Blended Learning Strategy– Cost Effective Training

If you've not satisfied with continual staff turnover, escalating salary bidding wars and the quality of your current workforce skills you may want to consider a Blended Learning Strategy for your company. With the advent of eLearning, a cost-effective blended learning strategy for a small business employers can now be developed to train a workforce for both soft skills and practical skills. The formula might include a syllabus of off-the-shelf eLearning for soft skills, on-the-job training for practical skills, a process for filtering likely successful candidates, a means of testing milestone comprehension and a good benefits package to attract and retain the best possible candidates. 

It is an investment, for sure, but it can be very cost effective when you measure this against all the time and effort you dedicate to managing your workforce, the quality of work preformed, the cost of developing leadership and communications skills, the cost of retaining good performers and the effect that "churn" has on productivity, Developing a focused Blended Learning strategy pays long term dividends for businesses and organizations that are focused on growth. The changing economy and the rise of the too-skilled worker demographic has led to an unusual segmentation in the available labour force. This is borne out by the many discussions I have had with small to medium size employers who experience on ongoing shortage of talent. Many companies we work with could actually grow more rapidly if they could count on a skilled workforce to meet their demands.  

Pundits and experts point to the lack of training investment, economic uncertainty, poorly designed government programs and lack of employer vision in developing training programs - as the main culprits in this seeming shortage of qualified labour. Hard to lament a shortage in labour when the economy as a whole continues to sputter and unemployment continues to be an issue.

I believe, however, the employment shortage is real and not just imagined. In recognizing this shortage - I have identified three distinct groups of unemployed which can help us create solutions. The first group is the over –qualified university “Educated Worker” with eyes on a middle management position and little or no experience, the second is the “Employed” that has the skills and are actively being pursued by competing companies, while the third group, in this over simplified model, is the unemployed who may have little or no post-secondary education, not a lot of experience and are seeking opportunities with a future in a marketplace filled with service industry and part time positions.

A recent Labour Market Partnership (LMP) study (over 2,000 small businesses participated ) identified the following 10 learning requirements for small businesses, including: people skills/relationship-building, communication skills, problem solving skills, analytical abilities, leadership skills, industry-specific knowledge & experience, functional knowledge, technological literacy, project management skills and creative thinking.  

Accessing available online training for the bulk of the skills required and implementing a structured on-the job-training program can address the need for skilled labour in an organized and cost effective way. Adding a means of filtering recruits, testing for milestone comprehension and developing a strategy for ensuring they stay with the organization over the long term can make this training initiative a very cost effective means of acquiring and retaining a skilled workforce.

In today’s workplace it’s no longer good enough for employers, particularly in the manufacturing and industrial marketplace, to simply hope that there is a qualified talent pool, outbid competing companies or count on government initiatives that will address the need for unique skill sets. Employers need to invest in their own training program that leverages available low cost learning solutions for soft skills coupled with an on-the-job training program for practical skills. The magic additional ingredients in such a program are: the ability to benchmark test applicants, filter and select only the best potential applicants and develop a strategy for retaining these skills with a strong company vision and a good benefits package. Contact us to learn more.

Curating Conferences In The Digital Age

Curating content in the Digital Age and promoting its
 value is an important part of a conference, workshop,
or seminar digital strategy 

In talking to clients over the past year or so I have noticed a trend; many organizations are beginning to question the effectiveness of workshops, seminars and conferences in terms of costs and effectiveness. While these events are a good place to network they rarely have any tangible effect within an organization. These types of learning events have been commonplace in the corporate life cycle over the past several decades, but that is about to change.

Don’t get me wrong, live events and their spill-out of social discourse and knowledge transfer continue to thrive – but in a more focused and scaled manner as organizations struggle to continue to create these kinds of learning opportunities. Over time costs for events such as workshops, seminars and conferences have steadily increased as food, hosting infrastructure, accommodations, transportation and support services spiral upwards. These factors coupled with an ineffective measurement of comprehension offers us an uncertain picture of the benefits of a live event. 

As a result, audience make up at such events is changing and the number of attendees is shrinking. Conferences, workshops and seminars were once attended by a broad spectrum of audiences, ranging from local and regional representation, including: organizational members, employees, interested stake holders and subject matter experts. Today the attendee demographic is fairly similar but we have seen a drop in the longer distance traveler – where accommodation and travel costs are influencing attendance decisions. 

This has created an opportunity for technology to step in and create a two-tiered conference strategy that employs a smaller, local or regional foot-print for attendees and a second larger provincial and regional attendance footprint through the use of curated digital content. In the past such content was treated in a very circumspect manner – digital videos, print and ancillary content was posted un-curated, in aggregate online, for a wider audience. These digital elements were not well attended since the content was generally long, boring, and did not reflect the social interaction and knowledge sharing of a conference or seminar.

Progressive organizations now are using a more forward thinking strategy by focusing their live events  towards the demographics of the attending audience -  and then curating the resulting assets which could include: eLearning, documentation, statistical data, PowerPoint presentations, video and /or audio in an organized forum for access by an expanded audience of learners.  Another important consideration is the promotion of curated assets. It is not good enough to just organize, distill and post – we have to let our audience know what information is available, ensure that there is a strategy for periodically reviewing and updating curated content and advise our potential audiences of the value of, and benefits for the information posted in an ongoing strategy.

