Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!
The video above shows Australian Magician James Galea performing an unbelievable magic trick with a deck of cards. How does he do that?
‘Tis the season. Not for giving gifts or reflecting on peace on earth. This is the silly season where we have to opportunity to elect our next President of the United States. Every four years, our country engages in a ritual which will impact the course of our economy, our social policy, and our governmental priorities. More importantly, this quadrennial exercise will determine the content of our newspapers, blogs, TV newscasts, and radio editorials. Writers will fulminate, pundits will issue declarations, and talking heads will revel in the traditional aspects of the sport known as Presidential Politics.
What can entrepreneurs learn from politicians? Historically, the political industry has pioneered strategies for marketing, partnering, business development, social media use, and audience engagement. Brand-building is key to successful political campaigns as it is for businesses, and politicians build their own personal brands using tactics that all of us use everyday. In short, small businesses and startups can draw many valuable lessons from politics, politicians, and political campaigns. In previous posts i have written about how we can learn from kids, dogs, musicians, chefs, and athletes.
As we speak there are still four candidates actively competing for the Republican Party nomination for President, and while we find ourselves by turns, laughing at them, swearing back at them on television, or nodding in agreement with their ideas, we do have to admire them for their passion, their dedication, and their persistence as they each create a distinct brand and pursue their share of the elector market. So, let’s take a look at the politicians and see what they have to teach us!
1. Politicians compete. Politics is a cut-throat industry, rife with cheating, back-stabbing, and intrigue. Not that those are necessarily ‘bad’ things, right? While i do not espouse the use of dirty tricks or underhanded strategies to gain advantage in business, we do stand to learn from successful politicians and their ability to put themselves forward in the best possible light, while painting the most unflattering picture possible of their opponents. In politics at its best, this competition takes the form of a debate about ideas and convictions and, at its worst, it can get viciously personal and destructive. While rejecting the negative approach we see so often in politics, entrepreneurs can and should learn from those politicians who compete by emphasizing the values they represent, the superiority of their ideas, and the benefits that come with their service.
2. Politicians market actively. Politics requires constant and active marketing. During campaign season, this is obvious – just ask anyone in Florida about the recent inundation f television commercials, mailers, robo-calls, door hangers, yard signage, and wall-to-wall billboards. But between elections good politicians continue to energetically market their ideas, their legislative priorities, and their brands. This usually takes the form of public relations – news conferences, press releases, public appearances are leveraged to keep the person or the issue in the public eye and push the priorities and ideas of the politician into the public conscience. Entrepreneurs can draw clear connections to their own businesses, products, and services and can leverage many of the same techniques politicians use to increase awareness, build brand loyalty, and keep themselves top-of-mind with their own audience.
3. Politicians differentiate. One of the keys to a strong political campaign is the candidate’s ability to draw a strong distinction between herself and her opponent. Voters take a risk when electing a candidate – after all, we don’t really know what a candidate will do once they become an incumbent – so it is critical for a politician to show how they are different and to give voters a clear choice. Small business can take a similar approach in the marketplace: by communicating how our offering differs from the competition, our customer can better understand the choices they have and the benefits they can derive by choosing us over the competition.
4. Politicians build audiences. In social media one measure of results is the size of our audience: followers, likes, re-tweets are ways we determine our success. In politics audiences are not just important, they are critical in determining whether an incumbent keeps his job or whether his opponent takes it over. So, needless to say, a politicians ability to build a faithful audience can make or break a career and determine whether their ideas and programs prevail. Our ventures, too, thrive with the support of a loyal audience; ensuring customer satisfaction, creating great word of mouth, and building a fanatical fan base can allow our own businesses to prevail in the marketplace.
Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!
The image to the left is a fun look at what a movie poster for an Oscar-nominated film would be like if it literally wanted to communicate what the movie was about. More fun posters in the Other section below.
While economists (as usual) refuse to agree on the specifics, there is a general consensus that the recovery may (finally) be underway. Last week the Labor Department announced that in January over 240,000 new jobs were created and that the unemployment rate was at its lowest level in three years. In addition, tax revenues are increasing as is consumer spending, and exports have grown across many industries.
For small business this is great news. Not just because it means that other companies are hiring, but it means that other companies are spending. One of the most corrosive effects of the weak economy has been the impact on how, when, and where businesses have spent; small business in particular took a hit because of reduced spending. When customers choose to defer spending on services and goods which might not be 100% necessary to their business, many other businesses are impacted. And when companies can be confident enough to start spending again, the trickle effect can have a positive impact on many other companies, too.
Small businesses can and should plan for an improving economy, just as they have for a downturn. In a bad economy we plan and execute tactics to cut back on discretionary spending, reduce labor costs, postpone expansion, defer marketing efforts, reduce inventories, and minimize all extras and perks. In an improving economy, small business in particular can look for ways to leverage the upswing and to strategically benefit from some of the opportunities created when bad times start to get better. Here then are 5 thoughts on ways small business and startups can get a jump on the growth!
