Push and Pull

In marketing there's a concept called "push marketing," which is basically pushing your product on your dealers. Making them stock your stuff so they feel the pressure to sell.

Then there's "pull marketing," meaning the dealers or customers are demanding your product, they're pulling it from you. Obviously, the ideal is to be in a "pull" position. You can demand a better price, better terms and there is healthy competition for your product.

At large and small corporations, there's the same phenomena. There are "push" people and "pull" people. The "push"people are the ones that need be forced to do their jobs, they have to be checked up on, they take orders and do little else. The "pull" people are the ones that want more opportunity, they have ideas and take ownership for them.

In this economy, there is no more room for "push" employees. In essence, in many cases those employees push themselves out the door. The higher the percentage of "pull" employees a corporation has, the better its success.


Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
www.labov.com

Why Creativity Should Be Booming

In a tough economy, you have less people hanging around. You have more people knocking on your door looking for work. And you have clients more hungry than ever for great ideas.

That means the old way of doing things: giving all the creative opportunities to the same people at your company--is changing.

Now, companies in all industries will be moving toward competitive sourcing--internally and externally. That means having your employees compete against your suppliers in order to find the best idea. Why not? It may reduce the complacency in your company. It may allow you to test drive a freelancer or new supplier.

The price is small: a few bucks to a supplier to come up with ideas. The upside is great: better ideas and reduced complacency.

Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
www.labov.com

Technology and Mediocrity

Way back in the old days, a good musician had to play rhythmically and accurately to be considered good. Then came computers. A decent software program would allow a sloppy performance to be loaded in and then be corrected so it was tight and error-free.

In the old days, a graphic artist actually drew things with a pen or pencil. The artist would use a razor blade and cut out the art work and glue it (paste it) on to their boards. Then a computer program came along that allowed the computer to draw and also to cut and paste anything.

Now, the big craze is social media. A few people are really mastering it and are making a living utilizing it. Social media will only get bigger. But technology will also continue to creep in to its space. Right now, few people are great at it. In a couple years or less, there will be scores of software programs that will do to social media what they did to music and graphic arts: it will become easier to be mediocre.

The technology doesn't make the musician or the graphic artist more creative, but it does help anyone get up to the level of mediocrity a lot easier. Social media will be the same.

Lesson: if you think you're pretty good at it today, you better keep growing and learning because technology will be nipping at your heels.


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

Brands are vanishing around us

Another casualty of this economy is that brands are disappearing and if we don't stop and realize, we may not notice they're gone.

Plymouth, Oldsmobile, and Saturn have vanished over the last few years. Buell Motorcycles also just announced it was closing down.

It's no longer just the lay-offs and down-sizing that are going on. Brands are being cut. A sign of tough times.

This is the beginning of brand reductions. It's simply too expensive to fund and subsidize brands that can't pay for themselves.

It used to be that an individual had to "pay for himself (or herself)" in order to ensure he (she) could keep his job. Now, brands are being expected to do the same.


Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
www.labov.com

One on One Gets it Done

We've all heard the saying, "The more the merrier." I think that's true when it comes to ideas--the more ideas on the table, the more likely you'll find a great one.

But when it comes to making a presentation or discussing a difficult issue, it doesn't ring true. If you are truly committed and truly believe, then a one-on-one is far more effective than bringing three or four (or more) people with you.

Ask yourself this the next time you work with a client or present an idea: Am I bringing in the fewest people as possible or am I bringing in more people because it feels better or because it looks impressive?

Another thing about being going one-on-one when there's an issue--it takes guts. It's not easy. But it reaps dividends. You can make real progress, talk about the most sensitive issues. And you're respected for having that courage. That won't happen if you bring in a troupe.

When it comes to ideas, the more the merrier. When it comes to communications, the fewer the better.


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

Why isn't there more entrepreneurial thinking at dealerships?

You'd think that dealerships would be a hotbed for entrepreneurial behavior. That's what manufacturers that use dealers expect: the manufacturer builds something and the dealer sells it. By why is there so much friction between those two entities?

One answer is that dealerships quite often are not entrepreneurial. Sure, they started out that way when Dad or Grandpa or Grandma founded them. But today, most dealerships are family businesses and it's the second or even third generation that is in charge. Those second and third generation folks are smart, but quite often they're a different breed. They're more conservative, less risk-taking. They are focused are maintaining the business, less on growing it.

Sometimes dealerships are started by enthusiasts or technical people, such as engineers or mechanics. Again, they may be brilliant, but thinking like an entrepreneur is a stretch for them.

