If marketing is about anything, it’s about communication. Understanding your target audience and knowing how to “speak their language” is integral to gaining rapport and ultimately, the trust of your intended customer.

Trust leads to sales and if your proposition and delivery are irresistible enough, repeat sales over time from a loyal base of happy customers. That is the essence of brand. Brand is not your product or service per se. It has more to do with your consumer’s relationship to your product or service over time. And the relationship starts with some form of communication.

There are copious amounts of theories, opinions and information about what you should communicate and how you should deliver your message. In our last post, Zoom Zoom Grows Up, we quoted the Communications Manager for Mazda Motor Europe.

“At Mazda Europe, we work with 22 markets across the entire continent. And they all have their special cultural idiosyncrasies. So it’s important that our communications appeal to everyone and excite all of our owners and customers, no matter where they live.”

This following video is a pretty compelling demonstration of a creative communication strategy aimed at a broad and diverse market. But we DON’T RECCOMEND that you try this approach with your target audience.

WARNING… The following video may make you smile – or pee you pants laughing – watch at your own risk!

You’ve taken the time to prospect and arrange a meeting with an important client. As the time goes on your fear increases as the clock ticks down. You might be thinking of what you’re going to wear, what you’re going to be presenting, and whether or not you’ll make it on time.

What you might not be thinking about is how to properly exchange your business card for your clients. During a first timne meeting, the general rule of thumb is to offer your card first. You shouldn’t sit impatiently with your palm open waiting for the other person to reciprocate your offering. Rather, when the person you’re speaking to is of higher (business) position status then your own you should wait for that person to offer you their card first. Successful people and those who are in higher positions than yours will feel pressured if you offer your card first. Read the rest of this entry »

The finest clothing made is a person’s skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this.Â� ~Mark Twain

Mark Twain was right. The ideal beauty is bestowed beneath the layers we wear. However, in almost every business setting there is a code of clothing attire that we must adhere to. The truth is, the people you come into contact will instantly judge you. Yes, it’s sad but true. It’s all inherent in our brains, coded, and hard to break. Of course, the best thing to do is conform. And by conforming, the first thing you must consider is the extent to which you ‘accessorize’ yourself.

What Are Accessories
Accessories can include rings, necklaces, perfumes, pins, sparkles, earrings, and even tattoos. Accessories communicate to the world who you are as an individual. Accessories reflect the attention to detail you give yourself every morning and the impression you want to give other people.

Jewelry Overboard
The basic rule of thumb in the business setting is that less is more. For example, men should not wear earrings. They were popular for a year or two but quickly went out of style. Get over it. Secondly, women should not wear earrings that dangle or extend more than 1.5″ from the earlobe. Jewelry pins are commonly worn as fashion statements. However, jewelry pins should not be whistles, bells, talking pumpkins, or anything that’s going to distract easily. The safest thing to do is check with your employers fashion attire handbook. Some office places allow bangle bracelets while others do not. If your handbook does not specify a questionable accessory, the best thing to do is ask management. Read the rest of this entry »

Understanding the proper way to shake someone’s hand can mean the difference between success and failure in the business enviornment. Positive or negative reactions are almost instantaneous in the marketing setting and almost always based around first impressions. This is why the firmness or weakness of your handshake, understanding whose hand you’re shaking, your dominance, and your eye contact all play an important role.

A limp handshake might make you appear weak or hesitant. An overpowering handshake can stamp you as a manipulator or over dominant. The best handshake is sincere and firm with a confident smile and good eye contact.

Be aware of power distance relationships when meeting someone for the first time from a different geographical or culture than your own. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Let the person you’re meeting determine “space distances” for you. It’s always better to be safe so approach with a hidden sense of caution to let the person you’re meeting “take the lead” and determine how close or far to come to you for a handshake. Below you’ll find several excellent tips that I’ve been able to jot down over the years. Read the rest of this entry »

The basic business etiquette when introducing one of your business associates is to first introduce the person of higher corporate standing. If there is no person of higher status, the rule to follow is to introduce the person you know the least first. By doing so, you will bring that person into the conversation without playing favorites.

Does the extra curricular activity of ‘golf’Â� truly rule the world of social interactions amongst business associates? Will requiring business majors to learn golf increase their ability to succeed when they graduate?

