I am thinking a lot about time today Last day of “summer ” and school starts tomorrow.

The weather in Michigan is echoing the impending changes with temps that have fluctuated from 96 to 59 degrees.

The nip in the air is clean and despite my mourning of summer- smells great.

“Seasons change with the scenery. Weaving time in a tapestry”

What happens to time when you are mot necessarily paying attention?

Where did the goals and hopes I had for summer go?

The were in fact replaced with the unplanned and simple pleasures.

A concert with old family friends- some planned & some surprises.

Gathering friends on lake in June after a friend’s brothers funeral.

Playing charades with 3 generations.

An unplanned car trip with my dad telling stories in the back seat.

Seeing the eyes of the 14 year old after getting off a jet ski.

Daily walks meeting neighbors with the pooch.

Bike rides on the lake.

Watching my daughter grow into a responsible young woman with her new “jobs”.

Today I watched a film about time- times past and yes, time travel- Midnight in Paris. Took me back to when I was 19 living for a semester in Paris. We thought then we had all the time in the world.

The movie poses the question- is this the best time? Or do we envy those in times past. Life was simpler, more exciting, and more authentic.

Yes and No.

It is hard for anyone living in Michigan to not think back to when we were growing up. Times were easier. Life was fairer. The path was more defined.

 These days. They are hard. They are confusing. They move entirely too fast.

We work too long. We rush through days and summer vacations. It is easy to get nostalgic for times past.

But the best time is our time- right now. We get to make the memories. Make choices and decide what’s important. Where we put our investments: our money our hearts, our time.

The new year starts tomorrow for two young folk in my house. It won’t be anything like my seventh or ninth grade.

And they won’t be who they are now next summer- teetering as they are on the edge of change and growth. But it will be great.

Lyrics: Simon and Garfunkel

When I chose marketing it was because I feel in love with the concept of psychographics. To me it was a combo of psychology, sociology and business basics.

It drives every decision we make today and is the core of the recommendations we make as marketing and communications advisers on behalf of our clients.

A client will call all excited because a salesperson has just been to see them with a “great deal” on a new vehicle. They swear that “their customers” will be reading or watching the new medium.

Because the sales rep reported that they shared the same customer. Females 25-54.

Now many seek this demo. Females consume disproportionately more of certain media. But not all females are the same- or equal as sales prospects.

This is not a knock on any media salespeople. I have reps that I have worked with for nearly 20 years and on whom I rely for industry updates and – yes- special deals.

But we dig so much deeper.

In order to place media or do any marketing you first have to really understand who buys your product. It sounds easy. But it is more involved than age and sex.

Instead of demographics- I want to know.

WHO
Which females? Those with kids? How old are the kids?

Are they working full or part time?

When they do buy your product ask

WHY?

Why buy it? How often? For what purpose? At what price? Against what competition

HOW do they make decisions?

From friends- and do they use social media to share info? Which media?

From traditional media- print, broadcast and how do they get that?
Online? Smart phone, radio or TV – online or live?

Once you know WHO then you can try to figure out HOW to motivate her or him.

Psychographics- It is part art and part science; hard work and a lot of fun

Read the article. http://mashable.com/2011/06/30/psychographics-marketing/

The Money Thing
I met with a young woman about to launch her own company. She does not have the resources right now to retain us but she knows she wants to because of our years of experience. Others have advised her to think about working with an intern or student because of the affordability factor. But she has put us in her business plan and is going about assembling a top notch team I would be proud to work with.
Her launch may be delayed as she gathers resources but she knows it has to be right and you get one chance at a first impression.

The Resources Thing
This budding entrepreneur knows that to be successful she needs to be focused on doing what she does best and looking over someone’s shoulder is neither smart not efficient.

We recently met with a potential client and discussed the advantages of them bringing on a staff person or contracting marketing services. Because of their resources they know they may only be able to hire someone with limited experience. They were very cognizant of the real “cost” of such a staff addition in training and that is a commitment of resources from their present staff. Or you let them sink or swim. Often the result is that your customers are unhappy, your hire is unhappy because they got no support and turnover often ensues.

The Experience Thing
Saw a great headline the other day. It read: “Do not hire a social media expert”.
The article went on to encourage business owners instead to hire an expert in marketing or communications then empower them to become expert at using all the new tools of the trade including social media. Next month there may be another tool. But so augment your team wit the critical thinking and skills you need then get them the tools. Not the other way around.

Or as my dad would say: Get the very best person in their field and pay them as much as you can afford.

Do not misunderstand I salute and adore my friends who home school. I totally get why they do it and know why I do not. That said we can all make our home the place to learn 12 months a year!

Make your Family Room the Library

Lots reading materials fill our house.

Magazines, newspapers, books, maps put on the fridge. Read Read Read. And yes reading on the laptop counts too.

Multi media is key so movies are awesome and even more so when viewed together

Make your Dining Room the Cafeteria (with no food fights)

Set times for meals

Manners

Nutrition

Conversation and fun

Make your Backyard (the driveway and the neighborhood) the Gym class

Move it

Get going

Have fun

Be a good sport

Make your Family Field Trippers

Factory tours

Battlefields

Music and art festivals

Water sports- it’s all good and there is no better time than summer.

