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Whole health series for business owners: reading The Difference Maker, by John C. Maxwell

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By Teresa Morrow

In his book, The Difference Maker, John C. Maxwell offers tips and tools for not only living differently but questioning our attitude toward life.

He challenges the reader to discover a new way to define ourselves in this world. He shares that “much of what we do every day comes from habitual behaviors. Over the course of time, we have developed a way of approaching life”. This book is described as “one-on-one coaching” from one of the nation’s top leadership experts, John C. Maxwell.
 
Here are just a few segments in the book that struck me (there are many):
 

Your Attitude is Your Responsibility

Maxwell is talking about taking responsibility for your attitude. He shares a story from the singer Roberta Flack and how her parents didn’t make it far in school. She continues to say that despite this, each of them was literate, spoke well, and their values were high. She says, “they drummed into our heads that the situation you live in doesn’t have to live in you.”

Teresa’s Tip: Don’t allow what happened to you in your past define who you are today. Those things in our past can be like a weight dragging us down; however, we have a CHOICE to let go of the weight.

Negative Breeds Negative and Positive Fuels Positive

Maxwell offers a simple but poignant idea. Negative thoughts leads to negative action. He says, “…negative thoughts lead to negative beliefs. Those beliefs become the basis of wrong decisions, which lead to wrong actions.” He goes on to state that it can be a vicious cycle. However, we can break the cycle by forming better thoughts and positive habits.

Teresa’s Tip: This is the basis of law of attraction– what you put out, you get back to you. It doesn’t mean you will never have a bad thought or not do something wrong. However, this can help you understand that you can change your thoughts and not allow them to linger on. You can turn around a bad thought or belief and make it a positive one.

Change; it’s a Part of Life

Maxwell shares tons of great information in this section on change. He offers this quote from Andy Warhol, “they always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” – Andy Warhol
 
Maxwell adds five reasons people resist change: 1) People resist change because of personal loss 2) people resist change because of fear of the unknown 3) people resist change because the timing could be wrong 4) people resist change because is feels awkward 5) people resist change because of tradition.

Teresa’s Tip: He’s right about change—we don’t enjoy it. But what if we (and I include myself in here) don’t fear it but embrace it more. Let’s try and see change as an adventure to new possibilities. I’ve embraced change in my life (when I met the love of my life) and it was a great experience (we have been married for 10 years!) But I’ve also been resistant to change (recently my mom passed away and it is hard to live without her physically in my life). But one thing is true about change—it is going to be a part of our life whether we like it or not. It’s better to find a way to work with it instead of pushing against it.

Failure is an Opportunity

Near the end of the book, Maxwell shares his thoughts on failure. He offers this, “most people don’t need to learn more about how to overcome their rivals. They need to learn how to get out of their own way.”
 
He goes on to talk about how to profit from failure. He talks about an earlier book he wrote, titled, Failing Forward. The focus of that book was “that the difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”
 

Teresa’s Tip: Hey, it’s going to happen–you and I are going to not succeed at something. But I like the last line of the above statement….”their perception of and response to failure.” Again you and I have a CHOICE in how we deal with what happens to us…including when we fail. We can have our time to react initially—be angry, be sad, be disappointed; however, we don’t have to dwell in the failure but use it to fuel us for the next stage of what is going on in our life.

 
In this book, The Difference Maker, the author John C. Maxwell challenges us with the question, “Is attitude everything or nothing?” What do you say?
 
To get your copy of The Difference Maker by John C Maxwell go to Amazon The Difference Maker: Making Your Attitude Your Greatest Asset (Affiliate link)
 

Author’s Bio: Teresa Morrow is an inspirational author, blogger, poet, and author of ‘Life Lessons from the Heart’ and ‘Healing from Broken Trust: A Journey of Transformation.’ Visit her website at http://TeresaMorrow.com.

Four loyalty programs worth following

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By Diana Gomez

Every day I read about how to grow your business and expand your clientele. And sure, getting new customers is an important factor in any marketing tactic, but what about the ones you already have?

Hand with loyalty cards

One look at how phone companies are rethinking their treatment of already-loyal customers is proof that those are the ones who need attention. Don’t just give new customers the chance to get a new phone at a good deal. Offer those perks to the people who you already have on board, and they’ll be spreading the good news rather than telling their friends to steer clear.