1. Look for new talent. In the last few years, layoffs have taken a toll – hundreds of thousands of workers are still on the search for that new job and the pool of available talent is probably the richest it has been in decades. Consider filling any positions you might have left vacant during the downturn, or even creating new ones to take advantage of an uptick. Many positions require training and many new employees can take months to get fully up to speed, so start planning ahead for the growth that may be in store.
2. Invest in equipment. Capital expenditures were among the most commonly deferred costs for many businesses over the past few years, and manufacturers felt the sting. But now factories are gearing up again, with job growth in the manufacturing sector among the strongest last month. Inventories are also on the increase and together these act as a leading indicator and a strong sign of recovery. While credit remains tight, interest rates are at a historical low and government incentives are available making investment in equipment, furniture, and fixtures an attractive proposition. (more…)
Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!
The video above is a new Super Bowl commercial from Honda, featuring Matthew Broderick and reminding us how much we loved Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
What Zappos Can Teach You About Becoming Irresistible to Customers – http://t.co/3UxbuL0b
Gamification: The buzzword that can ruin your apps and business – http://t.co/bdsJOO6q
Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!
The image above is a fun look at bottled water from Apple – if Apple made bottled water. That post, and other interesting posts are in the “Other” section below.
Crowdsourcing: a 7+7 Primer (tips for businesses on leveraging crowdsourcing) - http://bit.ly/wxqtb5
Starting a new biz with a friend? Good interview with @mike_samson about biz w/ friends – http://bit.ly/wBFfBv
Women Small Business Owners – America’s New job Creators [infographic] – http://t.co/74nUB76D
crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: Studyers -http://bit.ly/wy7Qty
crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: Twittapolls – http://t.co/aFHWJTmq
Last week I posted the first part of this article on crowdsourcing strategies. In the post, I discussed some of the big-picture issues that I believe should be considered carefully when planning a crowdsourced project. Best practices for crowdsourcing require managers to first determine the best venue for their project, effective management of the process, careful quality control, executing a well-planned recruiting strategy, active engagement of the intended audience, express ’training’ of the participants, and the anticipation that pushback may be encountered.
Today I’ll discuss 7 practical measures which managers should take to ensure a successful outcome to their crowdsourced project. These steps, when well executed, will significantly increase the probability of success, will increase the value derived from the project, will save a meaningful amount of time, and will help to assure a high quality work product.
1. Determine project goals and strategy: One of the key tenets of a lean approach to management, is the definition stage; determining a project’s goal is the first and most important step in the process. Specify exactly what you are trying to accomplish with the project and let the specific strategies and tactics flow from that objective. It is important that managers devote the time, energy, and necessary resources to the definition process as every man-hour dedicated will pay off in the end. Pull the team together, clean the whiteboard, and start brainstorming to clarify your intent and to set forth your specific objectives.
2. Define the process and the steps: Once your larger goal have been defined for your crowdsourced project, it is time to plan specific strategy and tactics to achieve it. Ask and answer for yourself these questions: Where will you host the project? Who will you recruit to participate? How will you reward or compensate the participants? Will the process be an open, transport effort or do you need some degree of privacy? There are literally dozens of considerations and contingencies to plan for when crowdsourcing and this planning process will force you to account for all of these.
3. Select the platform: By its very nature, modern crowdsourcing has a technological underpinning; it is the Internet, after all, that enables businesses to reach the large audiences needed for a successful result. Whether building your own site for the project or hosting it on one of the established crowdsourcing platforms, the choice of technology is key. Carefully evaluate the tools and features your project will require; consider the skill sets needed for the participants; and review your goals to make sure the choices you make during this part of the process are serving the ultimate aim of the project.
4. Create a strong project brief: A well-written brief will contain information not just about the project and the deliverables, but also about the goals for the project, the company sponsoring it, and the intended audience for the end-product. On crowdSPRING designers like to say, “We can’t work in a vacuum” (and, no, they are not referring to working in deep space or at the Dyson factory). The participants in your project need information: specific requirements, clearly established scope of work, defined expectations on deliverables, well-explained schedule, and established awards for participation are not just expected, but are required for success. Without overwhelming the potential participants with reams of data or pages of descriptive prose describe what you need, how it will be used, who you are, and who it is for. Provide examples of similar projects or products; provide appropriate links to other businesses, websites, designs, or samples that you like. In other words, the better job you can do with your brief, the faster you will start to receive submissions and the closer they will be to what your requirements specify.
We write often about small businesses and startups and lean approaches to marketing and other business functions. Mid- to large-size companies can also benefit from the lean methodology and one way to do so is by actively leveraging crowds of workers: designers, software engineers, testers, writers, customer support people, customers, market researchers, and dozens of other groups via the Internet.
