Articles by Kathleen Martin

The Detroit Three are back in Washington, D.C. again.  Originally, they asked for $25B but after careful review and creating plans to put their businesses back on track they are now up to $34B.

It is obvious that what has always been done will not work so I posed the question “how would you reorganize the auto industry” to a group of marketing professionals.  The answers were eye opening.

Only one person felt the companies should be bailed out (and they work with the auto makers).  Everyone else had suggestions from Chapter 11 to just letting this take its natural course as a free economy does.

The responses are clear though – the auto industry must follow these simple steps:
• Understand your customer and market
• Understand your competitors
• Lower your costs: negotiate outdated contracts, realign salaries and bonuses
• Invest in new technology

When you look at this list, the first two items are in the control of marketing in most organizations.  Operations owns the third, and the fourth is combination of marketing, operations, engineering and finance.

In the end I think the answer is pretty clear, we need as a country to assist the big three automakers. Even if we help them fail through consolidation, reorganization or even loans.  What we cannot agree to is just opening the checkbook without a series of measurable checkpoints and accountability. 

Let me share some of the responses I received.  Feel free to add yours to the list.

• Maybe the first question is “would” you save the auto industry? Surely if an industry is no longer able to sustain itself, maybe it is no longer viable in its present form or there are too many suppliers servicing too small a market - then the ‘kindest’ thing to do in the long run is to let it die or change organically (the most viable and healthiest parts will morph into something that there is a market for) Darwinism for business ? I do appreciate that this is a very simplistic view and such a move will have massive repercussions, but worth thinking about.

• Mainframes have evolved into distributed computing - much more powerful. The Big Three; let them die - let the remaining assets be utilized by the brightest minds in the U.S. automobile industry and watch the industry be revolutionized. The short term pain of cutting the losses and investing assets into our future auto industry makes sense, and those leading this transformation can redefine the standards in automobile manufacturing and put America back on top where we belong. This advancement in computing has changed the world and the principles behind this evolution can be applied to new business models. Big corporations are fighting to stay alive - what our business sector needs is American innovation and the American Entrepreneurial Mindset. I’ll put my money on a thousand innovators over senseless corporate giants any day!

• The car industry is still making candles long after the light bulb has taken over. Heck, we’ve moved on to better, more efficient light bulbs.

• US automakers hands are tied in many cases because foreign auto makers have advantageous support through their home governments (i.e. the Japanese government underwrites much of the R&D costs for Japanese automakers)

US quality, which for a time was sub-par, has now reached a point where it’s competitive with the industry. It’s difficult to try and spread that message without having people accuse you of practicing ‘typical PR spin’ (though it’s not).

You’d be surprised to know how many other parts of the US economy would fail without the $’s coming out of the auto industry. Basically the entire Midwest would be down the tubes for good. And the failure of GM or Ford would likely cause the other to fail, as well, meaning saving one means saving both (at least for the short term).

Why is it okay to bail out banking industries and not the auto industry? The auto industry is equally tied (and has taken no more and no fewer liberties in how they treat their customers, as well) to the economic base of our country, but people for some reason have a harder time acknowledging this fact.

• I used to work in automotive marketing, and watching it’s decline has been very sad for me to see. Ford and GM have wasted far too much time competing against one another - and have lost share to Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and all the major players while doing so. If one of the two would have made the decision to compete against these global competitors instead of each other - that one would be in a great position. Even the spots now are Ford Vs. GM. Ford spending millions on new F-150 ads, while GM promotes their Silverado. Guess what? No one cares anymore. You are talking to yourselves.

The only solution I see is a very painful one. GM and Ford merge to become a relevant global competitor. Tool plants to make one great truck combining both companies technologies. Tool other plants to make great cars. Consolidation is needed to compete on a global scale - the big three needs to consolidate now, or die a slow, painful death.

This solution is painful. Short term, it would be horrible for Detroit. The loss of jobs would be at a very large scale. Keep the best. Lose the rest. Then develop a global powerhouse that can compete on a global scale - with World class management, World class cars and trucks, the support and intelligence of both companies.

Yes - painful short term. But if Detroit wishes to pass the torch to the next generation, the decision needs to be made and fast. Can management swallow their pride?

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Are you a subject matter expert?  A subject matter expert is the “go-to” person for their customers and social network contacts.  These experts are seasoned professionals with references and a portfolio of proven success.  Subject matter experts get the customers, win the bids and are answering the phone rather than cold calling.

Interested in being an expert?  Then begin thinking like one.  An expert by definition is “having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience.”  In other words if you can demonstrate that you know more than most and are recognized as a leader within a community you are an expert.

In the 1980’s it could take you years to establish yourself as an expert.  With today’s social networking communities you can be recognized almost overnight.  Let’s look at two communities and how to position you and your business as leaders.

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is established to be a business networking community.  You have the opportunity to ask questions, answer questions and participate in discussions.  The more time you dedicate to positioning yourself the more you will differentiate yourself.  Include links to your sites (blogs included) and where possible share your books or white papers on the subject.  References also speak volumes.  Anytime you can say “don’t take my word for it, read what my customers think” the more credible your opinions and suggestions become.

You can also join “like-minded” experts on LinkedIn.  These are small groups inside of the larger community that often focus on a discipline (e.g. marketing, sales, recruiting, human resources, or accounting) or on a specific interest (e.g. events, public relations, consulting).  Groups are reflected on your profile and allow people to see your affiliations and interests.

