karmaback

Months and Months of work PAY OFF. Karmaback Social Sweepstakes+ is live.

After months and months of hard work, Karmaback’s Social Sweepstakes+ is finally live!

My new startup, Karmaback, is finally finished with our private Betas, our testings, our public Betas, and our trials.  We have the case studies, we have the FULLY AUTOMATED setup process, and we’ve hooked in to Paypal for payment.  Karmaback is now officially live.

In case you wonder what Karmaback Social Sweepstakes is, and why we created it… here’s the skinny:

Karmaback is a Social Network Marketing company that helps companies grow fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter and uniquely rewards users for engagement and sharing with Karmaback Points.

The Benefits:
  • Gain Fans & Followers
  • Build Loyalty & Evangelists
  • Get Sales & Justify Marketing
How do we do that?  Simple.
  1. Set up a Social Network Sweepstakes with Karmaback (a Social Sweepstakes+)
  2. Let us manage the sweepstakes & provide “viral growth” features, like social sharing & more.
  3. Use Karmaback’s other tools for “after-sweepstakes” follow-up, including Social Discounts & Karmaback rewards for purchase!
Yep.  Our vision is here.  We really can help companies get real measurable increases in Fans and Followers, and help turn that attention into “Rewarded” engagement & “real” revenue.
Enjoy folks,
And do provide feedback to help us make this service even better!



What New Facebook & Twitter Rules mean to Business.

“There is no spoon” – The Matrix

Recently, several enforced rules by Facebook and new rules from Twitter are causing Heart-ache and pain for Social Network Marketing companies and customers alike.  Facebook recently banned a company from “paying” people to refer fans & customers to companies using Facebook.  Twitter announced new rules to prohibit “paid” advertising in peoples twitter feeds.   What does this mean to marketing companies and service providers like Karmaback and Tweetup?  What does this mean to the millions of companies, just trying to get their word out?  My answers below:

Companies that “use” Twitter and Facebook:

For companies that use Twitter and Facebook, this should be a wake-up call.  You have to stop thinking of Twitter and Facebook as “advertising”, and start thinking it as a “company public forum”.  This means making a place on Facebook and Twitter that is rewarding and engaging for users.
Here are 5 ways to make Facebook & Twitter more rewarding & engaging:

  1. Consider a sweepstakes/giveaway!  http://karmaback.com/sweepstakes  –  This reward people for following you and is fun as well!
  2. Provide content that creates discussion between members.  – Posts that ask questions, invite discussion, and generally are not ‘just advertisements’.
  3. Use the feedback you get, and let people know you used it.
  4. Share relevant stuff in your industry that people might not know about (and how it will effect them).
  5. Reward positive comments and feedback with Karma points!  http://karmaback.com/sweepstakes

Something else to consider:

Twitter and Facebook want to MAKE MONEY off of you.  Period.  They also don’t want OTHER companies to make any money off of you (if it is something they could get from you instead).  So, remember this when thinking about the rules & regulations of Twitter & Facebook.

Marketing Service Providers:

First, remember that Twitter & Facebook DO NOT want you to compete with them.  If you do (such as providing advertising services/etc.), then you are likely to get into trouble.

Second, do stuff that Facebook & Twitter don’t do.. to ENHANCE the experience (not copy it).

Finally, be transparent.  Karmaback is crystal clear (or we try to be)… we provide Sweepstakes services (something Facebook doesn’t do)… and a simple Karma points reward system (again something that Facebook doesn’t do).  Stay transparent, and stay competitive.

Why Small Business is Turning to Social Network Marketing

This recent article from emarketer.com http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007706 got me to wondering why would small business be turning to social network marketing?  The answer is obvious if you stop to think about it: its the only kind of marketing that has ever “really” worked for small business, since the invention of “barter” some 15,000+ years ago.  After all, if your neighbors know that you’re the guy who makes the best chairs, they’ll barter with you when they need one.

