Think About…
– What people “feel” when you say the name of your company?
– What your brand does to people – are they excited? Do they want to tell everybody?
– How you would feel if someone gave you your own business card? Does it impress you?
– What does a corporate or marketing kit from you say about your company?
– The way you say things and how people find things on your website
– How much marketing you’re doing to make people know about your website
– All the money you will pay to attend trade shows, conferences and networking events
– What impact your materials and what you say will have on the outcome of attending all of those events
– Why you are not speaking/involved with organizing those events
– The many cost-effective ways you can market yourself
– Technology – do you know about email, Blogs, Search Engine Marketing and the many other ways to market yourself effectively?
– People. What kind of relationships are you forming? Are you a trusted advisor, an appreciated ally or just another supplier?
– Your personal brand – what do you say about you and the company you keep?
– Reading. How many books or magazines that cover your trade are you currently reading (and have you thought about writing for them?)
– Speaking. With all of your experience, there must be an audience who would love to hear your story
– PR. Publicity. What untold stories unfold everyday in your company and how are your employees, customers and the general public informed of these successes?
– What you are going to do to make every moment count. 2004 is history. What stories will you be able to tell in 12 months time?
Welcome to 2005 – it’s a clean slate. Here’s one promise: if you do things the exact same way you did in 2004, odds are you will have similar or worse results. Seth Godin has a great aphorism that I love: “the safest thing you can do is be risky – the riskiest thing you can do is be safe.”