Facebook:

Facebook is different as it was set up as a social site.  Both business and personal intersect here.  You can establish multiple Facebook pages that focus on your business and on you as an individual.  You can choose to combine it all into one page.  Post notes that include article leads with links as well as highlights from your latest activities.  Changing your status to include information on where you are speaking or a presentation you may have posted will drive others to review your work.  You can cross link both Facebook and LinkedIn driving your audience from one site to the other.

There are many other sites that work much like these two (Plaxo, Namyz, MySpace).  It is possible to stretch yourself too thin with social networks.  I recommend you pick two and really focus your efforts in developing your message through your profile, references and participation (e.g. status updates, Q&A). 

The path to being an expert is clear: a well developed profile, references from your customers, participation in online discussions and building a following of contacts who are looking to drive business with you and for you.

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I am sure that by now you have perfected your “about me” and “profile” pages on all of your social networks.  You have opened yourself to networking outside of your known circle and you are sending personal notes when you extend or accept invitation.  Your network of contacts has grown from hundreds to thousands of business professionals.

During this process you may have noticed that a large number of both corporate and private recruiters are looking to connect.  Recruiters are by nature active networkers.  They understand that they may meet the next great hire directly or indirectly through their network. Recruiters are experts at turning their contacts in leads.

So how do you do this?  I recommend three easy steps:

1.  Open a conversation with each of your contacts.  As I previously mentioned I respond to each invitation with a personal message.  I do have a form message that I personalize based on the profile of the individual.  I do the same with invitations.  I share what I do and what I am looking for.  I always ask for the business.  I am networking to grown my business.

2. Have “free” items available.  White papers, links to your blogs or anything that will share your expertise with the potential lead.  This is a validation process for them.

3. Set telephone calls to follow up individually.  I may spend 4-5 hours a week networking on line, but I spend an additional 8-9 hours in follow up calls and sending out information to prospective clients.

LinkedIn has added discussion functions to each of its groups.  You can send out a question or even a specific job request to the group.  This is also an excellent place for you to answer questions and position yourself as the expert in a specific area.  If in responding to a question you see an opportunity to ask for the business I often choose a “private reply” versus and open posting.  This allows me to contact the individual directly and share with them the benefits of my company and how I can assist them with their specific question or need.

Ready to jump offline and add an in person social networking option?  I recommend BNI . BNI offers everyone an opportunity to grow their business through referrals.  I use BNI to supplement by Facebook and LinkedIn communities and increase my local area leads.

Careful feeding, watering and farming of your contacts can turn your social network contacts in leads and revenue for your business. 

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I’d like to introduce a new contributor to the King Fish Think Tank  - Kathleen Martin, CEO, RocketComm.  Kathleen is speaker, presenter and marketing professional with a track record for producing programs that generate revenue and exceed goals.  I have known her for several years going back to when I was running a marketing department for a traditional media company and she was a customer in her role as a communications manager for a Fortune 500 technology manufacturer.  Kathleen was one of my favorite clients because she is a master at using both new and traditional media to create ROI driven integrated solutions.  Now as CEO of her own company she is spreading her knowledge and experience with the world. – Gordon Plutsky, King Fish Media.

Driving Business Through Your Social Networks

I love to network.  I think I have been networking since I was in the third grade and introducing people to other people and looking for who had what in their lunch and who was looking to trade.  I am a bit older and I rarely find people looking to trade lunches, but I do find leads for my business and others through social network sites.   Networking online allows me to work a much larger lunch room and I make money versus Hostess cakes.

I have about 2400 contacts in my LinkedIn community and there is a fair amount of discussion on how to use LinkedIn or any social networking site to drive leads and increase your business.  I recommend that all users following five simple steps:

Understand the rules.
Social networks come with their own rules.  Be sure you understand what is acceptable in your communities.  On LinkedIn if you send an invitation to someone and they list you as “do not know” you will be unable to openly network without emails of the people you are trying to contact.  On Facebook not all of your discussions should be posted to walls, some require contact to contact messages.  You can often look at discussions posted online or in the FAQ section.

Build your profile as if you are building your website.
On LinkedIn your profile is not only a personal resume, but a resume for your business.  On Facebook you are walking a thin line of family, friends and business.  You can choose to have a personal page and a page for your business.  Keep an eye on what pictures you post on Facebook.  I cannot tell you how many small business owners loose business based on a picture they posted on Facebook (the holiday Christmas party should not be an open posting).

Start with the network you know. 
On LinkedIn you will need to just type in names in the search bar and request connections, on Facebook you can import your contacts from most webmail applications.  Add a personal note to each invitation.   Your note should include a short introduction from you, why you want to add this person to your network and why they should link to you.

Grow your contacts through open networking.
Move to the community that is available to you through your contacts.  On LinkedIn you can join the open networker groups (there are at least three) and you will receive invitations each time the new “invite me” list is shared.  On Facebook you can request anyone to be a friend, but the best way to grow quickly is to ask your friends to suggest contacts for you. 

Always ask for the business.
Anytime someone accepts your invitation or you accept theirs, follow up with a thank you note.  I suggest that you include not only your thanks, but what you are looking for business wise and ask what you can assist them with.

Wondering if it works?  I have driven more business in the last month through my LinkedIn contacts than I did on my last two direct mail campaigns.  By communicating in a personal manner both at the time of the invitation and when an invitation is accepted you create an active network.  Active networkers are open to growing business and will share leads with you if forward leads back out.   Next time we will discuss how to turn these conversations into active business.

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