Simplifying Has A Lot To Do With Green

Last week on 4/21/09, during a LOHAS event that took place at the GreenDepot -- New York's premier green living and building space at 222 Bowery -- I experienced something profound: simplifying has a lot to do with 'green.'

During "The Eve of Sustainability - Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability Leadership Gathering," I heard many presentations. From Vail Resorts, Ingeo, Haberman, Mohawk Greenworks, Amala, Mini, BBMG and hessnatur. I then had conversations. With Susan Benarcik design and others.

The presentations and conversations had me thinking. About storytelling. About sustainability. About the meaning of green.

Consistently, I heard that consumers crave authenticity and relevance, stories that connect with their lives, and meaningful simplicity so they can truly make decisions that generate a positive difference for their environment. They particularly crave simplicity.

Not too dissimilar from my need to be practical and cut through bling and distractions to get to and focus on what is truly meaningful... to simplify while not wasting precious resources.

Shortly thereafter, while catching up on some reading, I came across articles that referred to this same and very real consumer zeitgeist.

Iconowatch,on April 14, 2009, states "SAY HELLO TO SIMPLICITY." Have you read it? I love the final call to action: "To start, offer the consumer an escape - mentally, emotionally, physically, visually - from the disorder of the economic downturn."

I particularly enjoyed Greg Sieck's post about Brand Relevancy in the Age of Frugality where he directs you to a terrific white paper on the subject. Read it. Here's why.

1. The changes affecting us have to do with "practicality, frugality and the will to survive."

2. Consumers are looking for the simpler life.

3. Brands winning with consumers offer value that resonates with consumers: superior knowledge, remarkable service, memorable experience.

4. "Your presence online ... makes you part of the conversation and accessible to your customers."

[See Faith Popcorn: Attitude Toward Recession for additional insights.]

He recommends five rules to adhere to in the Age of Frugality:
+ Believe in your brand
+ Know your customers and speak to them [tout benefits both rational and emotional]
+ Try something new
+ Focus on value, not simply price
+ Have a strategy for permanent frugality

MediaPost published Earth Day In A New Era on 4/23/09. I enjoyed the description of changing consumer purchase behaviors. It matches what I see and feel taking place around me. Do you see the same?

Especially since BBMG referred to the 2009 BBMG Conscious Consumer Report which explains that "Green is up. Trust is down." Lack of trust doesn't mean disinterest. Rather it indicates a desire to learn more and research more.

Does this help you better understand your customer? Imagine how grateful she will be if we help her streamline the non-value added confusion, focus on what matters, generally simplify the decision-making process, and provide her with meaningful [green] options...

Simplifying sounds better and better to me. Does it to you?

P.S.: Thank you to my friend Jenny Cross from Mohawk who now heads up Greenworks and invited me to attend this marvelous event.


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Practical Work Tools

Contrasted Tools originally uploaded by beautyinmetal.
I appreciate easy to use, practical work tools that make me more efficient. I bet you do, too.

I have three to share with you -- two newly discovered ones and another that I've started using regularly for business.

The first is a web collaboration tool called Yugma for desktop sharing and online meetings. It comes in three flavors: Free, Pro and Skype Edition.

I've been using web collaboration tools for many years. The clunkiest was NetMeeting. The most elegant was the latest version of Centra -- originally deployed at Solutia when we converted over to SAP -- which I was delighted to Beta test for sales and marketing purposes.

Thanks to Centra, I conducted training sessions with our Wear-Dated Representatives and online presentations with customers. It was an ideal tool for resolving application issues, brainstorming online and collaborating on projects.

No surprise, identifying an acceptable alternative was priority number one... And Yugma has been absolutely fantastic!

It's easy to use and easy for viewers to join online meetings. In fact, so far, I've had fewer issues getting others set up than with many of the other applications. The free version is robust and the Pro version even nicer with extra features [e.g., advance scheduling of sessions, white board tools, etc.]. I suggest you check it out.

The next tool, although not new, has taken on new meaning for me. Skype. Do you use it?


Skype enables person to person conversations via your computer. For free.

It's also the most cost effective way to call landlines or cell phones long distance and internationally that I'm aware of.

Then, factor in the Yugma plugin for Skype....

The last tool I share with you is authorSTREAM for sharing PowerPoint presentations online.

Think SlideShare, without the problems. That's right. I can't get SlideShare to fully load my presentations [see ExecuNet Presentation: Social Media Primer]. And, I haven't yet gotten resolution.

authorSTREAM is my solution.

So, go ahead. Try my practical work tools, and let me know what you think. And let me know, too, if there others I should explore.