Make Every Evening Walk a Science Lab

Look.

Talk.

Touch

Ponder. The trees, the moon, the clouds.

Remember- We are the first and best teachers of our kids. 12 months a year

Happy Summer!

When we spend time having fun we say “I had the best time ever”. And time “well spent” studying pays off on an exam.

But what about “just being” time?

I look at the best thing to happen on our winter staycation- My son and husband worked on a model airplane. Hours of painting and gluing, bent over little pieces. Together. No radio. Just talking. Or Not. Maybe about the aircraft and the battles they flew.

My husband is a very generous person with his time. He goes out to shovel the walk and spends 25 minutes visiting with a neighbor who is crippled with loneliness after losing a spouse of half a century.

My sisters have taken all their vacation days and travelled to be with my father over the last year helping him retrieve, catalogue, read, translate and enjoy letters from his mother and father dating to the 1930’s.

Today is the anniversary of the death of a cousin whose life was cut short at 60.

Today I learned of a loved one’s diagnosis with Alzheimers.

Today I took the time to call a friend losing their mom any day to cancer.

Time- a gift we can bestow on others. The gift of each day we get to be here. A gift that is given to us so we can- give it to others.

We were former journalists, marketing professionals, freelancers and staff members- all interested in learning more about the moving target we call marketing.

We shared useful tips, great food, and confessed our trepidations and successes with the ever changing landscape of new media.

I have many ways to communicate with people. I email voraciously. I have over 300 friends on Facebook (the majority of whom I actually know personally), and am on LinkedIn.

I attend industry functions and group meetings- which are crucial for those of us with home offices. I recently started tweeting. I use all these tools to stay connected and build relationships. And as my office partner will attest to – I talk on the phone.

That said- nothing matches the power of meeting the old fashioned way- face to face. Aside from the newest gizmos – I think it is four square-which I was really good at when I was 8- I like to meet people in real time.

By 1PM we had finished a fantastic lunch, (Kudos to expert staff at City Kitchen in Grosse Pointe www.city-kitchen.com who dealt with a power outage while we were there) shared tips I have already put into practice, laughed, exchanged ideas and made new friends. I left feeling recharged and grateful that people will still meet to break bread.

Teamwork

Whether holding the rope as others mounted a 50 foot rock wall or cheering them on to the top- little can be achieved without it and anything can happen with it.

Rotate Jobs

Especially the ones no one wants (like bussing tables or composting the waste). Everyone has appreciation for the tasks they share.

Applause Please

You can get people to do almost anything (yes scrubbing toilets) if you acknowledge and applaud them.

Step Outside- Your Comfort Zone

Great things happen when you look fear (a large horse or a tall wall) and discomfort (holding a snake) in the eye and conquer it.

Everyone Wants to Have Fun

It is easy to make any task fun with the right attitude. And if your ego can stand poking fun at yourself or risking embarrassment- all the better.

Our messages- and the attention they receive- or so temporal.You are top of the fold…then old news- in a manner of hours.The speed at which news becomes old so frightening.

I am on Facebook constantly. Timing of posts is key. You need to figure when people are there- when are they listening if you will.Your feedback or comments come right away. And after a few hours it is old news.

The reason is that there is so much info coming at us.So many posts and tweets, ads blaring at you as you pump gas; TV’s everywhere- post office, banks, and restaurants. — DMNews magazine cites that each of us sees more ads in one year than people of 50 years ago saw in an entire lifetime. I have seen estimates that range from 600-3000/day and the flux would be how tied into media ( all types of media) you are.

Do we really need to know what is going on every second? What is it that we need to know?

And as a marketer how do we stay top of mind after we have fallen off top of the fold?

 I am lucky to have many talented and creative clients. One specializes in packaging solutions. She can and has wrapped everything one can imagine from cars to a set of golf clubs. My catering client creates masterpieces with ingredients I can get- so why do mine never turn out like theirs? My wedding coordinator comes up with incredible touches that make each event feel like one- in a million. I work with artists whose works are found in international museums and art teachers who inspire the muse in students aged 5-to 100. My interior designer – well let’s say his homes and mine resemble each other in zero ways.

All of these have one thing in common- they know that presentation is everything.

Yes it sounds cliché but it applies to more than a gift box. You present yourself-your “brand”, your philosophies, your values with everything you say and do – and in other ways by not doing some thing.

Part of what we do for clients is to encourage them to see all their communications– from the message on their phone, to how their staff greet people; to all written communication ( off and online) as part of their presentation- their message- their mission.

In order to help clients fine tune that presentation, we get to ask a lot of questions.

Your competitive position – are you marketing (using all four P’s: Product, Promo, Price and Place) yourself as unique?

Your graphic identity- from website to business card- what does it really say about you?

Your events and associations- what do they bring your bottom line and do they strategically position you for the future?

At the end of the day- it is a lot to worry about and manage – this brand of yours. Everything you do in effect- affects it. That is where having a communications professional in your side frees you up to do what you do best.

Believe me- I can not make a great bow- but I know someone who can!