It's time we realized that training is an answer--but not the traditional product, technical or soft-skills training. We need a new kind of training and development: to awaken the entrepreneur at our dealerships or at least open their eyes to entrepreneurial thinking.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

An Eleven Year Old Can See It

I was sitting at a little league baseball game watching a great game until, unexpectedly something happened. It had been a close game between a good team and a struggling team until that losing team fell apart, giving up the maximum number of runs in the last innings to lose the game. I was dumbfounded. How could this happen, it was almost impossible? Then I heard a little voice behind me say, "I knew they'd do this."

I turned around and it was an eleven-year-old ballplayer waiting for this game to end so his team could start their game. I asked him, "How did you know this disaster would take place?"

He said, "Simple. The team that lost didn't believe in themselves. They gave up and the other team sensed it." "Yeah," said a chorus of his teammates as they picked up their gear and headed to the dugout to get ready for their game.

Think about it--if you don't believe in yourself or your company or your product, I bet your customers sense it, I bet your competitors sense it.

Maybe what the eleven-year-old said explains why we make presentations and the customer doesn't buy-in or why some people sell a lot and others fail--all selling the same product and brand.

We have to believe, we have to give it everything we have or our customers will sense we're not committed, that we don't believe. And we can't fake it--our customers and our competitors will know. Just ask any eleven-year-old.


Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
http://www.labov.com/

Erin's House, a great example of a non-profit

My company, LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications, supports a non-profit that provides counseling and therapy for children who have lost their parents to death. This non-profit, Erin's House, is a dream to work with. We provide our creative services pro bono (free) and yet it's an exhilarating experience because of their cause and because of the way Erin's House conducts itself.

Erin's House is the rare non-profit that inspires its suppliers. They allow our creatives to do their best work. One of owners, Cathy Schannen, works closely with their board to produce print pieces and to help them raise funds. Cathy is fired up about helping them, which has infected me to feel the same.

Non-profits are struggling. They need to learn from Erin's House: choose your suppliers--don't put them to bid against each other. Allow the supplier to do their best work. Include the supplier in their events and be part of their family.

There are millions of non-profits with great causes. Yet, most are in peril. Non-profits: choose your partners and show them loyalty; allow them to help you and feel a part of your cause.


Barry LaBov
President, LaBov and Beyond
labov.com

Listen closely, there's a change going on

I just went to a get-together, a reunion of sorts and got to listen to dozens of people talking about their lives. It was enlightening. I believe had this meeting taken place two years ago, I would have heard something completely different.

To a person, people said they were pressured by the economy and had readjusted their goals downward. They spoke of their hobbies and part-time pursuits glowingly. Most of them were employed, but were if anything--underemployed--working ultra-flexible jobs at a lower income than they previously had. That flexibility allowed them to play music on the weekend or pursue their art careers, for example.

Location was an interesting topic--most of the people worked at home or at least had the option to work at home when they wanted.

Were they stressed out or unhappy? I'd have to say they were grounded in reality--they were making less money, they had less job security, but they had jobs, flexibility and were pursuing some interesting things.

How does that affect business? I think it says there are plenty of us out there that no longer expect a corner office or high salary (along with the high stress of that job), there are throngs who would like to jump into an opportunity that pays decently, but more importantly offers possibilities--like working from home, playing gigs during the week or hanging out with the kids.

We all know that we have a new economy. Now, we're getting to meet the new work force.



Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
labov.com

Different Kind of Energy

The nation and the world are obsessed with energy--saving it, conserving it, creating it in new ways. Listen to young people talk and you'll learn that energy is invaluable to them. They are mesmerized with solar energy, hybrids, wind farms, etc. Very exciting.

Why is this? It's because we've been lazy for so many years that we're threatening our existence. We've gone along with what is easiest without realizing that we can do better. Now, we're waking up to this and are drawn to new forms of energy like a magnet.

There's another energy that we can provide: personal energy. In our businesses, think of whom you'd rather work with with on your team--a drowsy order-taker or someone who's engaged and energized? For too long, our robust economy has allowed many of us to sleepwalk, it's time to wake up..

If you're a supplier, your client wants someone who will charge them up. If you're a manufacturer, your dealers want you to fire them up. If you're a dealer, your manufacturer wants a dynamic dealer base to propel them forward and to inspire them to engineer and produce the best products.

Sure, we have to be sincere and we have to be focused, not just excited. But our job with our employees, our dealers, our manufacturers--whomever--is to crank it up, to be their department of energy.

In a numb business world, the person or the corporation that ignites the passion in others will stand out and will energize.


Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
www.labov.com