A personal axiom I use to often describe this issue is “If you do not show respect for the content how can you expect your audience to value it?”  Having a curating strategy as we move deeper into the digital age will become increasingly important as new technology evolves and improves our access to digital information. I believe the live learning event has an important place in learning and the ephemeral nature of the information gained at such events will become increasingly important as we all learn to curate and create relevant archives of the valuable knowledge gained at conferences, workshops and seminars. 

Market Assessment - Navigating The Business Cycle

A Market Assessment can change the fortunes
 of your organization's future

Measuring progress on the consistent implementation of marketing and communication strategies allows organizations and companies to see beyond the numbers. Many make the mistake of allowing sales and/or revenue streams to crest and trough, coinciding with changing market forces. Allowing revue streams to ebb and margins to erode as a result of focusing on addressing current business issues and or the complex issues related to delivering jobs or projects can harm your business in the long term.

Gradual loss of focus on your marketing strategy will not be evident during an upswing in the market cycle but will have a dramatic impact on the fortunes of the company during a market cycle downturn or trough in sales. It can create a scenario where you are ill prepared to take on unforeseen or sudden changes in the marketplace; or it can make you unable to effectively fund investment in growth and/or product innovations properly when you need it most.

This issue has emerged over the past several years as one of the most telling - as companies strive to deal with the new reality; since the economic downturn across North America in 2008. The marketplace has changed and every company is being squeezed to offer more, do more and ….charge less of their products or services. As a result organizations and businesses are focused on the day to day issues in the life cycle of the business, such as human resources, project management, technology implementation, financial flexibility and more.

There are strategies that can be employed to help protect companies from troughs in the business cycle. We have developed a specialized process for conducting a “market assessment” to help reveal “opportunity gaps”. The assessment focuses on a bench-marked practice designed to better understand where you are in the business cycle and identify specific actions you can take to address those “opportunity gaps.” The market assessment reveals how your customers, employees, suppliers and key stakeholder perceive the company and its products or services and identifies gaps in your business development strategy.

The market Assessment is designed to be deployed relatively quickly and cost effectively – it provides you with a very clear snap shot of where your company currently sits in the business cycle and helps identify “opportunity gaps.” What is an “opportunity gap” ….well I am glad you asked? These are the potential growth opportunities that are currently being overlooked. A market assessment can reveal possible untapped markets, new partnerships, product development opportunities, unexplored customer loyalty programs, inconsistent value proposition, internal strife… and the list goes on. It’s different for each company depending on what the assessment reveals.

A marketing Assessment can also strengthen your company in preparation for its sale.  Most financial audits, in doing their due diligence will use these indicators to determine the longer term viability of your company. Most accounting practices who are informing the buy and sell process of a company understand that current sales and are not a strong predictor of future sales. Intangibles that give us insight into business issues beyond the numbers, such as new product pipeline, exploration of enhanced partnerships and future sales potential are a better indicators of long term viability.

In my next blog I will provide a specific list of intangibles to consider when conducting a market Assessment and offer readers an opportunity to test their Marketing IQ.

MOOCs & Corporate Training?

MOOCs have the capacity to
change the way we look at eLearning

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are beginning to make a splash in the corporate training world as organizations begin to adopt this technology for internal training and customer service and customer relationship building.  For those who may not be familiar with the term a MOOC is “massive “in that it allows thousands of learners to participate at any one time in a course or program, “open,” because anyone with an Internet connection can enroll in a course; and they are “courses” because they have a start and end date, learner testing and benchmark achievement levels and /or proctored exams.

The term free and verification are often used when describing MOOCs but again this is a misnomer. As with anything in the real world, you rarely get anything for free (courses often cost between $30 - $100) and few of the courses offer verification …especially the free ones. Forbes magazine suggests that only about 14% of the courses at one of the largest MOOCs in North America  are verified in some way.   

A MOOC is a concept that incorporates lateral learning and thinking process.  Typically a syllabus is created with the content such as online articles, web links, blogs, wikis, videos, etc., that offer important information on the topic being discovered during a given time frame of the program or course. The learners explore the content and engage in dialogue with other learners and external subject matter experts. Gradually the learning group establishes its own understanding and focuses of the content and can assess their progress against the entire group of learners. Dave Cormier the originator ofthe term MOOC ( no relation that I know of) offers a short and concise explanation.

Now that we have established the idea of a MOOC (which originated from the academic world) we need to gain some insight into how it is implemented at the corporate world. The difference between academic and corporate may seem subtle but nothing could be further from the truth. Academic settings are ideal in that funding for content is already in place and the learning can be extended to an audience outside of the paid program allowing them to learn along with program participants.  In a corporate setting there are three basic learning paths governed by the demands of business, compliance training to which the employer is legally bound, productivity & skills training and customer service learning. In these cases there is no corporate funding so the planning and strategy of a MOOC remains similar to a standard corporate training environment except that the training can be allowed to cross pollinate within the business and the same knowledge and format can be extended to customers outside the business.

While MOOCs are touted as a new and advanced frontier in learning – if there are to be effective they demand planning and lots of it. The “Garbage In…Garbage Out” rule applies here perhaps more than in traditional learning systems simply because of the increasingly sophisticated approach.  Multiple audiences lateral learning, expanded content, social networks all add to the effectiveness of learning and extend learning throughout the organization but they do demand increased strategic planning. Large organizations can employ this approach much more readily because of their already considerable investment in learning, the poor existing track record of learning within organizations and the benefits that can be harvested when they extend product and service learning opportunities to their customers. 