Don’t limit yourself. Stop thinking of ways to get newbies when the key lies in your current customers — that is, if they’re satisfied. And they will be with a simple thank you. Reward them with experiences worth bragging about. Points-based loyalty programs are fine if the reward is clear, but it’s the reward experiences that will help grow your business via good old word-of-mouth, from your currently thrilled customers.

Here are some examples of companies that apparently get it:

Starbucks

It didn’t take much convincing for me when a cashier first told me how much I could save with My Starbucks Rewards. The idea is to download the app, which keeps track of every purchase. With each purchase, you get a star, and on the 15th, you get a free drink. Keep collecting stars and you can get extras at no cost. You know all of those adjectives we use to order a coffee? They cost money, and it all adds up.

So rather than pay extra for soy milk and vanilla, I accrued 50 stars and got all of that stuff for free. And it genuinely feels like I’m doing a friend a favor by informing them that their latte could be cheaper. Everyone wants a cheaper Starbucks coffee, don’t they? But get this: not only do you get rewarded for purchases through the app, but you can also make purchases within it and avoid the queue. Quite the game changer when you need a quick coffee en route to the office at 8:45 in the morning.

Orange

One of the most successful, widely used loyalty programs is offered by Orange. Formerly known as Orange Wednesdays, two-for-one Wednesdays have staying power with the deal of a deal: two movies for the price of one. Not only do you have to tell a friend (because you have to bring a friend), but that person will be equally enthusiastic about the reward of a free night out.

Wednesday is now a crazily crowded night at the theatre, but Orange also offers discounts on other events. From theatre to comedy to music, users get a chance to have all kinds of cheap nights out. Again, the idea of offering an actual experience proves effective in gaining loyalty. How many people stick with Orange solely due to the two-for-one deal? A lot.

KLM, and Most Airlines

Although airline rewards programs have been popular for years, they’re worth mentioning because it’s a tried and true example of how customers will keep coming back again and again if there’s a reward worth getting. And cheaper tickets, upgrades, and VIP treatment in airport lounges are definitely perks people want.

Sure, I can find a lot of great deals from a competitor, but wasting miles on an airline that I haven’t done a lot of business with is a no-brainer: I’d rather stick with the program I’ve built the most miles with. When those points accrue and inevitably pay off, it’s entirely worth it to get an entire free flight one day rather than a few slightly cheaper ones along the way.

Costa Coffee

So many people love a tangible rewards card, and the Costa Coffee card is a pretty popular one. Simply registering for a card alone will earn your tenth coffee on the house, and that immediate gratification is just the hook that will leave a customer instantly…hooked.

Keep using the card, and every nine hits gets you a free coffee. Sometimes, a simple free coffee is worth shouting about on a Facebook status. Anyone can give away things people may not need, but there’s a guaranteed smile in store for anyone whose day is made brighter by a complimentary cup of something that is entirely necessary for the day’s survival.

So there you have it. Follow in the footsteps of programs like these that have earned their own following and kept it, and you could very well see the numbers rise without spending a second focused on anyone other than the customers you’ve already snagged. Offer incentives that are actual experiences worth shouting about, and they probably will. People appreciate a thank you now and then, and showing that your company is generous will speak to your customers the most. Ultimately, the benefits will boomerang right back at you.

What loyalty program do you use the most?

Author’s Bio: Diana Gomez is the Marketing Coordinator at Lyoness America, where she is instrumental in the implementation of marketing and social media strategies for USA and Canada. Lyoness is an international shopping community and loyalty rewards program, where businesses and consumers benefit with free membership and money back with every purchase. Check out Lyoness on Twitter.

Good, Better or Best?

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By Lisa D. Jenkins

How do you invite customer feedback on the products or service you offer?

Whether it’s through an online form, a digital survey or a personal conversation, the way you frame the request for feedback can affect the way your customer answers you — and the quality of the feedback you receive.

A story about food … and feedback.

cold cocktail glass

It’s no secret I’m a foodie. I’m always on the lookout for new experiences with food and drink, so when I noticed a relatively new restaurant had opened up near my neighborhood, I was all in. I’ve been there several times to try out different brunch and lunch items.

