by jbreazeale on February 25, 2010
Via loop_oh on flickr
Are you open for business?
Every day I walk past vacant restaurants and half-empty shops, “victims” of the recession, of tough economic times, of changing priorities and values. Well, to all of that I say “Hooey!”*
*Yes, apparently I’ve turned into a cranky octogenarian.
For every restaurant that has seen its customers dwindle away, there’s another one out there welcoming them in. Offering specials that are amazing to the palate and sensitive on the wallet. Getting out of the kitchen to talk with (and listen to) their customers. Taking advantage of opportunities to try something new or to partner with like-minded businesses. Yes, some of them are using technology (newsletters, Twitter, Facebook), but that’s only a piece of the puzzle.
Think about it. What do your customers want? Not what they need, what they want. I need to eat breakfast, I want to eat my favorite breakfast burrito from Udi’s.
How can you let them know that:
You have what they want.
Menus are helpful. Menus with detailed descriptions are more helpful. Menus with detailed descriptions, plus pictures, plus write-ups from you and your customers are the most helpful.
You will help them get what they want.
How many obstacles do you place in your customer’s path? Can they easily find out where you are? When you’re open? If you’re kid-friendly/vegan/gluten-free/etc… (Hint: Communicate, communicate, communicate.)
They will feel confident and successful during (and after) this process.
What? Is talking about your customers’ feelings too woo-woo* for you? Remember how you felt ordering the first time at Starbucks? (or insert your favorite coffee shop here.) After countless visits, you now feel comfortable and confident.
*Note to self: try “too woo-woo” phrase with 3 yr old daughter tomorrow. Take bets whether I get fits of toddler giggles or the scarily pre-teen eye roll.
Most people will continue to frequent those places where they’ve learned the routine and know what to expect because it’s more comfortable knowing your expectations will be met than taking a risk on something new that might be a disappointment. No one goes to the Red Lobster in Times Square because they want great seafood.
Although, I’d recommend starting with the first two steps, don’t underestimate the importance of this final element. If you’re customers are buying a product/service that they want and feel good about buying (not just the product, the whole experience), you’ve just put yourself miles ahead of your competition. Now “I want a hot dog.” becomes “I want to go to Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs” or “Let’s go out for brunch.” becomes “Let’s go to Satchel’s.”
So, let’s say our farewell to those businesses that have been “victims” of these “tough economic times” and a hearty hello to those who continue to give us what we want while putting a smile on our face.*
*You know what I meant. Get your mind out of the gutter.
What do you think? What are examples, good and bad, that you’ve seen lately?
by jbreazeale on January 27, 2010
As I talk with more people about my approach to building with or migrating their sites to a Wordpress+Thesis platform, I’m also trying to come up with a clear and concise definition of why I’ve chosen these tools and why they’re a great options for so many individuals, businesses, and organizations.
Here’s where I am so far…
Wordpress is a great platform because…
Even persons with relatively little technical skill can understand, create, and publish pages and posts. No coding experience required (although a little HTML/CSS/PHP wouldn’t hurt.)
It’s amazingly extensible with multiple plugins for almost any task you can think of. Of course, it’s also annoying searching through all of those plugins to find one that does what you want it to do (only then to discover that the developer hasn’t worked on it for over a year…)
And, there’s a large, active, and growing population of users and developers who are willing to share their Wordpress knowledge and experience with the rest of us. (Thanks!)
Using Thesis is worth the premium because…
The code is clean, scalable, flexible, and SEO optimized. None of those characteristics are guaranteed if you’re using one of the many free themes out there. Sure, newbies may complain about the cost, and ninjas may want to roll their own for ultimate control, but for the rest of us, it’s a no-brainer. Just buy Thesis.
It’s easy to customize. Most of the common options are available right there on the Wordpress dashboard. Want to show a certain page on your menu? Check a box. Want to add header or footer scripts? Just paste them into the header or footer box and save. Want to change a color? Pick one from the color box. You’re not *required* to write code or FTP files.
Oh, and did I mention that all of those customization options are stored all in one place? As Joe Kraynak points out:
I soon discovered the idea behind Thesis. In most WordPress Themes, you have to edit multiple files to control the look and layout of your blog. These files are packed with codes and settings. If you make a bunch of changes, tracking down those changes later can be nearly impossible. With Thesis, the core theme files remain unchanged. You make all changes to two files: custom.css (for style changes) and custom_functions.php…
And again, there’s another large, active, and growing population of users and developers who are willing to share their Thesis + Wordpress knowledge and experience with the rest of us. (Thanks, again!)