Smaller organizations can benefit from the unique learning opportunities of MOOCs but it is important to carefully consider a strategy and implementation plan that benefits them every step of the way.

eLearning – Will Tools or Strategy Save Us?

Understanding what is possible leads to success!

A new learning paradigm is sweeping across all sectors of the economy and beginning to affect our lives in many unseen ways.  Two major factors are driving this change - the human factor which fuels our increasing need for knowledge, and the costs associated with delivering that knowledge. Our civilization and indeed our very social fabric have always relied on tools to solve such problems, while strategy has often taken a back seat. 

 Our history is littered with examples of technology that has proven ineffective until careful thought has been applied to their use. One such example comes to mind through the Department of National Defense (Canada) who designed ejection seats for early fighter planes that cut off the legs of the pilot if he was too big. I am sure each of us has been exposed to poor software design when we try and shop or buy something online…somehow the programmer always seems to be the designer of the interaction. All too often the end user is not consulted and the tools we develop fail to meet our needs because they do not consider or consult the end user- in this case “learners.”

 As might be expected, big business has always stepped in to leverage an opportunity; like providing a driver and a bus with no final destination or map to guide us. Learning Management Systems and Learning development tool sets are ubiquitous today …offering us the ability to deliver learning anywhere, anytime at low cost. Organizational administrators are tasked with the increasingly complicated learning demands - struggling to make sense of the technology and how to best meet their needs. Trying to filter through the avalanche of eLearning tools and promotions as many companies rush to meet the needs can be troubling. Little time if any is relegated to the idea of implementing a learning strategy first, before deploying a tool set.

Most organizations take one of two very different routes to achieve their learning goals. The first option is to try and understand needs and demands of learners from legacy learning experiences - and without conducting a thorough assessment of changing learner needs. This often results in re-purposing existing legacy information into useful learning by utilizing new tools sets such as Learning Management Systems, without fully understanding their impact.

The second and much more complex option is the “Strategy First Option” which involves seeking to understand current learner needs and learning organizational goals by conducting a more in-depth assessment. Understanding the nature of learners in your organization may include defining not only organizational learning goals but personal improvement and broader overall knowledge growth. Developing a strategy first option doesn't need to take a great deal of time and effort  but it does take some very specific thought. Laying out a plan that includes organizational learning goals, audience learning preferences, prioritizing topic development and putting into place the administration and promotional resources required to effectively implement a learning strategy over the long term will ensure success.

Once you have a strategy in place you can then begin selecting tools, topics and partners to develop and implement a learning plan that meets your organizational needs… but perhaps more importantly, in developing a strategy you have gained the trust of learners, created a framework for learning and generated awareness of the learning initiative.  

I am happy to share my strategy checklist - let's connect to explore the possible.  

Engaging Your Customers...Narrowcasting is Now

Marketing Budget +/- by Media for 2014

Have a careful look at this chart... while it provides us with a snap shot of the dramatic change in advertising budgets it also underlines the move from Broadcasting to Narrowcasting. The percentages of budgets that are slated to grow in 2014 are largely confined to those media that are narrowly focused on unique audiences, while the large broadcasting budgets are seeing significant declines.

There is a reduced need for broadcasting, as new technologies allow us to reach segmented audiences more effectively and immediately with the depth of information that appeals to customer loyalty.  And …if organizations are going to reach these smaller audience in a meaningful way  they have to offer benefits and advantages that small audience are looking for -  breadth and depth of knowledge and the ability to choose when and how they want to engage. In a nut shell -   this is the difference today between broadcasting and narrowcasting …broadcasting presents one message to a broad audience while narrow casting delivers different messages to individual members of smaller audiences.

Those companies and organizations who can dominate their niche or category are successful when they leverage a consensual relationship with unique incentives and advantages, depth of information and delivery of that information at time and ...in a way ...that appeals to customers. Like all mediums, broadcasting mediums like radio, or television and print before them …will continue to have an audiences for the foreseeable future…it will just be a smaller piece of the pie ....old mediums never die they simply loose the top spot to more responsive media.

Narrow audiences today can be as few as dozens or hundreds, or as broad as hundreds of thousands - but in the light of the public broadcasting spectrum we once held sacrosanct …these audiences seem insignificant. But …if you were to dialogue with organizations who hold these audiences as their core customers, such as an association of members, suppliers to niche business categories, unique business verticals or specific health care audiences or audiences interested in a very specific topics, be it leisure, entertainment, sports or travel we would find out that each specific audience and even each person within that audience has unique demands and interests.

Narrow casting is the reason new technologies evolve and are sought after….each new iteration usually offers more responsive features. E-Learning, responsive web sites, mobile device apps and social networks all contribute to enhance narrowcasting and allowing us to more closely engage with our customers and respond to their needs.  

The standard guidelines for advertising still apply regardless of the channel or medium you work in; as an audience, people are still driven by emotion, personal preferences, lifestyle and by gender & ethnic tendencies. Great creative, consistent messages, using multiple channels and frequency are still the main stays of any well thought out marketing plan aimed at a very small but loyal audience for your product or service. More than ever the evolution of technology is driving the growth behind new advertising mediums and leveling playing field between the large corporate entities and the small to medium size want-to-be businesses.

Those that seek out and engage with new strategies and ways of communicating with their clients have the most to gain in dominating their segment of the market.

