Conor Kenny & Associates

I was in the heart of Dublin one day last month and it was a calm almost Spring like day.

I like January.

It’s the beginning of a new year.

It’s the beginning of the end of Winter.

It’s heading towards Spring, long evenings and thoughts of Summer.

TV is full of adverts for sunny holidays and the grass looks greener and the sky bigger.

Christmas is over.

When something is done its done.

When Christmas is over its over.

Move with it, move on.

The sad wilting deflated and defeated Christmas tree clinging for life in a city corner looked awful.

What was the first thing I did?

See who’s business it was.

I was surprised.

Their marketing says they are alert, always ahead and progressive.

In mid January, do you think their Christmas tree said that to me?

Over Christmas I went to a marvelous party.

The house was chaotic, the fire roared and there were people and things everywhere.

It was cheerful, fun, warm and yes …. Chaotic.

Most of all it was happy.

Many years ago when I lived in London my Boss asked me to his house for dinner.

It was impeccable, immaculate and pristine.

We thought it looked better than the best show house.

It reflected my Boss. Immaculate, impeccable and pristine.

It was also intimidating.

It was too perfect.

I was scared of my manners, my crumbs and using the heavenly white napkin.

I worried about my clothes, my responses and my etiquette.

I was thrilled when it was time to go home.

You see, perfection can create chaos and chaos can be relaxing.

Now apply these 2 stories to your workplace and then….

Which are you?

Which do you want to be?

Which serves you best?

Perfect is not always best

With more and more online forums and networking sites our photo is visible to the masses.

Whether we like it or not, how you choose to present your image says a lot about you and your company.

Choose carefully.

If you are in the food business and choose a horse’s head, what does that tell me?

If you are accountants and your image is a cartoon, what do you want me to think?

If you make a video and dress with your tie wildly choking you like a hangman’s noose, what does that portray?

If you look serious, you can guess what I’m thinking?

If you look like your posing, well, you will look like a poser.

There is no wrong and no right.

There is effect.

What you choose to upload narrows my thinking.

It’s definitely marketing.

Now go and ask yourself what your image says about your business.

And about you.

We all have opinions.

Some have opinions mixed with a heady cocktail of ego.

All need tempering.

Some need serious management.

Online media allows us all to watch, look and listen.

Let me ask you this?

When the dust has settled, are you happy with what you wrote?

Happy with what you said?

Happy with what we saw?

Better still, would you like it presented to you at your next interview?

By the person deciding to employ you or not?

Be careful out there.

Actually, let me rephrase that – “Be careful on there”

When a customer has a problem, you have 2 choices.

In fact, make that 2 responses.

The first starts with “You need to do the following….”

The second with “Let me do the following….”

The first is generally a sign of being oversized, complacent, lazy and arrogant.

The second indicates energy, concern, problem solving and a passion to do the right thing.

Think of all the big brands who start with the first.

Think of the small brands who start with the second.

Which are you? …. Honestly?

Marketing, or at least very poor marketing, has a habit of doing 2 things really badly.

First, it uses meaningless clichés.

Second, it uses words completely out of context.

Let me offer some dreadful examples then perhaps you should look over yours?

Words.

-Magical

-Mystical

-Madness

-Unrivalled

-Unique

-Memorable

Phrases.

-Life changing (it isn’t)

-A fresh outlook on life and living

-Magical exceptional experiences

-Born out of passion, love and a love of Spain

Out of context these words and phrases have no meaning.

Let me show you why.

Words.

-Magical. (it isn’t)

-Mystical. (what’s that?)

-Madness. (not a very appealing quality)

-Unrivalled. (it is, unless you are Apple, Christopher Columbus or the first man on the moon)

-Unique. (it certainly is not)

-Fever. (please keep away from me)

-Memorable. (what did you say it was?)

Phrases.

-Life changing (is it a traumatic incident?))

-A fresh outlook on life and living (is it a rehab clinic?)

-Magical exceptional experiences (what’s that?)

-Born out of passion, love and a love of Spain (Fruit? Wine? Food? Grapes? Olives? Athletics? Sculpting? Acting? Singing?)

Out of context these words and phrases have no meaning.

Well that’s what you tell me.

Think about it.

The uniform.

The logo.

The training.

The imagery.

Thing is, most people don’t really understand ‘a brand’

Worse still, what it stands for or what it means.

If you are a brand or set out to market a brand, here’s a really good question to ask your staff;

“What does our brand stand for?”

If you can’t answer that simple question then you may as well surrender your marketing.

Think about it, if you don’t know what your brand stands for, what chance your customer?

They boast global domination.

They have international distribution.

They employ thousands

They are huge

They are a well known brand.

Thing is, I never meet global or international or huge.

I just meet your representative.

If they are loud, brash, impatient or rude

That’s my experience of your brand.

If they are calm, professional, efficient and balanced

That’s my impression of your brand.

You may employ 1,000 people

I’ll judge you by the one I meet

How well are they reflecting your brand?

…. And your values?

Have you ever reflected on how you sign off a letter?

Let me tell you why you should.

How you sign off as just like your ‘Goodbye’

How you say Goodbye impacts on me.

That’s good but that can be not good.

Allow me translate;

Regards …. “Yeah see you whenever”

Kind Regards …. “Thank you, I appreciate that”

Nothing …. “No goodbye. Isn’t that rude and lazy?”

Best Wishes …. “Thoughtful”

Kind Regards …. “Thoughtful and considerate”

Yours Faithfully …. “Formal and a little cold”

Yours Sincerely …. “Detached, cold and maybe a little scary”

With Respect …. “Different, subtle and open to interpretation”

Warmest regards …. “Warm, Kind, I like him”

Best Wishes …. “Cheerful”

Choose carefully. Your reader is watching

Our best loved workshop is ‘The Ideas Factory’

The people we work for love it.

We love it too.

Ideas are always just ideas until they fly into action.

New ideas are new because they have not happened before.

Ideas can be exciting to discuss but that delivers short term euphoria.

Ideas tried, tested, improved, engaged, dismantled, rebuilt, improved really work.

Next time you generate an idea, make a new promise.

It’s this;

“Let’s try it”

Until then you won’t know.

When you try – you will