Pierpont Communications, Inc.

Summer may be winding down, but if you’ve had a busy summer like Pierpont had, you may just now be taking your summer vacation over Labor Day weekend.

Obviously, the main purpose of most vacations is to rest, relax and feel rejuvenated. However, with the ever-growing assortment of mobile tablets, smartphones and laptops available, unplugging and truly enjoying your vacation without work distractions can be difficult. The handy devices that keep us connected to email and office happenings are the same tools that distract us from a much-needed vacation.

Whether you’re planning to completely unplug or check in from time to time, here are a few tips for making the most of your well-deserved vacation:

• Turn everything off. This includes your BlackBerry, iPhone, tablet, laptop and anything else with email notifications or ringtones. Whether you’re away for three days or three weeks, the office will survive without you.

• Stay strong. Even one email reply or phone call could open the floodgates. Once you respond to one note or text message, colleagues or clients who know you’re accessible will continue reaching out and awaiting your reply.

• Delegate, delegate, delegate. Appoint a capable, trusted colleague to handle day-to-day matters while you’re away. Taking a vacation is a good opportunity to let others step up and develop, so let someone else take the reigns while you’re gone.

• Get some help. Whether you’re vacationing with your significant other, family members or a group of friends, enlist their help to keep you unplugged. Ignoring your phone is a lot easier when your loved ones keep you on track.

• Schedule check-in times. If being completely disconnected is truly not an option, schedule short sets of time to log in and take care of business. Set boundaries (perhaps setting aside 30 minutes every other day) and stick to them. Prioritize what you need to accomplish and save the little things for when you’re back in the office.

In our digital world, we’re expected to be reachable and available at any moment for almost any reason. To truly unwind and enjoy a vacation (and get the peace of mind you were seeking in the first place), leave your mobile gadgets at home.

Have you taken any unplugged vacations this summer? Do you have any trips lined up for Labor Day weekend? Leave us a tip below on how to recharge and rejuvenate.

You’re sitting across the table from a prospect sweating bullets. All you can think about is what to say to strike up a good enough conversation that will ultimately get you their business. Your nerves are frayed and your fingers and toes are crossed – not sure where this meeting will go and whether or not you’ll close the deal. Sound familiar?

Fear not, readers! Here are some sure-fire ways to win over a prospective client in the first meeting:

Research your prospect and know what you’re going to talk about. This might be common knowledge but many people carelessly forget this important point. Perusing their website and following their industry’s trends won’t take very long and can get you very far in the long-run. Tools such as Linked-In, Twitter, Facebook, Google are your friends - use them often! It doesn’t end with your research though. Everyone coming to this meeting with you should know the prospect’s background. Don’t depend on others to feed you information. The last thing you want is to feel embarrassed when the prospect looks at YOU and you can’t answer a simple question like, “So what do you know about me and what I do?”

Don’t be late! This will definitely open or close your door. You want to show the prospect you’re interested in them, their organization and your meeting. If there are unforeseen circumstances, make sure you call and let them know. Do not email. It’s likely they’ll appreciate you took the time to personally let them know of your situation.

Good eye contact, firm handshake = Professionalism. You’ve done your research and are ready to talk business, so start the meeting with confidence. Eye contact and a firm handshake can definitely get this point across. Someone once said to me that you can tell if a person has good character if they look you in the eye. And no flimsy handshakes, please!

Food 101. Your parents and friends probably warned you about avoiding certain meals on a first date. They are just as important there as they are with new business meetings. If you’re still not sure, remember this - if it warrants a bib, don’t order it. You have mere minutes to meet with your prospect. Don’t waste them on having to look down to make sure that nothing has dropped on your suit or dress. You want to be remembered as a business professional, not a sloppy eater.

Listen intently and take good notes. Make sure you don’t miss a word. Listen to everything and jot down the main points they’re trying to get across about their business, themselves and their brand. In some cases, before they hire your company, you’ll have to submit a proposal and the prospect may ask you to reiterate what was discussed in your original conversation. Trust me here, I’m speaking from experience.

Use your time wisely. This meeting is not just a chance for them to talk and you to listen. They want to know what they are about to get for their investment. Tell them about your company, what you do and past accomplishments with previous clients. Sell your company to them, but never gloat. Don’t act like they’re lucky to have been approached by your company. Your prospect will appreciate you and your craft if you modestly focus on what you can do for them.

Follow Up. The meeting is over. It went well and you’re back at our office waiting for them to call, right? No. Make sure you take the time to email them and thank them for the meeting. This will show them you’re not only well-mannered but a true professional who values their time.

What methods have you tried lately that helped your company secure new business? Share them with us below!

Do you remember Smucker’s Ketchup? How about Kleenex Diapers? The two sound bizarre, but both were once serious products on retail shelves. What about Red Bull Cola? When first introduced, industry insiders speculated that it could either be the brand rollout of the year or a major disappointment. It was the latter.

These products are examples of risks a company takes when it decides to extend its brand into a new product or price category. The intentions are right – to raise revenues and improve brand image – but the downfalls can have seriously negative repercussions to the parent company’s brand.