Growing Your E-Mail List Under Anti-Spam Legislation

Manage E-Mail subscribers with Value

Immediate CEM compliance action may be premature as organizations seek to gain express consent  from their certified electronic mail (CEM) subscribers - to ensure they are compliant with the anti-spam, legislation which is about to come into effect in Canada (July 1, 2014). While most companies and organizations want is to abide by the legislation – trying to gain immediate express consent may be short sited. You could severely undermine your organizations ability to reach out to your customers or members before carefully considering a strategy to gain express consent.

Three Steps to Compliance

The new legislation states that there are three general requirements for sending the CEM to an electronic address. You need (1) consent, (2) identification information and (3) an unsubscribe mechanism. Let’s address items two and three, first.  Most CEM tools such as I contact, Constant Contact or even a custom solution already include this functionality within their protocols and even demand them when deploying your e-mail messages. Organizations that create and deploy such tools sets will undergo careful scrutiny long before individual organizations, so they will be sure to bring their tool sets into compliance since this will affect their business model. 

Conduct an Audit

If you conduct an audit of your existing systems and process, most organizations will have this already in place. If you do not, than I certainly recommend you research and upgrade to a modern tool set that allows this as a simple automated function.  The first two issues are fairly straight forward and are tactical in nature and do not require you to communicate with your customer base however the third component of the legislation requires you to have one of two types of consent to communicate with subscribers, either implied or expressed consent.  Like all legislation there is a period of voluntary compliance. The period in the case of CASL is three years – so – you must be fully compliant by July 1, 2017 which suggests that you have a three year window to convert implied relationships into express consent relationships.    

Expess Consent

The express consent relationship is very straight forward. Express consent can be obtained either in writing or orally. In either case, the onus is on the person who is sending the message to prove they have obtained consent to send electronic messages by tracking, whether consent was obtained in writing or orally, when it was obtained, why it was obtained, and the manner in which it was obtained.

Implied Consent

Implied consent is a little broader in its interpretation and has a number or provisions that allow you to continue to communicate with your audience. For example, there is an exception to the consent requirement for commercial electronic messages (CEMs) sent following a referral, if certain conditions are met. The referral must be made by an individual who has an existing business relationship, an existing non-business relationship, a family relationship or a personal relationship with the sender and the recipient of the CEM. Also, the full name of the individual who made the referral and a statement that the CEM is sent as a result of a referral must be in the CEM.

Also, consent may be implied where CEMs are sent to members of an association, club or voluntary organization such as a non-profit organization, organized and operated exclusively for social welfare, civic improvement, pleasure or recreation or for any purpose other than personal profit, and no part of its income is payable for the personal benefit of any member, proprietor or shareholder unless that entity is an organization whose primary purpose is the promotion of amateur athletics in Canada. 

The CEM must still respect the other two requirements – it must contain the identification information and offer an unsubscribe mechanism.

If you are in the process of seeking express permissions, it is important to take the time to develop an incentive based approach to CEMs. Each organization needs to create a value proposition that will engage its existing CEM audience and define the value of the relationship. When you ask that all important question “Do you wish to continue receiving our e-mails?” you will experience a significant “decline rate” so you will want to provide some incentive for your audience to understand and benefit and value in your relationship. 

Creating a Value Proposition

Periodic incentive coupons ( 20 – 50% off) redeemable at physical or electronic locations, (depending on your business model, free delivery , special draws for enhanced service or promotional products, special events, access to unique services (unavailable to regular customers) are just few simple examples of how you can encourage your “Implied Consent”  audience to choose to become your “Express Consent” audience.

We work a number of organizations to design and implement such strategies – contact us if you want to grow your CEM list rather than shrink it.  

Onboarding - Business Building Strategy?

E-Learning - the Future of Onboarding

New hires, staff turnover, lateral moves, promotions and existing employees all need one thing…a consistent vision and understanding of an organization’s values and mission. We espouse these business mantras to our customers through a variety of online tools, yet we omit delivering these important principles to our most valued asset, our employees.

Using your orientation or onboarding program as a means of motivating, creating skills and creating a common vision can be a powerful tool for growth when used effectively. History, mission statements, product evolution & growth, core values, roles & responsibilities, acquisitions, commitment to opportunity, customer service and more, are all important components in the narrative behind an organization’s success. This process helps bond a prospective employee to an organization and prepares them to be successful.   

Many organizations use outdated & inconsistent information, legacy technology and redundant means of communication to integrate a new hire into the organization and as a result they are not exposed to customer expectations, core values and branding narratives and much more.  Additionally, the existing process offers organizations no understanding of the comprehension and commitment of the new hire with few ways of tracking or evaluating their participation.

While we have leveraged almost every possible channel to market to our customers, we have missed a significant opportunity to allow our employees, (what I would describe as a key stakeholder)  to contribute to the growth of an organization through a deeper and more consistent understanding of an organization’s vision.

Today we see fewer employees entering at the bottom of the employment ladder and working their way up. We no longer “start employees in the mail room” and expect them to work their way to the top.  What we do see, is well educated, entitled employees coming into the workforce with no experience and being placed in increasingly important roles, with little or no guidance. When they fail we have been able to quickly replace these prospective employees – with someone from the over-abundant ranks of the unemployed. That strategy is beginning to dry up and those companies who have strong recruitment and retention programs in place are skimming off the cream of the crop.

So far we have been able to withstand the costs associated with “churn” and the resulting turmoil because of a stagnant economy which has created low expectations, and the continued availability of skilled baby boomers to take up the slack.  This has left the ranks of many organizations and companies thin, with insufficient customer service, product or organizational knowledge, resulting in middle managers who are poorly equipped to take on “next level” job responsibilities and remain loyal to an organization.