Consider: what is social network marketing supposed to do?
  1. Build a community of folks who like you. (Fan you, follow you, or whatever).
  2. Develop a place where people who like you, can engage with you.  (a virtual storefront, that is interactive with the store owners).
  3. Attract and inform new people that you make the best X.  (x=chairs, or whatever).  Encourage your community to say you make the best X.
So, is this any different than what small business do in a community?
  1. A small business historically belonged to its community by physical location.
  2. Small business have almost always been more interactive… usually you get to speak with the owner directly.
  3. Real life communities have always been social networks… spreading the news and letting people know that you make the best X, and especially letting OTHER people say you make the best X has always been the best form of marketing: Word of Mouth.

In this kind of climate, Small business has an opportunity to WIN BIG.

They do have to make the best X though!  (or at least convince some folks you do)

Principles of Business: How Temperance helps build companies.

Following my Benjamin Franklin post a while ago, I set out to try to practice the Principle of Temperance.  What I discovered is that this important value can also help guide a business on the path to “mutual success”.

  • TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation

For me as an individual, I’ve always had a problem with “eating to dullness”…  funny way that Benjamin put it… because if you do overeat, you do feel dull, slow, and lethargic.  My new years resolution was to “eat no seconds”, but my firsts are too big to begin with.  While I did better this week, I did not do great.  I’ll need to keep working on this.

For a company though, Temperance has a different meaning.. I’d call it this:

  •  TEMPERANCE. Exploit not your customers; Starve not your suppliers

This week, following this guideline for business, I had some GREAT successes…

  1. I struck upon a brilliant way to charge “fairly” for Karmaback… why not charge per fan/follower we bring?!  (Thanks Suzanne, UT MBA 04 for the inspiration)
  2. I decided that “Karmaback users” are the “suppliers” for our business.. and we MUST not starve them.
  3. In my consulting business, I decided to continue offering my “start-up/small business” discounted rates.

All in all, a good week for business Temperance… now I just need work on that other kind of Temperance (food & drink, begone)!

Why founders make better CEOs.

My own opinion is sort-of irrelevant.

The numbers speak for themselves:

“First, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business just published an analysis of recent exits for high technology companies such as BlackBoard, BladeLogic, Concur, Danger, Liveperson, LogMeIn, and Netsuite. Looking across these nearly 50 companies, the study finds that founding CEOs consistently beat the professional CEOs on a broad range of metrics ranging from capital efficiency (amount of funding raised), time to exit, exit valuations, and return on investment.

Second, for folks keeping score at home, this phenomenon appears to extend beyond high-technology companies. Felix Salmon, for instance, points out that Fortune’s editorial staff considered twelve other candidates including Warren Buffett, Carlos Slim, and Martha Stewart before naming Steve Jobs the best CEO of the decade in November 2009. Salmon points out that “not a single one of the 12 [candidates] is a CEO who was hired to run a company by its board of directors.”
There are certainly exceptions to this rule, most notably Google and Cisco (I will address both exceptions later in this post), but the evidence is one-sided and overwhelming.”

READ ON!

http://bhorowitz.com/2010/04/28/why-we-prefer-founding-ceos/

How to Build a Marketing Plan

I’ve scoured the internet for a nice, simple, method for how to build a Marketing Plan, and all I find is very short, confusing, unorganized stuff (and very little of that).  So, without further ado, my 10 steps for building an “AWARD WINNING” Marketing Plan.