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Press Release: CRI & Simple Marketing Now Announce Launch of The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog

For Immediate Release: April 27, 2009

The Carpet and Rug Institute and Simple Marketing Now Announce the Launch of The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog
Focuses on how carpet benefits life, health, learning and the environment

Kinnelon, NJ – The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) and Simple Marketing Now LLC are pleased to announce the launch of The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog. The new weblog promotes online conversation about carpet and how it benefits life, health, learning and the environment.

The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog will allow CRI to increase the visibility and availability of the extensive scientific research it has conducted in the interest of customer advocacy and environmental stewardship on behalf of the carpet industry. As a social media platform, the CRI Blog will also generate and manage discussion of the many topics of consumer interest, and dispel myths associated with carpet.

“With close to 50% of the US Internet population reading blogs for relevant information, the CRI can only benefit from launching its own self-publishing communications platform,” says Christine B. Whittemore, chief simplifier of Simple Marketing Now LLC, a marketing consultancy focused on bridging traditional marketing with new and social marketing to improve the customer retail experience and build brand. “The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog allows the CRI to become actively involved in the conversations already taking place about carpet, and be visible with correct information the minute someone types ‘carpet’ into a search window.”

In addition to regular weekly postings about how carpet benefits life, health, learning and the environment, The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog features several resources within its sidebar:

• A subscription mechanism for email or RSS [Really Simple Syndication] feed updates
• Industry-related links, including a link to the Certified Seal of Approval Service Provider search window within the CRI website, and a link to CRI members

Furthermore, readers can comment on, email, or use social bookmarking and sharing tools for individual posts.

James Beach, director, market issues, and Bethany Richmond, communications manager, are the primary contributors to The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog.

“This blog is a natural extension of the CRI’s communication strategy. We’re excited about taking part in the online conversation and sharing the research and data we’ve generated on the benefits of carpet,” says Beach.

“The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog is an effective example of traditional marketing bridging with new and social marketing tools to ensure that our audience finds the most relevant content possible about carpet,” adds Whittemore.

CRI members are encouraged to subscribe to the blog for updates via email or RSS feed, to inform their constituents about how to subscribe and also to contribute to the online conversation with topics and suggestions that relate to the blog’s mission. For more information, contact Beach at jbeach@carpet-rug.org or Richmond at brichmond@carpet-rug.org.

For more information about Simple Marketing Now LLC, contact chief simplifier Whittemore at CBWhittemore@SimpleMarketingNow.com or visit the Simple Marketing Now website and companion weblog & newsroom – Simple Marketing Blog.

# # #

About Simple Marketing Now LLC
Simple Marketing Now is a marketing communications consultancy that provides organizations with the right combination of traditional marketing and new and digital tools to improve the customer experience and build brand. For more information, visit http://SimpleMarketingNow.com

About The Carpet and Rug Institute
The Carpet and Rug Institute is a nonprofit trade association representing the manufacturers of more than 95 percent of all carpet made in the United States, as well as their suppliers and service providers. For more information, visit http://www.carpet-rug.org/.


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"Blogs are now mainstream media."

In case you weren't aware "Blogs are now mainstream media."

The quote appears in eMarketer's Blogging Has Come a Long Way, Baby from 4/22/2009 and comes from the CEO of Technorati. I absolutely subscribe to it.

My reasons are practical:
+ markets are conversations
+ conversations will take place
+ blogs facilitate conversation.

We all have a choice. We can ignore the conversations taking place or we can learn from and participate in them. In my mind, participating is a no-brainer - especially if the conversations relate to topics we have an interest in. Otherwise, how do we learn from the discussion let alone shape it?

What I love about blogs is that they are self-publishing platforms. That means they represent an opportunity for individuals and marketers to generate content or information that contributes to conversation. [In case it isn't obvious, you do need to ensure that your content is interesting and relevant in the value it offers, otherwise you won't generate much conversation.]

Enter the article above [based on a for-purchase report titled The Blogosphere: A-Twitter with Activity. I'm sure it's filled with lots more delicious details!] which refers to:

+ the number of US Bloggers [currently numbering 28 million and projected to increase to 37.6 million by 2013]

+ the number of US Blog Readers [currently at 96.6 million, projected to increase to 128.2 million by 2013] - see chart above.

In terms of readers, that's close to 60% [up from 48.5%] of the US Internet users within 4 short years. Far from insignificant, making web logs effective and accepted as a means for influencing and monitoring conversations.

An LA Times article titled "Ignore Twitter? Major brands learn they'd better respond -- and quick" relates to another tool, Twitter [here's my Practical Twitter Primer]. Read through the examples listed from Amazon, Domino's, Skittles, Hasbro, CNN and Coca-Cola and note how each used social media tools to respond [or not] and take part in discussions affecting them.

