Social Media in a Regulated Industry

July 20, 2012 by

Social media in a regulated industry.  Is that possible?  Can I do it?  So often I get asked that exact question.  This interview on CEO Corner with John Theriault, founder and principal of Truventis, discusses that exact issue.  Is it possible – YES.  It is valuable – YES.  Can we do it – YES.  Should we do it – YES.

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How do we do it – that is the interesting question.  John has mastered the industries that he works with and has laid out in this interview some very strong and solid principles for using social media in regulated industries.  Paying attention to goals, needs, requirements, and internal processes is critical to driving success in regulated industries.  “Make sure the organization has its ducks in a row” – Step 1 from John.  Often we, as marketers, discuss this and talk about it but more often than not we ignore it.  John stresses that, discusses escalation policies, risks, and discussions around what employees can and cannot do.  In addition, the focus on “content design” is critical.  Focusing on how to pay out a program, put a strategy in place, and then implement it is the key to success.

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And – by the way – do not miss how John does his own Inbound Marketing.  He does his own radio show – using traditional media to grow a social media organization.  Novel concept – but watch and see how he explains his strategy, there are some real interesting correlations that drive his use of traditional media to drive his social media growth.

 

 

Be sure to watch the full CEO Corner with Truventis and feel free to tweet or e-mail me ssaber at ThePulseNetwork DOT com.  Interested in being a guest on CEO Corner?  Contact Bruce Karten, bkarten at ThePulseNetwork DOT com.

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CEO Corner – Questionmine Takeaways

July 16, 2012 by

“Staying one step ahead.”  It sounds so simple.  It sounds so automatic.  But that is potentially one of the most critical responsibilities of a CEO.

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In this episode of CEO Corner, we talk with Gary Spirer CEO of Questionmine, where he lays out some basic principles of being a great CEO – whether you are launching a business or growing a business.  And remember – if you are not growing, you are shrinking – so for every CEO – it is always about growing a business.  For me, staying one step ahead is a mantra that every CEO needs to always be thinking about.  And take note – it is not two steps ahead or five steps ahead.  Gary does a great job of explaining that one step is the magic.  In explaining it, he tells other CEOs that it is not about seeing the future and predicting the future and being a futurist.  Instead, it is about seeing the direction of the future and pointing the company in that direction.  Customers do not buy futures – they buy in the present and they buy a company that can see the future opportunities and align themselves with that – staying one step ahead.

 

I also found this other statement thought provoking – “we do what we do well”.  In other words – yes – there are other things we could do as a company but Gary keeps the company focused on the core competencies that it can do well, not letting it or anyone get distracted.  This discipline is critical – especially when coupled with the challenge of staying one step ahead.  And with that, Gary spends a lot of time with his company focusing on demonstrating the value of what they deliver.  So often, companies fear defining and measuring the ROI of their offerings.  But more and more, that demonstration of ROI is becoming the differentiating factor for successful companies.

And finally, make the sale simple.  Customers have a difficult time if they feel they have to decipher your selling proposition and make their own determination of the value that you bring.  Make it simple, clear, and understandable.  Don’t be afraid to over-simplify it – as we talk about often on CEO Corner – in a lot of ways the elevator pitch has become even more condensed and the challenge to simplify the message even more critical.

Check out the episode of CEO Corner with Gary Spirer from Questionmine – there is a lot to learn about being a great CEO and Gary lays out these critical success factors in a very clear and concise way as he walks us through the evolution of Questionmine.

Be sure to watch the full CEO Corner with Questionmine and feel free to tweet or e-mail me ssaber at ThePulseNetwork DOT com.  Interested in being a guest on CEO Corner?  Contact Bruce Karten, bkarten at ThePulseNetwork DOT com.

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CEO Corner – Market Creation Group Takeaways

July 5, 2012 by

Launching a business is never easy.  From the outside, it looks simple and often observers will watch the CEO and see mistakes and/or questionable decisions and critique the decisions.  But from the inside, it is a challenge and a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs and constant decisions.  In this episode of CEO Corner we talk with Brett Schklar of Market Creation Group about how he was able to launch the business and grow it into a unique and strong organization.

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Meet the Market Creation Group, a full-service marketing firm focused on B2B technology.  Market Creation Group focuses on Creative Strategies, Demand Generation, and Creative Services.

Particularly interesting in this business exploration are the principles that Brett discusses that help him in growing and driving his business.  CEOs often talk about them and express these ideas but few actually believe in them strongly enough to follow them throughout the growth of the company.

It is so easy as a CEO to get distracted and turned in a different direction because an opportunity arises that looks interesting and feels challenging.  But Brett explains a key principle for him is sticking to what you know.  As a CEO, it is your challenge to identify and know the skillsets and key capabilities of the organization.  And, when the opportunity arises to look at something else, it is your challenge to decide – is this opportunity an extension of what we know and are good at or is it a distraction better achieved through partnership and outsourcing.  Sticking to what you know and are good at is critical to making good decisions and keeping a business focused.

Likewise, listening to your customer is an old proverb that fewer and fewer CEOs follow and believe in.  But for Brett, not only was this a key principle, but it helped to shape the product offerings and solutions and ultimately the business of Market Creation Group.

And finally, we explore the key changes that happen to a business as it grows.  CEOs often are loathe to talk about the different stages of growth of a company because, while exciting on many levels, there are certain pains as well.  For any CEO of a growing organization, this conversation is worth a listen to understand how growth will cause you to formalize informal processes and to think about your employees and their growth and capabilities to see if they continue to align with the business as the business evolves.

Be sure to watch the full CEO Corner with Market Creation Group and feel free to tweet or e-mail me ssaber at ThePulseNetwork DOT com.  Interested in being a guest on CEO Corner?  Contact Bruce Karten, bkarten at ThePulseNetwork DOT com.

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CEO Corner – Ackuna Translator Takeaways

July 3, 2012 by

Pivot.  If there is ever a word that I think about a lot and talk about a lot with other CEOs it is pivot.  Why?  Because every company needs to pivot.  From small companies to the largest enterprises, companies often find themselves in a situation where there is a critical need to pivot the organization.

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But let me be clear – pivoting a company is not easy and is often scary.  In this episode of CEO Corner with Alex Buran, we look into Translation Cloud, a company that is currently going through that pivot.  Alex launched and created a great service business focusing on translation services.  His business is both successful and deep in terms of resources and capabilities.  But Alex saw the opportunity for something bigger and in doing so launched Ackuna.  Ackuna is a crowd-source platform for translation services where the community both helps to perform the services and grades the effectiveness of others performing the services.

Why launch Ackuna?  Because Alex saw the opportunity to 1) build a platform that could pivot the business from a service business to a platform business and 2) because Alex recognized the opportunity that the new social, crowd-source platforms are creating in the marketplace and decided to seize on that opportunity.  For sure, the pivot is a scary and difficult one.  But doing so is about being calculating, knowing your threshold for investment, understanding the amount of investment you are willing to make, and making sure you have complete alignment in your organization on the pivot that you are recommending and attempting.

Be sure to watch the full CEO Corner with Ackuna and feel free to tweet or e-mail me ssaber at ThePulseNetwork DOT com.  Interested in being a guest on CEO Corner?  Contact Bruce Karten, bkarten at ThePulseNetwork DOT com.

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