  1. Learn what the heck Marketing is in the first place.  (See my blog on my topic here…. my 5 year old son could figure it out… so can you).
  2. Research your 5-Cs. Customer, Company, Competition, Collaboration, Context
    1. This can be done fairly easily with some Google searching or industry related press reading.
    2. I find doing it in order is the best..
    3. Just jot down as many notes as you can for each section.
    4. Below is the goal you are trying to reach for each C
  3. Customer – Write down WHO is your ZEBRA (Ideal) customer.. then expand that view just enough to encompass a market that is of a “small, but big enough” size.  The goal here is to choose a FOCUSED group of people who you can clearly identify… NOT make it the biggest set of people possible (that’s for Business Plans, not Marketing Plans).
  4. Company – Write down what are your companies strengths, weaknesses, vision, and values.  (This will help in the rest of the plan).
  5. Competition – Write down a list of competitors and note their “pricing” and their “differentiation” claims.  SPEND LOTS OF TIME HERE.  It’s worth it later.
  6. Context – Write down trends in society, business, culture, and geography that MAY (or may not) cause you PROBLEMS or create OPPORTUNITIES.
  7. Now, write down your 4 Ps – Product, Place, Price, Promotion.  First up: Product.
    1. To get Product right (for Marketing purposes), it must fit in the following Sentences:
    2. ACME (YOUR COMPANY/PRODUCT/BRAND) is a _______  that does ____________ for ________.
    3. UNLIKE OTHER _______ we do _________________________.
    4. Now list 3 Benefits. ( NO MORE )
    5. Now list 3 Features. ( NO MORE )
    6. If you can get this focused with your product, you’re ready for the next step.
    7. NOTE: If you have engineers/tech people, don’t invite them to help with this section… do it yourself (or have someone do it for you)… then correct as needed.
  8. Place – Where do you plan to sell?  What is your selling motion?
  9. Price – How much will you charge?  What is the upsell path (or options)?  What is the average lifetime value of a customer?  How does all this compare to the competition?
  10. Promotion – NOTICE, I am last here… many people think a “Marketing Plan” is just this section… (the Advertising, PR, etc.)… but it is not.  This is important, but not the MOST important.  To me, the first C is most important (Customer) Followed by the first P (Product).  Anyways, here’s promotion:
    1. How much can you spend to acquire a customer? (see average lifetime value for hints)
    2. How many customers do you want to acquire in a period? (therefor, that is your budget)
    3. What “Free-ish” marketing can you do? (PR, Social Media, SEO, other)?  How can you measure its effectiveness?
    4. What “Cheap-ish” marketing can you do? (SEM, Google Adwords, Google Adsense, CMP, CPC, CPA)?  How can you measure its effectiveness?
    5. What “Expensive, but hopefully measurable” marketing can you do? (Partner/Reseller Marketing, Paid Banners, Trade Shows, Events, etc.)? How can you measure its effectiveness?
    6. What “Brand building” MUST you do? (non-measurable stuff like TV, Print, Billboards, etc.).?
    7. Now, allocate budget from 2-6… where you don’t spend 1c on the next item, till you’ve spent all you can (reasonably & scalable) spend on the prior number.  MOST COMPANIES SHOULD NEVER GET PAST 4.  (at least not in the early days).

Hope this was helpful!  

Comments and Arguments and Links are always MORE than welcome.

Measuring Success… of Social Network Marketing.

It is a slippery slope to define success in relation to others.  The problem there is, there are always ‘others’ more successful.  The better way is to measure ones success vs. ones STATED goals.  This is true in business as in life.

Companies struggle to measure “Social Marketing” success, because they have no clear goal.  Most Marketers are happy to just get increased web traffic.  This stems from the assumption that revenue can’t be tied to social marketing.  My new company, Karmaback, can definitely fill the gap in measurement AND deliver revenue directly tied to social marketing.  This feature, however, is irrelevant… because marketers don’t have this as a goal (yet).  
Instead, we at Karmaback have decided to focus (for now) on the goals that marketers do set: more fan growth (Facebook & Twitter), and more site traffic.  We’ll keep preaching that revenue should be the goal, but until our customers realize it is possible, we’ll deliver results they “think” they want.

Why use Facebook?

Many of you know I have a new business called Karmaback.  We build tools and technology to make Facebook and Twitter more engaging.  The question is, why use Facebook at all?  What does it do for your business?