I'm impressed with Domino's and Coca-Cola. Are you?

[Read this terrific assessment of the Domino response in Domino’s reflects on weeklong scramble to defend its reputation with many insights from Shel Holtz, a well-respected social media expert.]

And are you encouraged yet to explore these various tools so you can determine what works best for you?

That's the message I shared on April 17, 2009, when Linsey Levine invited me to share my Social Media Primer presentation to her ExecuNet group in Parsippany, NJ which took place at the offices of Right Management. Whether you actively use these tools to manage a job search, or your personal or corporate brand, here's an opportunity to become aware of them, experiment with them and understand what they mean for you personally and professionally.

As I did during Linsey's Westchester ExecuNet session, I shared an overview of social media. However, I added marketplace information that Mack Collier included in his MarketingProfs web presentation titled "Not Blogging Yet?" As with the eMarketer data above, it puts all of these social media tools into business perspective.

[Subscribers, click on this authorSTREAM link to view the Social Media Primer presentation.]


Uploaded on authorSTREAM by cbwhit

And, yes, there is a learning curve. And you may feel overwhelmed with all of the information available. But, eventually all of the pieces come together and you realize that this new social world is not only relevant and valuable, but it is also intellectually stimulating, and an effective medium for influencing conversations that matter to you.

Do you agree?

Note: Linsey shared Technology Tools for Job Seekers part 1 and part 2 from the Career Goddess. Although geared toward job searching, many of these tools are equally effective for business, brand or research purposes.

Re: Twitter
I just came across this article Twitter Talk by Stephanie Azzarone which specifically discusses how to use Twitter to market to moms. I particularly like the basic lessons that the author recommends. Worth reading and thinking about.

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Painless Insight Planning For Market Research

As a practical marketer, I admire approaches, thought processes and guides that help to simplify and make sense. One such that relates to Market Research is Susan Abbott's Painless Insight Planning e-book.

I consider Susan Abbott, Abbott Research + Consulting, a fellow practical marketer and kindred spirit. She offers both valuable and actionable advice and her observations always make me think. As a qualitative researcher, she knows how to ask questions, listen and uncover insights.

Some of that you'll discover if you check out her Customer Experience Crossroads blog. Also, read the insights she shared with me in Social Media Series: Susan Abbott on Bridging New & Old, my interview series about bridging new marketing and traditional marketing.

Painless Insight Planning represents a practical solution to preparing for a market research project. It will help you identify and articulate what your objectives are before you start your project. Susan explains that too often, at the start of a project, clients don't have a clear purpose in mind for research. Unclear objectives mean that the research project won't deliver all of the value that it could. Leading to wasted resources and missed insight opportunities.

I could have used this kind of a guide when I started out. I encourage you to download it and put Susan's suggestions and questions to work.

And, then, let me know what kinds of insights you uncover from your research. I know Susan will be interested.

By the way, Susan profiled Flooring The Consumer, my blog about the retail experience and marketing to women, in a three-part series. The links are listed in Customer Experience Crossroads Profiles Flooring The Consumer.


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Press Release: Whittemore Joins Floor Covering Institute

For Immediate Release: April 20, 2009

Simple Marketing Now’s Whittemore Joins Floor Covering Institute
Expands Institute’s consulting solutions to include retail, consumer and new marketing expertise

Kinnelon, NJ – Christine B. Whittemore has joined the Floor Covering Institute. Whittemore is the chief simplifier of Simple Marketing Now LLC, a marketing consultancy focused on bridging traditional marketing with new and social marketing, to improve the customer retail experience and build brand.

In joining the Floor Covering Institute, Whittemore brings a focus on basic and simple solutions to common marketing problems, in place of the complex and expensive solutions traditional marketing offers. Her comprehensive knowledge of web based solutions to marketing issues and a special familiarity with the consumer retail experience enable her to enhance the Floor Covering Institute’s industry expertise.

“Christine adds a fresh, energetic and clarifying element to everything she does,” says Floor Covering Institute President Jim Gould. “Her talent and creativity are a huge boon to both the institute and our clients and we are looking forward to her contribution.”

The Floor Covering Institute, a consulting group founded in 2007 by Jim Gould, is dedicated to providing global consulting services to the floor covering industry. Gould, with 38 years of experience in the flooring industry including regional and national distribution, retail, global sourcing and importing, buying groups and all of the business disciplines they encompass, has gathered within the Floor Covering Institute other experts in their fields. Whittemore joins Gould, Christopher P. Ramey, president and founder of Affluent Insights and chairman of The Luxury Marketing Council Florida, Lewis G. Migliore, president of LGMTCS and Associates, David Wootton, president of The Wootton Group LLC, and Carl Ruland, president of Global Flooring Consulting of Bonn, Germany. Member consultants maintain their independent consulting concerns thereby providing professional assistance to clients through both individual and team based approaches.