Onboarding as it’s called today is the process of forging employees and introducing them to the vision and mission of an organization. It helps define company loyalty by ensuring that they understand organizational goals and carry the collective memory of an organization’s successes and failures forward in decision making.  This is valuable information for “would be” middle managers within any organization seeking to manage change and growth in the trenches. It also speaks to a new hire’s recognition that an organizations is willing and committed to invest in growing its employee’s skills.

Onboarding today is often an outdated "mish-mash" of videos, workshops, documents, lectures - that are not effectively organized. This is surprising given that the E-Learning technology offers Human Resource departments a tool set uniquely equipped to be cost effective, easily updated, self-paced, and contain a variety of visual mediums that can easily integrate legacy organizational knowledge as well as espouse an organization’s vision - and its plan for the future.

 E-Learning is an ideal solution for Onboarding yet few organizations truly understand its value and impact on success. A simple 30 - 45 minute self-paced E-Learning module can offer new hires a history of the organization, its customer service strategies, its service delivery model & partners; and an understanding of its customers, products and plans for the future. Such a module can replace repeated, one-off workshops or training sessions that can drain several day of manpower for each new hire. The best part about E-Learning is that each employee can be tested to track comprehension -  and additional important information about a prospective new hire can be gained from a closer examination of each employee’s interaction with the content.

The most difficult part of this process is often the need to create onboarding subject matter and the time and commitment needed by the organization to develop the information and its objectives properly. The great news here is that most organizations already have the basic information in place…it’s the delivery mechanism and performance tracking that can make this a more productive method of onboarding.  The content is easy to update and can be accessed 24/7.

Onboarding needs to step into the future by leveraging new technologies to  grow its skill base from the inside out and create a skilled, and loyal workforce.

The Biggest Marketing Mistake!

Promoting short term goals
rather than long term growth 

Most small businesses, "Fall victim to a constantly changing marketing strategy." This mistake is often due to the lack of marketing expertise, fluctuating budgets and cash flow demands. It is just too easy to get off track, or find a reason to starve or change marketing strategies. Owners or senior decision makers within small companies, due to their businesses' more cyclical nature, often focus on promoting short term goals rather than consolidating long term growth. They choose to market, “What they want to Sell” rather than “What The Client Wants.”  

Larger companies are less susceptible to the short term marketing strategy syndrome; because it is much more difficult to get out of existing media agreements, change marketing messages across a variety of mediums and co-ordinate such changes internally and externally. This is where smaller and being more nimble can be a drawback as the temptation to make constant changes to your marketing strategy can be overpowering. I like using this euphemism in such cases, "Just because you can…doesn't mean you should.”

Small business does not have the kind of metrics that allow them to understand the potential of customer awareness, whether they encompass a broad or narrow audience.  They track their sales in terms of weeks and months not quarters or years and in such a narrow sample it is difficult to see growth, especially if your product or services are gaining awareness and sales may not be in lock-step. Small businesses tend to want to see immediate results and are not willing to invest in long term strategies that do not produce verifiable sales.

In virtually every medium we work in, the strategy of maintaining a consistent marketing initiative over time yields more results than trying to buy your way into growth. Growing your market consistently over time through an organic process creates greater customer loyalty in most situations. Media distribution channels that feed short term marketing strategies work like meters, the minute you choose not to feed the meters  - the clients stop coming. In a more consistent long term approach that is centered around  key points like great customer service,  memorable marketing message, sound product value, product knowledge and great pricing  clients tend to be loyal and provide great word of mouth marketing, but tis takes time to trickle through.

Most small business will tell you that referral business and word of mouth is the greatest from of advertising …and I wold say …very true; but the other side of the coin is that word of mouth and referral business is slow and takes time. You want to manage the impression that your customers shares about you and your products… and what they are saying about you consistently. It has to be good of course … but also has to be consistently focused on the message that helps differentiate you and creates long term relationship.

This can only be accomplished through a sustained marketing initiative that is consistent and carefully tracked over time to make sure that the right message is being delivered and received.  

Small Brands..Big Ideas

A brand is not a graphic, or an image, or a statement …it’s an idea …that can include all of these things and more. It creates a perception or an emotional response, about a person, product, service or company. The reason we know a brand is an idea is because we can observe and sometimes even measure the “affect” a brand has on people, in the immediate emotional response that a brand will generate.

I often use examples like “John Deere” or “MacDonald’s” to illustrate this emotional response. These two company brands are rooted in a person’s name, yet, it is not the person or some related memory of the person that is generated when we think of these names. It is the sum total of our perceptions of these brands, their history, culture and products that drive our emotional response and impose a narrative about the brand.

While a known brand produces an immediate emotional response… that response is largely the result of a brands narrative. How long has it remained in our consciousness? How has the brand evolved historically?  Has a recent event impacted our perception of the brand, negatively of positively? How has the brand been portrayed in media? What kind of social responsibility do we attribute to this brand?  What virtues or flaws do we attribute to the brand?

We express our emotional response in a heartbeat... and the sum or all our exposure to that brand is expressed in in that moment of recognition. Our perceptions can run the complete gamut of emotions, ranging from honest, cynical, trustworthy, bold, global ….to deceitful, uncaring, methodical and unsophisticated. The greater our exposure to a brand the greater the sum of our experiences upon which we respond to a brand. This emotional response is well described in “Blink”, the Malcolm Gladwell book about “The Power of Thinking without Thinking”.