The unique menu isn’t overly large because the owner/chef makes it a point to prepare everything from local sources. The ketchup is made in-house, the coffee is roasted just four doors down from restaurant and the staff is genuinely interested in whether or not we’ve enjoyed our meal.

The servers are attentive but not in a hovering way. They take our order, serve our meals, then disappear for a couple of minutes. I’m not sure how they time it but they return after everyone has had at least two bites of their meal to ask, “Is everything delicious?”

Not “Is everything tasting okay?” or “How is everything?” or “Is there anything else I can bring you?”

They ask if everything is delicious.

And they wait for an honest reply from everyone.

If something isn’t delicious, polite but pointed questions are asked so the server can get to the heart of the issue as quickly as possible. What kept this dish from being perfect? Was it temperature, spice, or texture? Too savory or too sweet? What isn’t working?

Over the past months I’ve seen a couple of item descriptions change ever so slightly. I’ve also seen a few items disappear.

Because I’m friendly with the staff, I know this is due to customer feedback. If an item isn’t received as delicious 90% of the time, it’s adjusted according to the feedback servers get or it’s removed entirely. As a customer, I feel incredibly valued.

In this way, the restaurant has been able to stay true to its mission and vision while providing a better experience for the diners who ultimately keep the doors open.

It’s simple and brilliant.

Which brings me to the point.

When you ask for feedback, do want customers to help you be good at serving your market, or to be the best at serving your market?

Author’s Bio: Lisa D. Jenkins is a Public Relations professional specializing in Social and Digital Communications for businesses. She has over a decade of experience and work most often with destination organizations or businesses in the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Connect with her on Google+

In a content slump? Try these Twitter features!

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By Dorien Morin-van Dam

As bloggers, business owners, social media managers we know it’s just not OK to only share your own content.

I personally try to adhere to the 80%-20% rule for myself and my social media clientele, meaning 80% of the time I share other people’s content vs. 20% of the time, I share mine or the content of my clients. And on certain platforms, it quickly turns into 90%-10%.

Sometimes, however, it’s hard to find good content to share across your platforms, and it’s easy to get discouraged. Twitter has always been my back up plan and I’d like to share three ways I use Twitter to curate content to share.

figurine with bluebirds

3 Twitter Features To Curate New Content With Right Now!

1. Twitter Lists

Use your own lists or lists others have created. Here are the sequences I use to curate content Twitter lists.

a) From my own lists: I go to a list and click on ‘Tweets’. For example, I might go to a list called ‘Steamfeed Authors’. I know that every single author on that list talks about social media.

First, I might scan to see if I can find links to the same blog posts in my feed. If I do, I will go check it out. Usually, when multiple people Tweet the same content, it’s relevant to me as well.

Second, I look for patterns and trending topics. They are usually fairly easy to spot. It could be a new feature on a platform, or breaking news. I will RT if I spot a pattern.

Last, if I can not find anything right away in the feed of those authors, I can easily identify just one author by clicking on their name and then find their own latest blog post.

b) From others’ lists: To find new lists, I will find those who influence me (or my client) on Twitter and check out their Twitter lists. If it looks to be a great list, I will subscribe (that means that next time I will not have to go find it; it will now be shown underneath my own lists!). Then I might follow some of the people on this new list and take the steps outlined above.

2. Twitter Search

You can search anything and everything on Twitter. Just drop a topic in the Twitter search bar and go!

You can also use a hashtag in front of keywords. If that’s not enough, try advanced search on Twitter. Read more on how to search and what to search in these articles. Once I find something that I know my audience will love, I use the RT option, or I might go the article itself and share it on a different platform.

3. Trending Topics

Have you used it yet? In case you didn’t know, Twitter Trends are tailored just for you! Trends offer a unique way to get closer to what you care about. They are tailored for you based on your location and who you follow. I also noticed that what’s trending for me is different on my desktop vs. my iPhone, and that has to do with my location. So when in a content slump, check out trending on ‘Twitter’ and join the on-going conversations!

Now that you know more about Twitter and how to use it for content curation, I hope your content slump is over and you will start sharing awesome content once more!

Author’s Bio: Dorien Morin-van Dam is owner and social media marketer at More In Media, a social media consultancy in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dorien provides social media consulting, management, training and education; she is passionate about teaching social media to small business owners. She services clients all over the USA and has worked in many different industries as well as with several NPO’s. In her spare time, Dorien manages four kids, three dogs and a husband. She runs marathons and loves to bake, travel and read.