And it’s not just consumer products. Those in the B2B sector also know that making this transition involves walking a fine line. Companies that have fared well have done intensive due diligence to ensure the success of their extensions.

Take for example, B2B business Caterpillar. For over three generations, the Caterpillar name was synonymous with heavy-duty industrial machinery. In 1994, the company made a bold move by extending its brand into footwear. Many thought the transition would be a huge mistake, but today heavy-duty Cat Footwear is available in over 150 countries, making it one of the largest non-athletic footwear brands in the world.

For Caterpillar, the success of its brand extension didn’t have much to do with its products, but instead how consumers perceived the company. Caterpillar uncovered and articulated the definition of the Caterpillar brand perceived by its customers, and it used this information to create new products that fit within this viewpoint. In fact, the company’s website features a bold statement communicating how its footwear products fit within the overall Caterpillar brand:

“At Caterpillar, we build the machines that help our customers build a better world. The boots and shoes we build are made with the same commitment.”

So where did Red Bull go wrong? Red Bull built its brand on providing a caffeinated beverage that would carry its target market – energetic young adults – through the day and night. Young adults drink Red Bull not because they like the taste – they like the extra caffeine boost and energy it gives them. But when Red Bull developed its Cola product, it missed this key point and just tried to create another soft drink. It failed to really recognize what its brand means to its target and it tried to create a product that didn’t jive with its identity. Another energy product would have likely been more succesful for the brand.

Extending the brand should never be trial and error. The idea, the research, the customers’ perception and the execution tactics should all be in alignment. If not, we could end up with another Cheetos-Flavored Lip Balm. Ick!

You’ve surely seen your share of brand extensions gone bad. Share below!

It is no secret that Twitter can be a very valuable marketing tool. However, what happens when Twitter works to your disadvantage? There are many perils of tweeting and hashtags that all companies should be leery of.

Here are two examples of companies that landed in some serious Twitter trouble after posting seemingly innocent tweets.

Entenmanns’ “not guilty” tweet
Entenmanns has been providing tasty treats since 1898. Recently, its social media efforts included searching Twitter for trending hashtags to use in a company tweet. A few weeks ago, the hashtag #notguilty was the world’s top trending topic so the company decided to use it in a tweet. The post read:



What Entenmanns didn’t understand before tweeting was that the #notguilty hashtag was trending because of the controversial Casey Anthony “not guilty” trial verdict. The public, already outraged by the perceived injustice of the verdict, assumed the company was making a joke about the situation and was quick to attack. Entenmanns quickly deleted the post and apologized via Twitter, admitting its failure to fully research the hashtag before using it.

   

Microsoft and Amy Winehouse
When Amy Winehouse passed, the public was devastated to lose such a young and talented artist. Her music video for “Back to Black” has been viewed by many as a symbolic remembrance of the late artist. Microsoft, supplier of the portable media player named Zune, tweeted about Winehouse through its U.K. PR Twitter account @tweetbox360 three days after her passing. The post read:



Microsoft was not expecting the public backlash it received. Many saw the company as trying to cash in on Winehouse’s untimely death, calling Microsoft “insensitive” and using the hashtag #vultures to describe the post. Microsoft apologized with a post regarding the company’s remorse for the loss of such a great talent.

         

When it comes to Twitter, or any social media outlet, you have to be smart about what you post. An extra five minutes of research to understand the conversation surrounding a particular subject or hashtag can be the difference between a clever post and a PR nightmare. Twitter is not brain surgery, yet you can easily kill a company by making a careless mistake.

School is already starting up for some, so this week’s Digital Influence Weekly is jam packed with lessons to start the year off right. In addition to no gum chewing while on video chats with clients, here are some other guidelines to think about:

Follow the rules. We always talk about etiquette, but make sure to follow the law as well. Study this Social Media Examiner post on legal concerns dealing with contests and giveaways.

Do not turn in incomplete work. I returned to my car last night with a card under my windshield wiper with someone’s name and a YouTube logo on it. I did not see a web address, online username, Twitter handle or QR code to immediately direct me anywhere. Don’t assume that people will always know what you want if you don’t make the call to action clear.

Mobile devices are not allowed in class unless you plan on sharing what’s so important with everyone. Did you really bring a mobile device into a meeting? Good. Use it to share something cool like a news story, graph or video in reference to whatever you’re talking about.

Always visit the teacher during their office hours. Social media is open 24/7. That gives you all the time you need to reach out to someone online and ask for assistance with anything you’re doing. Anything. Whatever you have a question about, the world will answer.

Headers and footers are encouraged in all assignments. Add your social networks to your email signature. It will help grow your network, show people that you’re online and care to connect and that you might know a thing or two about those networks. Also, you can now add your latest Google+ update to your email signature. Check it out.

Learn the Zero Tolerance Policy. It’s basically a social contract stating that if you do anything dishonest, offensive or threatening online, you can be blocked, reported and publicly tarred and feathered in front of everyone. You will become a case study that others warn people about in their articles and social media presentations.

Those are the basic rules for the school year. Please make sure you’re present at every class, every week to learn more. Have a great week!