Subscribe to Blog ContentIt looks like, sooner or later, everybody has a blog (although not everybody that has one actually has something interesting to say). So after some research, I decided to jump on the band wagon.
Why? Why do it when there are - according to Technorati - about 40,000 new blogs every single day?!
What could I add to that (...cannot call it 'conversation'...we should call it... pandemonium)?
So here are some ground rules that I thought would make this blog interesting for you:
- Ground Rule I: The conversation will revolve to a high degree around a very narrow subject: what makes small to medium size B2B companies successful. I decided the blog's heading should be "Fastrack". Every time I post, I should answer this question from you "share with me your experience - short and dirty - so I can save myself the learning curve"...or "Carlos, thanks for sharing with me other people's screw-ups; now I know the right way to do things". The obvious question you are thinking is...what is your authority...where do you get these ideas from? Glad you asked. Because of what I do, every single business day for the last 13 years I have been talking to anywhere between 3 to 10 business owners of B2B companies. They all share with me their challenges, opportunities and needs (mostly financial). It doesn't take too long to find the patterns of behaviors, problems and successes.
- Ground Rule II: This is NOT a blog about our company or to promote our services. If you catch me slipping on this, you can blast me away in the Comments section. Feel free to do so. You can check out what our company does in the About Us section...but not in the actual postings.
- Ground Rule III: If this subject interests you, there are blogs and podcasts out there that are very, very useful. I will link to them as I come across them (...but obviously cannot be responsible for the accuracy of all their opinions).
- Ground Rule IV: I subscribe to RSS feeds of some 'gurus'. Too many of them - I think - take advantage of their following with posts like 'the other day I was at DFW airport and the lady in the newspaper stand said "Good Morning..." in a tone that reminded me of my aunt who used to (...bla...bla...bla)'. They even include a cell phone picture of the lady at the airport, as if to say 'this really happened, here is my evidence'. This often sounds to me as the 'emperor's clothes'...and I tune off. There goes my 'respect' for that 'guru' down the drain. I will always respect your time and not post unless I have something juicy to tell you about; something you can easily put your arms around, tweak as necessary and use.
So, if I have to summarize the purpose of this blog, it is twofold:
- to give you shortcuts to successful strategies ('shortcut' is such a loaded word nowadays...it sounds like 'cheating'...but there is nothing wrong with it...nothing wrong with letting somebody take the long road, let him/her screw up for you and then you take the shorter route); and
- rattle your cage...make you think about things differently (hint: thinking differently to create new markets and services is not an option. If you don't do it - either your current competitors or new ones will. i.e. you will be history). So allow yourself to get your cage rattled, welcome the opportunity to be slightly confused as to what your company does or should be doing. If you traverse those roads with an open mind, it will surely create new opportunities for you.
One more thing: This is supposed to be a 2 way conversation (Web 2.0 and all that), so I look forward to your comments as well. Humor is always welcomed, as long as it is in context. Cursing and discrimination is not, no matter what the context is.
Update: As I was reading the following post, I realized that I too should take more time to include past and present clients in our marketing efforts. It's a win-win strategy for both of us. Question: Do you do this in your business?
Customer Involvement Essential in B2B Marketing - What better asset does a B2B company possess other than the public opinions of its happy customers? Yet rare, it would seem, is the company that understands the business mechanics involved in customer participation in its marketing ...
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