The answer is nothing.  It does nothing for your business.

You CAN however, USE Facebook to help your business.

Here are a few tips:
1.) Post at least 2-3 times per week, but not more than 1/day.
2.) Make your posts informative about Your products or Your industry.
3.) Encourage your Fans to discuss the topic.
4.) Encourage your Fans to “spread” the topic when it is relevant.
5.) Reward your Fans for following you.

3-5 are what Karmaback can do for you.

1-2, you have to do for yourself.

The search for the perfect solution.

Got a problem?  Got something you really want?  Have you ever gone on a hunt for the “perfect” solution to your problem?  Why can’t you find it?  Why can’t anyone just make the PERFECT solution?

The reason it is hard to find perfection is that companies are working with 2 conflicting variables… supply and demand.  Usually, there is limited supply of something (for example, it costs money to get a supply of Titanium to make Titanium watches)… versus demand… (for example, the price of the Titanium watch HAS to be higher because of the cost of the supply of Titanium).  So, the never-ending challenge: Price vs. Features ensues, and most companies FLOCK to the place where the MOST people are willing to pay the given price.

FEW companies have the guts to make a product at either extreme: price so low, everyone could afford it… but who would want it… it’s just crap?   Price so high, no-one can afford it, but WOW it has all the features and is darn near perfect.

The perfect solution is very rare.  Price low enough that there is high demand AND features high enough that it solves the problem nearly perfectly.

Software can change that.  It is possible to have the perfect software solution.

This company: Line2, is VERY VERY Close:
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109173/iphone-app-to-sidestep-att
http://www.line2.com/

Live extreme.  Search for perfection.

Delegate or become your company’s bottleneck.

“Okay everyone”, he says in that snide nasal tone you know SO well. “just a reminder, your revised proposals are due by Monday morning.”  You look on bemused that you have to do this.  You’re not nervous, just annoyed.  You would have been done by now if you didn’t have to make a proposal first.  “James, your idea needs some refinement, you need to include more widgets and less dongles like this,” the nasal tone interrupts your reverie.  Its a good thing you didn’t start yet, your idea just got mangled beyond recognition… its now 100% more safe, and 1000% less interesting.

We’ve all known the manager that refuses to delegate.  They want to be involved in EVERY decision.  They want to be “presented to” and (if your lucky) given a recommendation.  It’s usually either a VERY capable person (who is super-duper smart and works super hard), or a VERY nervous/worried person who is constantly thinking about CYA (Cover Your Ass).  In the first case, they are doing it because they probably DO have great ideas and maybe could do it better/make it better.  In the latter, they are doing it because they are worried that if it gets screwed up, they will lose their job.  In either case, they are doing it wrong.  Refusal to delegate means you ARE the bottleneck in your system.

There are two principles that are being ignored here.  First, the principle of trust.  In both cases, they are not trusting their co-workers (or subordinates) to do the work right (well).  The second is efficiency.  In both cases, the manager has sacrificed “efficiency” by putting themselves in the work-flow.

I can’t change your manager over night…but here is how you can change him (and/or yourself)!

1. introduce the concept of “guidelines”.. pre-approved guides within which one can operate without approval.  Budgets, schedules, milestones, and boundaries.  (e.g. $500 per month spending maximum for needed stuff)

2. introduce the concept of “good enough”.. a standard that is admittedly below your BEST’s best, but that is good enough to get the job done without taking your Best’s time away.  (note: works well when the BEST is the manager in question, or he thinks he is).  [not that I know from personal experience] 🙂

3. introduce the concept of “front man”.. a front man not only has ownership of the project, but gets exposure as the leader to higher-ups.  This concept is a win-win-win… the CYA guys, get to CYA.  The subordinates get higher-up exposure, and the higher-ups, get to see new faces!

Now, start delegating, and work on the stuff that really matters.