Business students attending Xiamen University in China will be forced to get into the businessman’s life with compulsory golf classes. The University’s President has ignited controversey by announcing business students will be required to learn how to drive, chip and putt as part of their studies. Students who will be majoring in management, law, economics, and software engineering will be required to take a course in golf. The University’s President, Zhu Chongshi, toldÂ� China DailyÂ� that “a bachelor’s degree used to be respected regardless of the major, but today higher education has grown into an industry designed to fulfill market demand.Â�

Why take meeting minutes when meetings last hours? Usually poor business meeting etiquette is to blame, with poor planning and facilitation squandering valuable time and energy. Use these 7 business meeting etiquette tips to brush up your meeting skills and be more productive.�

1. Dinner jacket or dinner on your jacket

First decide on how formal your meeting will be. Advance warn attendees about special requirements, for example dress code, to ensure people understand what’s expected and can prepare accordingly.

2. Too many chiefs ….. and not enough Native Americans

There is a skill in inviting the right people to a meeting. Only invite bosses, and the work will never be done, so make sure you invite the right mix of decision makers, experts, implementers and stakeholders to enable post meeting action.

3. …. but too many cooks spoil the broth

The flip side to inviting the right mix of people is Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s how to get one step ahead of your competition - write a post job interview thank you letter. It says you’re keen, professional and the kind of person they want to hire. And it might be the deciding factor that gets you the job.In a highly competitive job market, anything that lets you stand out is a good thing. If your last letter was to your uncle thanking them for birthday money, you might benefit from bettering your letter writing skills.

Job Interview Thank You Letter vs.
Job Interview Thank You Note

Letters are formal, usually typed and professional. Notes are more informal, usually hand-written and more casual. It’s your call which approach is more appropriate, although it’s best to err towards being too polite and too professional.

Pigeon post, jungle drums or email ?

You want to get your interview follow up letter in front of the interviewers BEFORE they Read the rest of this entry »

At the second you meet someone they will be making a first impression about you just as you make an impression of them.

Since those first few moments of interacting with someone of importance in your business life are so crucial here are a few business etiquette tips to keep in mind when interacting with colleagues and business associates:

1. When meeting someone for the first time extend a firm handshake. Be aware of whose hand your shaking and who you are in relation to that person when determining a handshake grip. Be too forceful and that might show your trying to be dominant over your Read the rest of this entry »

The office I work out of has a daily lunch service that carts pre packaged foods to all of our employees. It isn’t uncommon for one or two rather ‘unpleasent’ employees to order a food filled with garlic or onions then top off their lunch with a menthol cigarette.

Wow…. How do you let someone like that know of their problem?

If you have a colleague who emits unpleasent oders wherever they go, you might need an arsenal of trickery to ‘wash off.’

If the person is someone you know, simply talk to them discretely away from all other employees and let them know that you are a close friend of theirs and just want to let them know other employees have mentioned their ‘unpleasent’ breath. This will likely solve the problem itself as long as the person trusts you well enough as a friend not to be offended.

However, if the culprit is someone you are not to familar with and no other colleague has the ‘guts’ to tell them use this trick.

Walk up to them and simply say “Hey (name), want a mint?” Most likely the person will understand the problem and not take this as offensive. They might not even get what you are pushing on them and take the mint. The problem will solve itself.

Matthew Peschong
Minnesota Web Site Design

Question: When talking to someone in a wheel chair should I bend over to introduce myself or get on my knees?

Answer: A big NO!

Getting down to someone elses’ level is for talking with children only. A person in a wheelchair is in no way less mentally capable than anyone else and they don’t want to be treated as inequal.

Put out your hand and shake their hand just as you would anyone else. Talk to them just as you would anyone else and not in a demeaning infantile way.

They are adults and have the same mental capacity as you do. Just because they cannot walk does not make them any different than you are in a business setting. Only lend a helping hand when absolutely necessary or when requested.

Never offer to push them. Persons in a wheelchair enjoy their independence and ability to take care of themselves.

Respect them and they will respect you.

Matthew Peschong
http://www.MankatoWebDesign.com/

When your having a meeting with a business associate, prospect, client, etc. and you are finished with your plate there’s only one way to handle yourself.

When a server comes to clear your plate and politely asks “Are You Done Sir?”

Do not shout “I’m done” like a cannibal. You will be laughed at later Read the rest of this entry »