Giving Something For Nothing

It’s hard to overstate the value of giving back to the community in which your business resides, but often businesses don't recognize just how far the goodwill of giving can go. You may believe that contributing either in kind, or on cash only benefit the recipients of your donation, however with the right messaging often the ripple effect of your drop in the bucket can reach far further than you'd expect.

When a local oil businessman, the late Theodore Rozsa donated $3 million to the University of Calgary for the now renowned Rozsa Centre over ten years ago, he originally intended to provide the donation as an anonymous donor. However at the urging of his counterparts over time he ultimately allowed his generosity become public and the facility to become his namesake. While his humble demeanor and a desire to not make a show of his generosity was the original basis for his decision, ultimately he recognized that allowing the Rozsa Centre to be named what it is would set a selfless philanthropic precedent for his industry peers.

So let's bring this back to the entrepreneurs and Rozsa's-to-be. Calgary businesses, both for-profit and not-for-profit benefit tremendously from an entrepreneurial spirit that drives the city forward. There's no shortage of budding charitable organizations, independent not-for-profits (I’ll call the NFP’s hereon), and events that can use your help.

Though there's no denying the fact that cold hard cash is required to keep every business or charity going, but often the particular skillset that you apply to your business will make a huge difference to others. NFP's have the same needs as the rest of us, they need web designers, accountants, communications/PR Specialists, event organizers and operations managers, etc., however the nature of their trade often requires social entrepreneurs to be all of the above. With this in mind it becomes clear that any time, help, advice, or experience you can impart can and will go a long way.

Of course there is the marketing and good PR side of involvement with NFP’s, and I’d be remiss if I failed to mention them. Your brand and presence with NFP organizations often establishes a positive sentiment with participants, volunteers, and other donors in a manner that conventional brand building and advertising simply cannot achieve. Think of this as just an added bonus to your giving back though, it shouldn’t be the only reason you decide to have a kind heart.
I've been on both sides of this fence and can provide a few pointers for both sides on making the relationship a good one;

Successful businessperson providing the hand up:

• Inquire as to how your contribution will be used and be clear on what the objectives of the NFP are and don't be shy about holding the NFP to those objectives


• Apply the same business principles that made you successful to the NFP, if you've had success with your business and industry; constructively share every ounce of that expertise you've acquired over the years with your new friends.


• Realize that your time and contributions deserve recognition. Remember why you're doing this, not for the sake of marketing but because giving back will give you the warm fuzzies. The recognition you receive should be out of gratitude and for the same reason that Dr. Rozsa said yes to putting his name on that building.


• Do your homework on the NFP, get to know its people, and ask a lot of questions. Not only does this help to ensure you're giving to a cause that will deliver, but also helps build a collaborative relationship.

For the NFP...

• Value the time of your benefactor, they certainly are not obliged in any way to lend their time to you so make sure that when you speak to them you have a clear sense of purpose and a long term vision for your organization that includes their participation.


• Make your benefactor your partner and have an open invitation for them to attend your meetings, events, and social gatherings. If they’re doing what they are with you for the right reasons, then your benefactor wants to be a part of what you’re doing so don’t think of them as “the photographer”, or “the accountant”, they are a part of your team now.


• Be open to using a business minded approach to your organization. A not-for-profit called Room to Read, which you may have heard of, pioneered the concept of using Fortune 500 Company business principles to NFP’s. While some NFP’s bleed a significant portion of proceeds to overhead, Room to Read took a streamlined approach and used a Starbucks-like growth target when they first opened in 2000 with a library in Nepal. In 2008, Room to Read established a library every 4 hours and distributed a book every 3 minutes.
  

There are a number of Calgary organizations that link up individuals who want to give back, with those who are looking for a hand up such as Volunteer Calgary. Alternatively, the next time you see a fund raiser, charity race, silent auction, info booth, or hear about a NFP from a friend, ask questions, get involved, and don’t be shy, you’ll be amazed at what you get back when you give something for nothing.

Social Media for Local and Little Guy Retailers

A couple weeks ago during the superbowl Twitter was abuzz with the social media campaigns that big advertisers such as Pepsi opted towards rather than the traditional advertising media. And while we all know about the cool, fancy campaigns the big guys are putting on, perhaps how social media could work for the little independent retailers needs a bit of mention.