The word brand, more often than not today, enters our consciousness in the context of popular culture and is also considered the domain of corporate culture. As a result the term has little currency with smaller audiences or in non-mainstream situations. This is why the term “brand” is not well understood by small businesses. Small brands tend to have small exposure and small audiences …for small business this does not appear to be a sound investment strategy, since most small businesses have limited funds and a shorter window on their Return on Investment (ROI). Let’s face it …if a preponderance of your audience does not know who you are - there will be little if any emotional response to your brand and as a result little appetite for investing in long term strategies.    

So what about  your brand if you are a small business, only a small audience know who you are and you often do not have the history or financial ability to create awareness of your brand for larger audiences. What do you do? This is where great creative and unexpected exposure of your brand (social networks or events) coupled with a long term marketing strategy can have a significant impact, in creating a brand and awareness around that brand. Brand awareness and the emotional response are different brand characteristics. Awareness speaks to audience recognition and the emotional response determines how we feel about a brand.

If you want to grow your small business you need both the short term plan - and, a long term plan that grows audience/customers and create a [positive narrative about your brand. If you don’t plan you will have no control, over what your brand represents. Remember that most large companies or organizations started as small enterprises!

The great thing about a long term brand strategy is that it does not necessarily demand significant investment initially.  A brand awareness program that invests a modest amount each year in marketing and social networks consistently over time can grow a brand and its audience.  A brand strategy can only be effective if you have a plan and you stick to it. Kind of like Morgan Freeman describing archaeology in movie, “The Shawshank Redemption”…it’s the study of time and pressure.

One of the important influencing factors in managing your brand is control over the narrative about your brand, through great creative – making your brand memorable though unusual promotions, decidedly different partnerships in the community, creative sponsorships, creative ads, character driven social media programs will help grow audiences (keep in mind the word audiences equate to customers in this equation). Each step ads to the brand and that brand must be directed by a long term plan. The plan helps describe what your brand represents to audiences. The plan will help define how your brand is perceived …ultimately transferring to your products a feeling of warmth, excitement, reliability, economy, etc. - the list is as long as the list of human emotions and often combines many different emotions to create a strong brand.  

Building A Sound E-Learning Strategy

I guess it is not surprising that companies and organizations simply throw up their hands and choose E-Learning that is free or low cost and generally not very effective. They have been forced by government regulations to comply with such mandated training as Health & Safety, Accessibility (AODA) Privacy and more. Most organizations have not seen the writing on the wall yet...that training, will become increasingly important to their survival.

Getting mandatory training at a low cost makes good business sense today, especially when you consider the limited likelihood of government regulators knocking on your door to check up on you or the fact that the recent recession has created a labour glut with many university skilled workers available at low wages.

The lack of learning strategy within most organizations  has reinforced  the lack of importance that training has in North American businesses. Managers and employees don't really have a vested interest in training until it is something that effects their livelihood (from an employee point of view), or it represents unacceptable risk (from an employers point of view).  As long as the information is accurate, who cares if employees and employers actually understand the concepts and can put them into action. The reasons for poor training implementation and support range from, "I can get that for free on the interment" to "I don't understand the Technology" or "lets do a webinar."

Training and in particular E-Learning in the coming years will be a clear point of differentiation for successful companies who build a long term strategy  that values knowledge and learning. New skills, upgrading existing skills, alternate skills and compliance training will all become an important part of a more flexible and diverse workforce for any company.

A well trained workforce will have to be cost effective as a result of a more transient workforce. Cost and demands of training workers will increase with greater staff turnover. Looming shortages in skilled workers, increasingly complex skills sets and greater  knowledge requirements for technology solutions will place great demands on worker skills. This along with an aging population to service will create increasing shortages in skilled labour.

An organization's  success will be measured by its ability to adapt, grow and learn in a rapidly changing free-market economy. Employing an "early days" sound learning strategy will add to the value of an organization and allow it to outperform its competitors.

What does a sound learning strategy look like today? It will take the form of "baby steps", or pilot projects where companies and organizations identify key topics that require rapid learning, complex learning or flexible learning to respond to changing client demands. Developing a pilot project based on an identified need and seeking turn-key solutions will allow organizations to test their learning and grow that solution over time to address its ongoing needs. It also involves  the learners who will play an important role in shaping the strategy with their feedback.

Many organizations today, because of their lack of understanding of E-Learning, are seeking a "technology" solution rather than a "content" solution. Its my opinion that E-Learning technology, as it stands, is reasonably mature from a technical stand point since most companies providing such services are large and well equipped to develop the required technology and tools sets. What is lacking for the most important part ...a focus on content  and ensuring that what is being taught..is what's being learned! This demands a very different skill set that most organizations  do not understand, a media savvy production partner that has an in-depth understanding of the technology wrapper for E-Learning, and who can consult on a wide range of E-Learning strategy issues..

PDFs, web sites, webinars, online videos and simple E-Learning content are generally ineffective as primary content in E Learning because they approach learning in a traditional way and seek to use linear media. An E- Learning strategy must build its content from the ground up. It may use existing media and content  under the guidance of a subject matter expert but whether its blended learning or self paced learning a sound strategy seeks to take advantage of the best that E-Learning has to offer.

Gamification & VLE's:

Example of a medical Virtual Learning Environment

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) have become a new favourite buzz word to describe the next  and most exciting innovation in learning,; and over the past year when discussing learning or training of any sort,  and the term “Gamification” has emerged as the best way of describing the nature of a VLE.  