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Life Lessons in Branding from Five Female Celebs

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By Diana Gomez

We’ve all heard the saying that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but is it possible to go too far?

With information spreading farther and faster than ever, it can take just a few moments to tarnish a reputation, something countless celebrities have proven possible.

Here are five lessons we can learn from spotlight-seekers — and how to apply them to your own business.

artistic Marilyn Monroe face

Miley Cyrus: From Hannah Montana to Wrecking Ball

The baby-faced daughter of country star Billy Ray Cyrus won over our hearts as a Disney Channel star, but quickly grew into a magnet for scandal by getting high on camera, posing nude and engaging in X-rated antics onstage. While the star has alienated her loyal young fans and enraged protective parents, she’s whole-heartedly embraced her risky new image as a pop provocateur — going so far as orchestrating a fake storm of controversy surrounding her Bangerz tour.

Miley got the attention she wanted, but many fans have been left scratching their heads about what exactly she’s doing. Is she a marketing genius or just a hot mess? Either way, she’s standing on shaky ground.

Lesson learned: If you change your company’s image in a wholesale way, do it after careful consideration and full awareness of former customers you may alienate in favor of attracting new ones.

Sinead O’Connor: If you don’t have anything nice to say…

After being cited as an inspiration for Miley’s racy “Wrecking Ball” video, Irish singer Sinead O’Connor shot back with a series of open letters expressing her disapproval of the pop star’s actions. “You have enough talent that you don’t need to let the music business make a prostitute of you,” Sinead wrote in one letter. Miley responded by reposting a series of tweets Sinead had written two years earlier when she was seeking psychiatric help. Sinead followed up by demanding an apology and threatening Miley with legal action if she didn’t take down the tweets, saying she’d been subjected to media bullying.

This wasn’t Sinead’s first time in the hot seat. Most memorably, the buzz-cutted singer drew scorn for ripping up a photograph of the pope on Saturday Night Live in 1992. Her career fizzled out soon afterward, and her only headline appearances revolved around her personal life — most notably, a suicide attempt and a custody battle.

Lesson learned: Don’t start hurling criticisms unless you’re prepared to receive a few of your own.

Gwyneth Paltrow: Is honesty always the best policy?

When Gwyneth and her rock star hubby Chris Martin decided to separate, there was nothing quiet about it: The actress announced the split via her popular blog, GOOP. Gwyneth painted the divorce as a “conscious uncoupling,” then proceeded to explain their decision as a new, more progressive way of being in relationships. She may have been attempting to control the spin on the separation, but many people responded negatively, taking it as an example of how out-of-touch Gwyneth is.

Lesson learned: Tell the truth in times of crisis, but keep it simple. Spinning the story and adding details can dig your company into a hole.

Martha Stewart: Moving on

The world was shocked when domestic diva Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison after lying to investigators about selling stocks. Ten years later, Martha’s media empire is still going strong — so strong, in fact, that it’s easy to forget about her prison stint altogether. Her magazines, books, TV shows and product lines are thriving. And while many doubted her ability to bounce back, Martha always knew she would.

“I was very confident,” she said in a rare interview with Matt Lauer last year. “When you know inside that you’re good, that you’ve done well, and that you are an honest person, you know you can live through disaster.”

Rather than focusing on the negative, Martha chose to remain confident and carry on with business as usual as soon as she’d served her term. And that approach has certainly worked out in her favor.

Lesson learned: If you suffer a setback, take the fall with grace and style, and your rebound will be that much easier.

Taylor Swift: The power of loyalty

Taylor Swift’s country-pop tunes dominate the airwaves, and it’s not just because they’re so darn catchy. The young star is frequently lauded as a marketing maven. For one, her ability to understand and cater to her massive fan base represents a valuable lesson in contact marketing.

And that connection with her fans is a huge part of her success.

Taylor is known for tracking down her most passionate followers and rewarding them with memorable experiences, and she’s extremely active on social media. When Taylor asks her army of fans to call in to radio stations and politely request her songs, you can bet that DJs across America are immediately bombarded.

Lesson learned: Know your audience, give them what they want and never take them for granted.

