that a person’s ability to perform in a progressive organization can be isolated into two discrete camps: (1) their knowledge and (2) their motivation. And, it is a way to evaluate the degrees of each component. One person can have more knowledge, or greater motivation, than another can.

Recently, I asked her to lunch to refresh me on how this system worked. The diagram above is a slightly modified version of what she drew.

Here’s how it works

(more…)

Filed under: Business At Its Best, Keep It Simple by Zack Self
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“What” you are is one thing. “Who” you are is a whole ‘nother thing.

What you are is functional, it can be bought. But who you are, now there’s something that can’t quite be quantified and priced.   It is that which makes you unique, different. It is that which sets you apart from the competition.  It is, to borrow a phrase, ‘priceless’ because it gives your customers a reason to be loyal to you, even in today’s commodity-driven market.

What people mean to each other is what makes a romance last.
What a business means to its customers is what makes it thrive.

There has been a lot of talk lately of the deterioration of brand value.  The numbers don’t lie, consumers are now moving in unprecedented numbers to ‘generic’ products and services that cost less than ‘premium’ brands.   But, what happens when two similar products are similarly priced?  In that case, the difference is distinguished only by personality. So,… (more…)

Filed under: Advertising, Business At Its Best, Marketing by Zack Self
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Q:        What’s the real pay-off from Information Technology?

A:         Making a positive difference to the customers.

The businesses (and their consultants) who maintain a precise focus on the customer value delivered by IT will thrive.  Those who don’t won’t. (more…)

Filed under: Business At Its Best, Technology by Zack Self
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The act of selling via the new or social media outlets is to market via these channels. That’s why it’s called Social Media Marketing.  Do not let the brand personality of social media keep you from perceiving the opportunity of the medium, which is to enhance and extend your company’s reach, and influence.   This is far easier to say than to successfully accomplish.

Here are some ideas that will help you to achieve your own social media marketing success. (more…)

Filed under: Communication, Marketing, Social Media by Zack Self
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“Being relevant”  determines everything about a business — what it sells, how it sells, how it prices what it sells — but especially should it impose a discipline on customer-facing communication.  So, how are you doing with your customers?

Here’s how you find out if you’re relevant – or not.

Evaluate your company’s communication.  A majority of companies large and small fall into three categories listed below, each with an example from actual Twitter and Facebook posts: (more…)

Filed under: Bank Marketing & Advertising, Business At Its Best, Communication, Public Relations, Small Business Services, Social Media by Zack Self
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It almost never happens: the biggest competitor on the block stumbles and stops being an effective force in the market.  He is the subject of congressional investigations.  He gets pilloried in the media.  His customers actually become reluctant to admit they do business with him. The government calls him a bad guy in the media for days in a row over several months, AND, get this, shames him into not taking a salary!

And that’s not all.

Here’s the really interesting part: all of the smaller competitors have almost nothing to say.  Not a peep.  Almost none of them get out front with the message “Hey, now’s a good time to switch to me!”

Sound strange?  Well, this is what’s happening to community banking – at least in my small corner of the world. It beats anything I’ve ever seen in my 20+ years of watching.

Here’s why this matters. And what community bankers can do about it. (more…)

Filed under: Bank Marketing & Advertising by Zack Self
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If the Fed has its way, your NSF income will disappear.  But, you can fight back — and win — if you get organized.  First things first: get the answers to four questions: (more…)

Filed under: Bank Marketing & Advertising, Bank Operations & Compliance by George Self
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Ever wonder exactly how many blogs are on the Internet? How many emails are sent every day around the world? JESS3 took all those numbers and animated it into a spiffy video.

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

Filed under: Social Media, Technology by Jeanine Shirley
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What does your company’s website do? Inform? Educate? Communicate? Does your website interact with your customers? Or is it just a brochure that you put up so people would quit asking if you had a website?

If you haven’t reviewed your company’s web strategy lately, now is the time. Pixels are cheap and technology is only getting better. Here are some often overlooked areas for website utilization. (more…)

Filed under: Design, Social Media, Technology by Jeanine Shirley
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For sure, 2010 will be a challenging year.  But, it doesn’t have to be a bad year.  If you get started soon, you can make 2010 a better year, for you, your bank and your customers.  Here’s how:

Open deposit accounts online.  You can be up and running for less than $15,000 – not a full-auto program, but it will get you into the Online game in 15 days or less.  Unless you plan on opening accounts on a national or regional basis, or plan to open hundreds of accounts first year, this system will work very well for you.  We can make this work for you.

Reprice your Auto-Overdraft Program.  Customers are royally ticked off about these auto-NSF programs.  A clever re-pricing program can very likely ease a lot of the pain.  We can help you do that.

Position your business checking program for success.  Next year, much of your revenue will depend upon how well you market to small business.  Your bank will need the right kind of product, so you need to start working on re-formulating your product now.  We know how to do this.

Measuring your customer satisfaction.  Your advertising and promotion budget will go a lot farther if you use Customer Knowledge to maximize your message.  We have affordable programs that you can use.

Use the Internet to cut your advertising media costs. The web offers a great opportunity to effectively market your bank for less money.  We’re not talking about cutting all your ad costs, but we do know how to cut a big slice off that budget.

Here are two more projects, if you have a little more money, time and ambition to accomplish:

Do a SWOT project.   You can learn a lot from a SWOT.   How does it work?  You set up interviews and research among your competitors, your employees, directors and officers, plus your customers and non-customers plus the local advertising media.  From those sources you tabulate and score your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats  (threats may not be as obvious as you think).  When you’re done, you’re ready to prepare an Action Plan you can use to survive – and even, thrive.

Once you’ve gone to the trouble to do a SWOT, why not go ahead and REBRAND THE BANK?  This makes sense if your bank is relatively unknown (maybe because you are new in a market) or because your bank has suffered some bad publicity.   In these uncertain times, with banks taking a licking at every turn, re-branding can make good sense – and be a wise investment in your future.

All of the above is imminently do-able.  We can help you make this happen.  If you call us (800-521-0236) help will be in your office in 24 hours.  So, don’t wait.  Get cracking.  Make 2010 a better year.

Filed under: Bank Marketing & Advertising by George Self
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