VLE’s utilize simulations and Gamification to greatly increase a learner’s engagement, motivation and focus through a more immersive experience. The technology simulates real life situations customized for specific workplace environments and allows learners who are already familiar with the technology, i.e., student population, to easily navigate the learning experience. 

Gamification, while a new term in the learning vernacular, is really a tested and true approach that leverages new technologies. Using a VLE provides an opportunity for more interactive teaching. It is important to note that Gamification is not the same as games which are intended for fun and leisure but uses the best game elements and applies them to a learning situation. Typical customization say for a healthcare scenario might be to allow the learner to select their gender, ethnic makeup and persona as an avatar in the VLE. They can then navigate the simulation as a doctor or nurse, for example, and engage in the functions and activities consistent with that role. They can dialogue with patients, engage in interprofessional consultations, review medical records & test results and perform actual medical procedures. The student maintains constant feedback on their progress through the interaction. Teachers and administrators also have access to comprehensive interactive data. Such simulations can be embedded in the typical E-Learning environment or they can also work as a stand-alone teaching opportunity.  

VLE’s offer a cost-effective way to create a practice environment that can supplement expensive classroom or workplace training for developing complex skills. As with other more traditional E-Learning strategies, learners work through scenarios in a self-paced manner and are also able to complete additional learning assignments and testing.

Ycommunicate is now engaged in planning several pilot projects for health care that utilize a virtual learning environment  for self-paced and blended learning situations. Experiential learning using Virtual Learning Environments represents the future of online E-Learning. Let’s take a quick look at a short list of the Pros and Cons.

The Pros

•  From a production point of view, the simulation environment remains completely within your control – this reduces demands on people, locations and intellectual property rights
• The learner is afforded more familiar control over the interactive environment
• The leaner has a better feedback mechanism in the dashboard display- allowing better comprehension ad real-time corrective actions to affect outcomes
• Age, gender and ethnic minorities are much easier to include as interactive components
• Learners can share their experiences with others or even compete depending on the scenario
• VLE's will minimize the cost of in-classroom teaching and be more consistent in its learning outcomes

The Cons

• Gamification of learning comes with a cost. The additional production required for a more comprehensive experience will drive up development costs
• The initial level of involvement by professionals is more intense in curriculum development at the outset
• Skill sets required  by the production companies is significant 
• The time required for production increases significantly

Having said all that, the strengths of Gamification will increase learning capacity significantly as we seek to absorb more and more information in the delivery of increasingly complex roles.  Strong project management and a clear commitment to defining goals and expectation will be critical in the success of ANY Virtual Learning Environment and Gamification in learning. 

What I learned From Quentin Tarantino

I have only been to TIFF once; of course it was not called TIFF then, back in 1992. I was thinking about making a film and had just completed the Maruska Stankova, Directing, Acting and Writing for Cameraworkshop.

I decided to attend the event and in particular sit in the “Gorilla Film Workshop” which featured among others as its panelists Quentin Tarantino. It was the usual workshop setting with perhaps 100 attendees in theatre style seating, and a handful of panelists up at the front, behind a row of tables on an elevated platform.

Each talked about their personal experience in film making, but a largely unknown film maker then, Quentin Tarantino, was getting a bit of buzz before the workshop and his story was compelling. He talked about his experience in getting his film, Reservoir Dogs made, and the need to “just do it”, as he described it. This was the seminal message for the workshop and in particular for Quentin. He described some details about the making of the film including some production issues.

But I didn’t get the whole story until later in the lobby when I was standing around deciding what to do when Quentin came into the lobby and sat down in one of the large chairs …just hanging out and decompressing I guess. I worked up a bit of nerve and sat down in an adjacent chair and began chatting with him and asking a few questions about his film making experience. He was more than happy to offer his thoughts and tell me a little more detail about how Reservoir Dogs got made.

He explained that he had been writing scripts while he was working at the video store and had tried unsuccessfully to make a film on more than one occasion and had become disillusioned with the process. Every studio wanted bigger guns and more T&A. It seems he finally had a script that he was able to sell  - and he agreed to be paid $ 30,000 for the script. His plan was to simply make a film with $30,000 – he wanted and needed the experience of making a film and …he not only wanted to write the script,  he wanted to direct the film.

He told me how he started seeking a low budget producer for the Reservoir Dogs script and when he finally settled on one he was promptly told that this was a great script and it should be shopped to all the studios. He immediately said absolutely not – he was convinced it would meet with more calls for bigger action and more sex. He was gong going to make a low budget feature the way he wanted it made, no matter what!

The producer and Quentin, as the story goes, batted this around for a while; the producer steadfast in suggesting that it be shopped rather than produced as a low budget film and Quentin refusing to budge, until finally Quentin relented when the producer told him he would make the film if , after shopping it,  he could not set up a suitable arrangement …and, oh yea, one of the provisions was that Quentin had to be the director.  

As expected, each time they presented the script the production company asked for more guns and more woman (remember there are only guys in the Reservoir Dogs.) Incredibility, after walking out on many studio meetings, Newline finally agreed to make the picture on a budget of a million dollars with one proviso – Quentin would not be the director.  Quentin talked them into allowing him to shoot some scenes as the director and he agreed - if they were not happy with the results he would acquiesce to their demands for another director.