What do you think? Are these characteristics relevant to you or your business? Too technical, not technical enough?
by jbreazeale on January 22, 2010
Photo by: anasantos / CC BY-ND 2.0
We all go through times in our lives where we’re just overwhelmed. We’re stressed and tired. We struggle to make decisions. We want to move forward, but just can’t seem to do so. Here are some lessons I’ve learned (and had reinforced over the past few months) to help get through these tough times.
Staying productive and sane at work
I am always amazed at how little “work” goes on at most companies throughout the day. Sure, you can fill up your daily quota of 8-10 hours on the job, but how much of that time was spent a) checking your email, b) chatting with co-workers, c) online surfing/shopping/banking, etc… None of these activities are inherently bad and, many times, they’re what make your work day enjoyable. However, when you feel like you only have 10% brainpower to apply today, do you really want to spend that on TPS reports?
My recommendation?
Do less work, better.
Can you reduce the volume or type of stuff that trickles down to you? Could you simplify your email inbox so that most of the messages are from people you want to hear from about topics you want to hear about? Could you delegate some tasks to an assistant / colleague / family member? What would happen if you just ignored it (at least for a little while)?
And, once you’ve managed to do *less* work, how can you do what remains even *better*? Can you think one or two steps beyond your task and consider it as it relates to the root problem? Or instead of participating in an email firestorm of single word/sentence/paragraph messages, can you take the time to stop, gather all of the data, summarize the issues and solutions, and then propose way forward?
What do you think? What steps will you take today to help you do less work, better?
by jbreazeale on January 6, 2010
Image by weblog244 via Flickr
So long, 2009! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!
I don’t know about you, but 2009 was a rough year for me and many of my friends. Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful that my family remained safe, healthy, and happy, that my hubby and I have (relatively) stable jobs to support us, that we have friends near and far to eat, drink, laugh, and cry with (and, more and more frequently, to have playdates with!), and that I’ve found such wonderful techie / startup /entrepreneurial / etc. communities to be involved with.
Now that I’ve finished the last of my 2009 holiday relaxing and recharging, I’m ready to get 2010 rolling!
Content coming soon (no, really!)
You know how they say the best way to learn something is to teach it?
Well, starting this month I’ll be posting some of the “How-To” guides that I’ve created for my clients along with some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way. This could include:
- Do I need to have separate domain registration and hosting?
- Why should I use Wordpress instead of my (host’s free) site builder?
- Why do I need to buy hosting when I can use Wordpress.com for free?
- Claiming and naming your Facebook page.
- Why you should have a account, even if you aren’t sure that you’ll use it (a.k.a What’s that Twitter thing?)
What else would you like to see in 2010? What software jargon is buzzing around your office that you don’t understand but need/want to? Let me know!
by jbreazeale on November 13, 2009
After surviving a morning presentation filled with short-sighted selfishness, aggression, and fear, I eagerly grasped at the kinder, more hopeful society described by Stowe Boyd.*
*Who happens to be the most tweetable speaker I’ve ever heard. I think he actually speaks in 140 character sound bytes.
Instead of taking the trash out of the economy (you know, like librarians. Or teachers.) and driving harder and harder for productivity gains, let’s look at the humans who have those jobs.
Let’s build villages instead of armies, businesses who thrive on a human (and humane) scale, and opportunities for people, individuals, to become a source of meaning and a lens through which to see the world.
Imagine if the people doing the work mattered at least as much as the work itself. What would your relationships, your work, the world look like if you felt the most free, most engaged, and most needed?
Other ideas included:
- We define ourselves through our relationships with others
- The rise of the real-time web is making small talk big again. People are listening for the earliest whispers of news, the information that is brand new, and now have many more opportunities to do so.
- All critical information that is relevant to you is, or will soon be, available. Search tools cannot and will not be sufficient to manage this torrent. Instead, your social connections will act as a filter. Your network will be an engine of meaning.
- People will continue to trade personal connectivity for connectedness.
For more information check out Stowe’s presentation, “10 Minute Sprint from 140 Characters Conference: Social Business“.
Photo by Graeme Thickins