I'm pretty into biking as some of you know, and while right now I only have two bikes, I'm looking for a third as an urban commuter. No, I don't plan on becoming a too-tight jeaned, hipster who erroneously (or ignorantly) refers to my single speed bike as a "fixie", I just want an inexpensive, easy to maintain bike for urban commuting.

So a couple weeks ago when I walked by a new bike store called BikeBike just off 17th Ave and 14th street, I was pretty intrigued. If I'm not mistaken they'll be opening their doors for the first time tomorrow, but they've built quite a base for themselves already using social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Blogspot. As a matter of fact they have 295 facebook fans, and 205 Twitter followers.

One of the greatest benefits of social media for small businesses like BikeBike is that it allows a constant flow of information between your business, and your target market. Any marketer will tell you that the dividends this pays in building customer loyalty is well worth the investment of time. More to the point, what is unique about social media is that it allows consumers to select what businesses communicate their messages to them, and that selectivity in turn enables them to be a bit more receptive to your message. When there are literally thousands of ads vying for their attention every day, them adding you to their Twitter feed is like you being invited to skip the line and to go round the side to the VIP door to the hottest club in town the night that Lady Gaga is headlining (or whatever band you like, Tegan and Sarah, The Killers, Rolling Stones, Kenny G, whatever, just not Nickelback because they shouldn't headline anywhere).

What I'm getting at is that social media can be your blockbuster ad campaign and if you're savvy with that stuff already, it won't cost you a dime. But be warned, it can be a bit tricky. My biggest piece of advice for businesses looking to use social media, can be summed in three words, consistency, consistency, consistency. If you have a blog- try to blog at least once a week, if you are on Facebook- put something up every couple days, if you're on Twitter- you should have tweeted when you started reading this, and tweeted again by this paragraph (kidding... but really). Not only do you have to be consistent in terms of quantity, but also quality. Just because you got in through the VIP entrance doesn't mean the bouncer won't kick you out of you start sending the wrong signals. Each of your posts should have some significance with regards to you or your business, they could consist of interesting articles, comments on how things are running today, local events/whats happening, etc. Even feel free to throw in the odd PG personal comment, but try to keep at least 4/5 relevant to your business somehow.

This consistency and the fluid level of two way communication between business and consumer is part of why BikeBike has done so well to garner fans and followers. They are always providing their audience with updates on their business and they've done well to ensure that their content has meaning and value, reinforcing to me why I chose to follow them in the first place.

So obviously for a good example of Social Media done right, check out their website at Bikebike.ca which has links to their Twitter feed, Facebook, and Blog. Even better yet, stop by their location when they open this week.

I'll talk a bit more about what sort of content is appropriate for social media in a subsequent post as this one's getting a little long. Social Media can be pretty daunting at first and depending on your business size could become a pretty high involvement thing. So for businesses interested in social media but that have competing priorities (you know, like running your business...), redlime marketing offers a full range of services from consulting, planning, and setting up a social media presence, to helping actively managing and monitoring that presence. If you'd like to learn more you can contact me at rafael(a)redlime.ca, Tweet me, or simply reply to this post.

Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you all next soon!

The Changing Fashion Retail Scene in Calgary

I remember a time in Calgary when girls/women went crazy about heading to West Edmonton Mall to visit the Forever XXI, when Abercrombie was a foreign retailer, and Coach was Holt Renfrew only. Well all that is changing now as more retailers are setting up shop in a city where big names were once scarce.

A lot of big US retailers are now popping up in Calgary's newly reno'd malls such as Southcentre, Chinook, and Market Mall. This of couse is in response to the opportunity offered by Calgary's young, dynamic population, and the level of disposable income the city's oil industry affords.

But with all the big names popping up in the usual destionations I'd like to bring a bit more attention to an awesome new locale that young fashionistas who don't come into the core often may be overlooking. I walk by Fashion Central every day and have been watching it progress into a very chic, very cool destination that should soon be an anchor in the Calgary fashion scene with a more unique and indepedent style than any of the traditional destinations have to offer. With seven street-front shops including Murale and Betsey Johnsony, and eighteen interior units fronting on an internal sky-lit atrium, its looking very promising. The project will include both recognized designer brand stores not typically found in shopping centres, and local and Canadian fashion designer boutiques.

