-Ken Tencer

*Adapted from an interview on The Business Coach, Episode 77 on Business Expansion Strategy at http://www.profitguide.com/podcast/532–podcast-77-business-expansion-strategy

Two things struck me in reading the announcement that I thought that we could all do with reminding of:

My own personal cult brand? Yes, I am one of those Saab fanatics to whom Mr. Muller refers. Time to win “me” back. The lesson to all of us, don’t lose “me” in the first place: I am your bread and butter customer.

I would say that brilliant architecture transforms the landscape in unique and creative ways, ways that touch us emotionally and intellectually. So too does effective brand architecture, bring together vision, knowledge, experience, needs, benefits and voice that together provide the structure, inspiration and personality that determines a lasting brand. Every successful brand (product, service or cause) is built on solid and well-defined brand architecture.

Brand Architecture is designed on the premise that every touch point of a brand is interconnected and needs continuous management. A brand is a living, breathing entity. I often say that every brand architect should have as a theme song the platinum hit by the Police, Every Breath You Take* (“ … every move you make, I’ll be watching you”). Because its every move is “watched” and under scrutiny in the marketplace. It must offer authenticity in representation and consistency in delivery. That means never underestimate the importance of every touch point in brand creation, delivery and communications. How your brand looks and performs (“every breath it takes”) should be an orchestrated part of your daily thinking — leaving the one hit wonders to the competition.

*Every Breath You Take from 1983 album Synchronicity by The Police

-Ken Tencer

This point is made in the first part of the book because, all too often, successful companies become order takers. They have been wooed by the good times in which the phone would ring and now they sit and stare at it aimlessly, forgetting that, yes, it can dial out, too.

One of our colleagues and contributors, sales scientist Adrian Davis, President and CEO, Whetstone Inc explains, “marketing must now tie the end of their funnel directly to the beginning of the sales funnel”.

The success of innovation depends on telling people about what it is that you have innovated. Yes, there are some very strong traditional and marketing tools that can help raise awareness of your company or brand, and increase the number of people phoning in to you. But, don’t be complacent. Ensure that your lead generation process systematically ties together your innovation and marketing to a strong, proactive sales program.

I know, it can be tough. I am definitely not a born salesperson so I have made myself into a disciplined one – actively attending events, making well researched introductory calls and generally making sure that everyone in the company opens their eyes to opportunities and feeds them back to me to follow up on.

Remember, your phone is still your company’s best friend … but nobody can dial it for you.

-Ken Tencer

Where do the ideas come from? They certainly do not come from staring at the same four walls. They happen when you look through the window at the changing landscape beyond because inspiration comes from everywhere.

We suggest looking at innovation on three levels when you meet with your R&D, marketing, sales, engineering and finance teams to inspire holistic (not industry or company-specific) conversations.

- social innovation (movies, events, books, ads, programs)

- industrial innovation (seen, heard or experienced in other industries)

- category or brand innovation (relevant to your brands or business categories)

So, the next time that somebody asks if you have seen a great new movie or tried a super new product, don’t just answer yes or no. Remember to ask what they liked about it and why.

The great ideas are already out there, right in front of you.  You just have to remember to ask and act, and the sales will come.

- Ken Tencer

The study found that these CEOs are laggards in social media. For the most part they were all unconnected and uninvolved. Out of the top 100 CEOs studied only two had Twitter accounts and only one had a blog. Only 13 of the top 100 CEOs studied had LinkedIn accounts, and none in the top 20 had accounts.

Wikipedia had the highest level of engagement compared to any other social media tool among Fortune 100 CEOs. Three quarters of the CEOs studied had some sort of Wikipedia entry. However, of the 76% that had Wikipedia entries nearly 30% had incomplete or out of date information.

CEOs are not using social media and new technology as an extension of traditional communications outlets as they should. These top executives could be using social media as a way to communicate new information and build further brand loyalty. Often, CEO’s are not as connected as their employees and customers and thus are missing out on opportunities to positively influence the company’s perception, awareness and brand experience by taking part in social media activities.