In the end he got what he wanted and he added this bit of detail. Sitting at home one night, after sending the script to Harvey Keitel through a friend of a friend, Harvey calls him up. Shocked and surprised in his small, sparse flat eating macaroni and cheese, the very man who he wrote the main part for was on the phone talking to him about the script!

Needless to say, Harvey agreed to play the part and even went on to support the movie’s promotion out of this own pocket and helped Quentin by introducing him to all the right people when he flew him to New York for a lunch at the he Russian Tea House.

Great thing’s from a very stubborn beginning, a passion for film and a belief in one’s self. I guess the moral of the tale is  that sometimes, regardless of what the right way of doing something is ….you simply have to ignore that and just do it!

Accountability: A Question of Leadership?

I work with many businesses and organizations on a regular basis. The marketing issues we discuss often extend into business management areas such as business processes, customer service, business management strategies and protocols, etc.  These areas affect how customers do business with your company every day so they have to be evaluated if a marketing strategy is going to be effective. The most common complaint or issue that organizational leaders seem to have is their frustration with the lack of accountability from their employees.

 Since the recent downturn on the economy in 2008, business seems to have gotten a little harder for every part of the supply management chain. Companies and organizations are more focused on core issues and have less time for strategic planning. This has had a significant impact on businesses and their ability to train staff, enhance organizational work flow or clearly define accountability and responsibility within the company. Also, businesses often don’t have access to a Human Resource specialist that can set parameters for accountability and responsibility within an organization.

 How does marketing responsibility venture into the rarified air of human resources one might ask?  It is a gray area for most small businesses that constantly undergoes change in an effort to respond to customer needs and marketplace demands. This coupled with staff turn overs and the need to “wear many hats” within a smaller organization means that the leader manages the company in a manner that  treats the employees with dignity and respect …in other words, he or she hope they do the job they are supposed to do.

Internal work processes reviews, client accounts, multi-level discussions, meetings, products reviews and more all teach employees what their responsibilities are from a task oriented point of view but they rarely help staff understand the larger picture that allows them to take responsibility for their action as it relates to clients. This is where accountability and responsibility can break down within an organization, causing serious customer service issues.

We have painted a picture of an over-worked organizational leader under siege who has relied on the accountability of his staff. Unfortunately the responsibility must rest with the leader in this breakdown. While he or she has provided task oriented information on internal work flow they have not provided clear role definition or parameters for external accountability. And in many circumstances they have not reinforced internal work flow accountability by defining consequences and reinforcing those positive outcomes with incentives.  

 A leader is responsible for setting common goals and objectives. This can be accomplished by first writing up job responsibilities and expectations clearly for each role. Then a leader must be prepared to set a clear vision for the company and its responsibility to its clients. Your staff must understand that they have an equal allegiance to both you and your clients. The next step is to constantly reinforce organizational goals, objectives and vision for the company along with their responsibility through meetings and recognition programs within the organization.

 The final step is creating the opportunity for feedback and the opportunities to create scenarios that allow employees to work outside their comfort zone and exercise that responsibility. Be prepared to reward success and use failure as a teaching moment.

Preparing for Video

With the advent of desk top editing and smaller cameras and an increasing demand for online video, video production has become a smaller or more compact business for media production companies and their mid-sized clients. The reduced demand for elaborate productions and the need to reduce costs coupled with the explosion of high quality and cheap production technology has created new business opportunities for the do-it-yourself editors or all-in-one cameraman/editors.

 

Today, whether you are working at a national news service, large production firm or small production company most clients, i.e., agency representative, free-lance producer or corporate client, you are trying to do more with less and media production companies are expected to do it all for one low cost.  Editing, a once respected profession, as an important video discipline is now a part of the cameraman’s job, an interviewer is the cameraman, and the cameraman is the lighting director and possibly the writer as well. I think you get where I am going with this…

 

It was tough to get these functions done well when they were discreet roles, but now, combining many of these makes it more difficult to produce video that is compelling and dynamic. The production values for the most part remain good in this category in terms of the technical aspects of videos and it is more flexible than ever; but there is a “fly in the ointment”… producers are showing up less prepared than ever to the shoot or the edit suite assuming that new and enhanced production facilities can mask lack of creative and good planning.

 

I have a saying for everything… but this particular one fits this very well “Failure to prepare … is preparing for Failure”. While the roles and responsibilities have become more integrated on the production side, the preparation and experience of the clients, i.e., producers, corporate marketers, company reps and agency producers that are using video production services are less prepared than ever. Now to be fair to producers, they are experiencing the same kinds of pressure from their customers …there seems to be less emphasis on quality and more of a desire to do it for less. Clients tend to try and write their own scripts and storyboard projects, and there are few opportunities for smaller production companies to mentor professional grade creative directors, writers or producers. This leads to recognizing that there are gaps in the video production process which can only be addressed through better preparation and attention to detail.   

 

The need for preparation, in terms of good scripting, careful thought about lighting, graphics preparation, interesting camera work all influence the outcome of a video  long before you ever hits the edit suite.  The popular cry of the producer “We will fix it post” is being carried to new heights as producers arrive at the edit suite with unlogged footage, poor shot selection, lack of creative understanding of how sound plays into a video and more.

 

Creative … in any video, the life blood that defines its impact upon an audience can only be achieved when careful thought and preparation are considered in advance of a trip to the edit suite or before you show up on site at a video shoot. Of course there is an old sayings for this (yes another one of my sayings); “Just because you can...does not mean you should!” and this fits rather nicely I think.