The Floor Covering Institute, now in its second year, includes clients in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia and provides them with a range of solutions and services.

For more information about Simple Marketing Now LLC, contact chief simplifier Whittemore at CBWhittemore@SimpleMarketingNow.com or visit the Simple Marketing Now website [http://SimpleMarketingNow.com] and companion weblog & newsroom – Simple Marketing Blog [http://SimpleMarketingBlog.com].

# # #

About Simple Marketing Now LLC

Simple Marketing Now is a marketing communications consultancy that provides organizations with the right combination of traditional marketing and new and digital tools to improve the customer experience and build brand. For more information, visit http://SimpleMarketingNow.com


About The Floor Covering Institute
The global consulting group was founded by Jim Gould in late 2007 to help flooring industry companies solve problems, improve their competitiveness and identify new business opportunities. With clients in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia, the group assists in a wide range of disciplines including manufacturing, distribution, logistics, retail, associations, investment groups, recruiting and expert witness testimony. For more information, visit http://www.floorcoveringinstitute.com.

Also see:
+ Whittemore and Ruland Join Floor Covering Institute As it Begins Second Year, St. Louis, MO - April 6, 2009
+ FCW 4/17/09: Whittemore and Ruland join Floor Covering Institute
+ TalkFloor.com 4/17/09: Whittemore & Ruland Join FCI


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Websites Irritants Guaranteed to Drive Visitors Away

IMG_1688 originally uploaded by catchthevision.
What irritates you the most when you visit a website? And how does that affect your willingness to spend time on that site?

Here are three of my top pet peeves:

1. I hate not finding relevant content - especially after having been enticed via the Google search results.

2. Even more I hate entering multiple search string combinations [i.e., several extremely specific words including maybe even your company name] - when I know what I'm seeking has to be there - and still not finding my result. In that case, I have to figure out the exact website address...

3. Topping my list, though, are sound effects. First those that can't be turned off - as these two randomly chosen examples demonstrate: Dee's Thai Restaurant, a wonderful neighborhood resource and Big Bob's Flooring Website, a corporate site for a reputable organization with a strong personality. Next are those with sound that I have to manually turn off. Example Digitas, which is tastefully done but still irritating [the images also rotate too rapidly for me]. Sound effects can add a distinct authenticity, as they do in all three examples. Unfortunately, too often they SHOUT, putting visitors on the defensive, rather than soothe or engage.

Now, I bet you spend a great deal of time online, researching, investigating and checking out new resources. I do. I know our customers do, too.

So, if you put yourself in the fingertips, eyes, and ears of your customers [i.e., the equivalent of walking in her shoes for the brick & mortar equivalent experience], and experience their search for your product/brand/store, how do you rate? Do you irritate and drive them away, or do you invite, draw them in and engage them for long sessions?

It's a critical question. Especially when the majority of our customers start at a search window to gather information relating to a purchase. Do you agree?

Consider my first two pet peeves - not finding relevant content, even with multiple word combinations [and, by the way, multiple word search strings are increasing in frequency as we look for more and more specific and relevant content in our search queries] - and ask yourself the following:

• Is your website heavily flash based, with the majority of your delicious content hidden from those information hungry spiders and robots crawling through your website looking to find just the right digital trail to deliver to a search result page?
• Do you have enough relevant content on your website? Content that explains and describes what you do, who you are, what you offer? Is your content interesting and well written? Does it answer the questions that visitors want answered?
  
• Have you identified the keywords that consumers use to search on your product or location and included those in your website content? Don't forget titles, headers and tags.
  
• Have you inaccurately associated keywords with your site so you appear in search results but are totally irrelevant to the original search?
  

And, about my third pet peeve - sound effects... I say ditch the sound effects. If you really can't, then make sure that your default setting is 'off' rather than 'on' and give your visitors the option to listen at their convenience.

Definitely experience your service/product/offering and website as would your customers. And then pay attention to your own web-based experiences. Gauge your reactions. Chances are, if something irritates you, it will irritate your visitors, too.

So, my recommendations:

1. Kill the flash. If you absolutely must, keep it to a minimum and don't hide any vital information within it.

2. Make your website searchable for the important content - who you are, where you are, and what you do.

3. Keywords count. Have them upfront, first line, first paragraph and within your content in a natural way. Make sure they are relevant to you, your content and your visitors.

4. No noise.

Simple, right? Would you add others?

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