What other celebrities have stories with lessons that businesses can learn from?

Author’s Bio: Diana Gomez is the Marketing Coordinator at Lyoness America, where she is instrumental in the implementation of marketing and social media strategies for USA and Canada. Lyoness is an international shopping community and loyalty rewards program, where businesses and consumers benefit with free membership and money back with every purchase. Check out Lyoness on Twitter.

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Best practices for building an integrated business community

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What is an online community?

Online community is an organized group of people connecting and sharing online on a regular basis. It’s generally accepted that members of an online community have the ability to communicate with each other as well as with the operator of the community. Most communities also have their own set of guidelines or rules, visual signals, and peer support.

A true online community builds equity over time, and can be classified as “owned media.”

welcome mat

What is not an online community?

Broadcast-only or broadcast-centric platforms, such as an emailed newsletter list, Twitter accounts, or company Facebook pages do not constitute communities. Those tools, while worthwhile, do not make good standalone community platforms because they do not allow full expression of interpersonal relationships, and their content tends to be transitory. Participants in those platforms are more audience than community member, even when they are given the opportunity to comment…it’s generally in response to a trigger from the operator, not a topic of their choosing.

When a business decides to invest in managing an online community, ideally it will take advantage of the tools that suit the business purpose best. But there must always be a home-base, or core, to which the other social accounts contribute. This home-base should be part of the business’ own website, where it can control the branding, messaging, features, customer data, and analytics.

Social tools like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are great for reaching the audience, but then there must be a place for members to return again and again for deep-dive content and lasting relationships.

A very high percentage of users abandon Facebook fan pages after a campaign is over; however members stick around brand-owned communities for years, building equity and value that endures. In addition, and most importantly, you have no ownership of the community data or content on these third-party networks.

“Facebook is more effective at driving brand sales via a brand’s website than on Facebook itself.” The Evolution of Facebook Brand Fans, AdAge White paper, Sept. 2011

Best Practices for Building a Thriving Business Community

Destroy the internal silos

Prepare all departments to participate: marketing, PR, customer service, sales, product development, and management (for example, if PR is planning a big social stunt, be sure to bring the YouTube viewers back into the home base for discussion and long-term mileage from the event).

Find a champion

Dedicate one overall administrator with authority to take corrective action. Even with the silos gone, someone needs to manage the community, from a strategic, technological, and staffing perspective. If the lights are on and no-one’s home, the community will not succeed. Ideally, the department whose budget is paying for the community platform is the same department responsible for administering it.

Remember the prime objective

Tie business objectives to the community, and for each objective, come up with metric for success. For example, if the primary objective of the community is to offer tech support to customers, it would be logical to evaluate the number of call center tickets/phone calls to determine whether the community is lowering that number. If the primary objective of the community is something more nebulous like “brand awareness,” then you could choose some indicator metrics like number of brand mentions, site traffic numbers, or reputation indicators.

Choose your platform(s) with the goal in mind

If you are using a flexible online community platform, you will be able to select which specific tools, singly or in combination, will support the goal. It could be a commented blog, it could be forums with the occasional chat event, or it could be some combination of tools. Consider how your audience prefers to interact and choose accordingly. If you are starting a community from scratch, sometimes it’s best to start with commented blogs and add forums once there is a core of active participants.

Along with the home base, determine which external social tools will be integrated. If your audience hangs out on Facebook, choose a platform with Facebook Connect and content sharing. If they are Twitter maniacs, incorporate a Twitter feed widget into the home base. Plan a two-way communication–encourage sharing content outwards, and promote the home base on the external social networks as well.

Don’t have a split personality

Think about convenience for your members, and they will love you for it. Use a single sign-on if possible, across your community tools. The same cohesive feel applies to the branding across platforms; use the same colors and theming on your home community and in external profiles.

Integrate social monitoring and measuring

Be sure to include your home base within your social monitoring dashboard. Whether you’re using an enterprise listening system, Google Alerts, or another tool, make sure that you are monitoring all of your key indicators across your social networks, including the community on your own website.

To summarize, your social presence should be an elegantly integrated, comprehensive ecosystem that encourages brand evangelists to re-visit again and again, and share messaging outward as well.

By bringing the conversation home, you solidify the relationship and provide lasting value to both the customer and the brand.

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

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