Located on the corner of Stephen Avenue and First Street SW, Fashion Central replaces what used to be a corner with nothing but a dodgy Subway and a hole in the wall (literally) Bratwurst kiosk. It takes more than a little bit of vision and savvy to turn that into what it is today and you can now visit a Deville for a rich cafe just a few feet down from where the Subway used to be. That vision is to the credit of Encorp Inc, the company also responsible for another great concept, Art Central just a couple blocks away.

I've got to say, as a Calgarian I love developments like this because I really believe it inspires culture in the city and brings people into the core for reasons besides earning a paycheck from the man. Its great for the city and it creates a more vibrant community, especially as more people migrate to downtown living. I encourage everyone to check it out as more stores open over the next few months.

What to do when you don't get it right the first time

So this blog post today was originally going to be about the importance of goal setting, but the whole Toyota recall thing has reminded me of something else I wanted to talk about a couple months back. For some people what I'm going to say is going to be pretty obvious, but for others, perhaps not so much.

Toyota effed up in a big, grand, failblog sort of way. To develop a brand as shiny as theirs with solid vehicles such as the best selling Corolla and Camry, takes years of work and millions of dollars. It starts with engineering a reliable product priced to provide value, and marketed to communicate value. After a decade or so of providing value, then your product might, just might become a hallmark of excellence, an international best selling vehicle, and a perennial Top 10 on Consumer lists. That sort of capital takes time and money, and it can all be whisked away in just a couple weeks time. Toyota would likely be lucky if this doesn't cost the literally billions in lost sales.

The simple fact of the matter is that mistakes cannot be avoided, but its important to realize that there is a certain way of dealing with them. To walk away with even a modicum of grace from a negative situation, as a business owner or service provider you need to understand that its not the event that defines you or your business, its your reaction to that event.

A couple months ago I was shopping for a new bicycle and I was allowing myself a pretty generous budget. Looking for a specific brand I went to one of Calgary's major bicycle retailers, but not the one where they know me by name. I made the pretty long detour to the shop and decided on the bike that was right for me. I'm an educated consumer so I actually knew exactly what I wanted, but I wanted to test the service and play dumb (if I'm going to drop a couple grand on a bike I at least want to know I'm buying it from a nice guy). Well I was flat out ignored for about half an hour while I stood beside the bike that I wanted. There were sales people in the area and one helping another customer but I received no acknowldgement, no eye contact, and no offers for help or indications that they'd call more staff to assist me.

I've worked retail and I know when you're short staffed, or super busy, customer service is tough. But thats just not a good example of how to manage the B2C relationships, or any relationships for that matter. So rather than tell everyone about my negative experience I actually took the time to email the customer service manager. First thing the next day I got an email from him saying that he could make excuses, but that wouldn't change the fact that they didn't come through. He offered me a proposal on how to improve my experience with the retailer and more importantly he offered me an apology. I ended up buying the bike at cost and of course I'm happy with how things ended but still can't help but have that bad taste in my mouth from the first experience.

When the boom happened here in Calgary two or three years ago and retailers were placed at the will of employees who were in high demand and spoiled rotten, the quality of customer service in this city tanked. A lot of mistakes were made every day and some people couldn't be bothered to care. For you, if that situation ever comes along, whether you are the manager of 2 employees or two thousand, the willingness to apologize and admit the customer was wronged and committing to a mutually agreeable solution will often turn a negative experience into a positive opportunity.

I honestly have no idea of how long it will take for Toyota's image to recover, its probably too soon to even measure what they're doing to correct the situation. When quality and reliability is the core competency that you use to stalk the big three in sales for decades, the big three being able to turn around provide trade-in incentives on the premise that their accelerator pedals don't suck, really hurts the team. The recall has to be just the beginning because with that they're only fixing their cars, not their image. Their best bet? Fix the cars, admit they screwed up rather than blaming the supplier, and then promise that this was an opportunity forcing them to be better than they were when they were at their best.