Social media Web sites offer great opportunities for companies and senior level executives to connect with partners and customers in real time. Facebook alone boasts 350 million registered users in over 180 countries around the world, Twitter has over 75 million users and LinkedIn has about 60 million registered users. Social media continues to grow worldwide with unprecedented increases in the past year. Users talk about anything and everything, including corporations and their brands. Most social media Web sites offer opportunities for businesses to promote their products and services, and communicate with the masses.

Another survey conducted by eMarketer.com surveyed 438 management, marketing and human resources executives and found that 81% saw social media as being useful for both brand building and enhancing customer or client relationships.

Understandably, CEOs may not have the time to actively engage in all the social media outlets that are available to them, but these activities could be delegated to an employee. Some Web 2.0 and social media conscious companies have hired Social media Marketing Managers in recent years. These individuals’ sole responsibility is to position the brand and image of the company and of senior level executives online. This practice could and should become more mainstream.

Social media is a free and powerful medium that offers an opportunity to connect with the world. Top level CEOs should begin to embrace this medium on a more intimate level to maximize their communications and marketing objectives.

-Ken Tencer

It is the visual and physical articulation of your product or service. It drives your customers’ brand experience and ultimately helps to build sales…and from where we sit, that’s a good thing.

Design, design elements, form, fashion and colors aren’t things that you work on in your spare time, for fun, to give you a break from the mundane pressures of running your business on a daily basis. Or that your kid sister can do because you bought her a Mac with all sorts of neat programs.

Too many people view design and design meetings as play time. Now, it’s great to enjoy them, we do.  And it’s fine to love the change of pace, everyone likes a little variety in their day.  But remember, relevant (to your audience) is way more effective than cool (to you and your team).

And that’s worth a serious investment in.

- Ken Tencer

IBM was the first large enterprise to promote employee blogging and now has thousands of blogs related to every component of its business. H&R Block hosts a Facebook fan page to combine its social media activities, promote its brand and services, engage customers and offer tax advice. Some high-tech companies are even using social media for technical support and to convey messaging about new releases and security updates. The ways in which social media can be used to promote a business are limited only by your imagination.

However, social media is not the whole story. It is just one tool within a fully integrated marketing mix. The full suite of marketing tools goes beyond traditional advertising or direct mail to create a full spectrum of benefits:

1.  Raise Awareness (e.g., the traditional function of advertising)
2.  Provide Information and context (long copy print, and Web 1.0)
3.  Induce Action (direct response)
4.  Promote Engagement (Web 1.5)
5.  Establish Brand Advocacy (public relations, Web 2.0 and social media)

Naturally, this model oversimplifies the results you can expect from each tool. You can expect many cross-platform benefits: Good advertising can promote engagement and move product, just as social media can raise awareness and sell, too.

As always, it’s essential to understand and embrace new media and the invaluable new tools they provides … while remembering to bring your full marketing kit to your next planning meeting.

- Ken Tencer

There are multitudes of interesting, engaging and even amusing ways in which businesses use social media to gain the spotlight. Blendtec, a blender manufacturer, launched a now famous YouTube campaign, ‘Will It Blend?’ In its immensely popular videos, Blendtec ‘blends’ items such as an iPhone, glow sticks, a football and many other things you should never put in a blender. The campaign has won Blendtec tremendous attention and helped fuel a 700% sales jump.


Selecting the right social media campaign is a unique exercise for every business.  Your social media campaign should be tailored to your product or service as well as your core customer demographic; and your campaign must be interesting, engaging and unique in order to be a success.  How will you make friends in the online marketplace?

- Ken Tencer

At the end of my talk, I had the opportunity to speak with Kevin Crone, CEO of Dale Carnegie Business Group, Canada.  He used a phrase that I know will stay with me for years to come, “all entrepreneurs should go to heaven”. We share that thought in common. Be it their ability to envision to what others can’t, their audacity and determination to block out the naysayers, or the tenacity to get it done against all financial odds; entrepreneurs have been driving innovation and change for centuries.

Think of where we’d be without the printing press, car, plane or personal computer. They all started as an idea driven by an individual whose passion refused to let them quit. While we can’t all be entrepreneurs, we can certainly take the time to understand, learn from and embrace the qualities that have driven them and their companies to greatness.

- Ken Tencer