Crowdsourcing, like many business activities had distinct advantages both strategic and economic, but the process also comes with its own set of unique pitfalls and dangers. Careful planning and good management of the process can mitigate the risks, but it is crucial that managers understand some of the issues and challenges involved as well as best practices for successful crowdsourcing. I’ve created a list of 7 big-picture issues that companies should consider as they plan their crowdsourced projects. Next week I will discuss the 7 steps companies can take to ensure a successful outcome for their crowdsourced projects. Here then, 7 “Big Picture” thoughts on how best to crowdsource your next project.
1. Make a choice and determine a venue: The critical first question for a manager considering crowdsourcing is simple and binary: is it the best choice for this project? There are many ways to complete a project, and determining how to do so is not just a choice of economy, or convenience, but also a choice of value delivered. Crowdsourcing can be of substantial economic benefit, but this comes with some trade-offs as well. You must answer the question for yourself: do the benefits of the crowd outweigh the benefits of a more traditional outsourcing, partnering, or in-house approach?
If the answer too this is a ‘yes’ the next step is to determine the venue for your project. There are dozens existing online communities and platforms that managers can leverage for tasks ranging from transcription to translation (Amazon Mechanical Turk), QA to RD (uTest to Innocentive), and coding to composing (TopCoder to musikpitch); these are readily available and easy to use, but some companies have chosen to host their own crowds and develop their own technical capacity. Keep in mind that the existing services have already done a great deal of the heavy lifting and because of that, they can deliver great value to you. It takes time and commitment to build a community of skilled workers in any domain, as well as more time and money to build the underlying technology, infrastructure, policies and protections necessary to the process. A DIY approach to crowdsourcing makes sense for a long-term approach, but many companies will want to experiment and learn before they decide to build their own.
2. Manage the process: Be certain that you don’t simply throw open the doors to your project without thorough preparation, active involvement, and careful oversight. The assumption that, once launched, a project will run itself is a very dangerous expectation and can easily lead to the failure of the project, as well as a likely inability to repeat the experiment going forward. Actively managing a crowdsourced project is no more or less difficult than managing a project executed in-house, but does come with a different set of hazards. Remember the Internets are a wild and scary place populated with creatures rarely seen in your warm conference room, so keep in mind that a crowdsourced project can get out of hand and without your own diligent participation you risk the success of the undertaking.
3. Control quality: The quality of the final work product is a key goal when managing any product, project, or process and crowdsourced projects require your careful oversight to ensure high-quality. Because many crowdsourcing communities are open platforms which have low barriers to participation, the quality of the submitted work can often be subject to great (ahem) variability. The role of the project manager is to act as gatekeeper, curator, editor, and leader and this guidance is vital to the project’s success. Take care to quickly identify the best work being done and the most talented participants, then take the time to communicate directly with those workers. Just as quickly identify the low-quality work and politely (but firmly) discourage those workers from participating further. Some platforms provide tools to assist with this, but often it will be up to the manager to perform this role.
4. Recruit and manage the crowd: Essential to the success of your crowdsourced project is the crowd itself. Established communities have done much of this work for you, but you will have to take the time to recruit the appropriate talent to participate in your project. If using an established community, marketing your project to the community is critical and you should try to promote it however you can: via emails or messages, newsletter inclusion, or by leveraging any features the site may offer such as internal promotion packages and display placement options. If you are going the build-it-yourself approach careful use of social media tools, public relations, and other word-of-mouth tactics can help you to attract the right workers to participate. Keep in mind that established communities typically have their own rules and policies designed to help you succeed: codes of conduct, user agreements, community policing and enforcement protocols are often in place and if you decide to go it on your own, you will want to make sure you have thought these through and are ready to take action to enforce your policies.
Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!
The video above contains 160 of the best one liners from Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. That post, and other interesting posts are in the “Other” section below.
Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!
The image above is taken in Takotna, Alaska during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 9, 2011. The green in the sky is the aurora borealis. More phenomenal photos from 2011 are in the Other section below.
10 New Years Resolutions For Small Businesses and Startups – http://bit.ly/t7wmEP
crowdSPRING is the world's #1 marketplace for entrepreneurs, small businesses, nonprofits and agencies who need custom logo design, web design, a new company name or other writing and design services. Over 110,000 designers and writers work on crowdSPRING. We are trusted by more than 27,000 happy clients around the world.
While economists (as usual) refuse to agree on the specifics, there is a general consensus that the recovery may (finally) be underway. Last week the Labor Department announced that in January over 240,000 new jobs were created and that the unemployment rate was at its lowest level in three years. In addition, tax revenues are increasing as is consumer spending, and exports have grown across many industries.
