Organic vs Advocate

By Michael Massey

A recent article in SFgate.com brought up an interesting point. It bore the question: What is the best way to advertise; organically or by advocate? Student Adnan Ebrahim was blogging about the car business alongside his collegiate studies when he caught the attention of luxury automakers. According to Ebrahim, “If you can demonstrate to Lamborghini or Ferrari that you can drive a million views to a video, they’re more than happy to lend you a car.” Bloggers and other social media mavens continue to build influence to drive traffic to websites, increasing potential purchases; and they tend to be rewarded with some fancy perks usually reserved for big players. In the past month Ebrahim has flown to Portugal to test drive the Toyota GT86 sports car, Austria for the Lexus GS and Germany to see the Mitsubishi Outlander. He never picked up a tab. And on the Portugal leg of the trip, they stopped for an olive oil tasting experience.

It’s a great gig if you can get it, but it does beg the question: how unbiased will the content be when the reviewer is whisked off in a private jet to drive vehicles through the mountains of Germany and Portugal? Melissa Ward of NewWard Development LLC notes the analogy to TV news reporting. “When it was just the news, it was reported. Now that it is sponsored, it sometimes gives the appearance that it isn't always presented free of any bias.”

If Porsche lent me a 911 Turbo S to test drive, then picked me up at the airport and asked me to spend a week driving the Autobahn, you can be sure I wouldn’t say no. The review would be ripe with all the details. I’m sure I would extoll the feel of the supple leather against my pants, the torque speed and the fluidity of the shifting experience to the way the top of the line entertainment system sounded bouncing off the mountains. I would have become an advocate.

Organic content provides a truly unbiased opinion, free of outside influence. With it you you'll be assured of getting a broad overview with likes and dislikes highlighted which is an important part of any buying process.

Advocates would mine much deeper and deliver content that speaks like a true fan.

As marketers struggle to have their message heard within the new media outlets, it’s definitely important to reach out to both sets of influencers. Using organic and advocate content will give your delivery balance.

Go Ahead…Don’t Be Afraid…Cut Your Losses

By Chrissie VanWormer

We all know them: the friend who is in a never ending crisis and wants to talk their story to death while you’re trying to finish a project with a strict deadline. Then there’s the friend who shows up with coffee on Saturday morning at 7:55 after you’ve already asked them not to come because you need to leave for a hair appointment at 8:00. Then you’re the one left feeling guilty because it was so nice of them to pick up your favorite flavor. And don’t forget about the friend who continually states they have your best interest at heart but it seems as if they have their own motives for interest in your life. A number of times over the years, I’ve taken stock of the group of people surrounding me who fall into these categories and here and there have decided to cut one or two of them loose. Just this past winter I got a very strange phone call from a woman who has called me friend for about four years. She fell into all the categories above and many times felt more like a chore to me than any kind of friend. When I picked up the phone that day, she blasted me because I hadn’t mailed her Christmas gift yet. I quietly reminded her that she’s Jewish. She hung up on me so I emailed her. When she responded with a nasty remark, I informed her I didn’t need friends like her and even went so far as to unfriend her from facebook. In short, I cut my losses.

In business it seems to be very much the same. Every so often we secure a client that after getting to know them and their work and communication style, we’re not sure we should keep. They might be the client who is a major time sucker keeping us on the phone for hours or the type who sends a myriad of emails every day without thinking anything through and then expecting immediate responses. Maybe they’re micromanagers who are checking to make sure every I is dotted and T is crossed at least half a dozen times and then decide they want to re-do everything that has already been approved with new I’s and T’s. Maybe they don’t respect the work we’re doing; that’s a big one. Or maybe they are constantly trying to get a break on the price that already has a thin margin and are looking for every little thing in an effort to make it seem like it’s a deserved price break. When we’re really busy, these are the types of clients that maybe we need to release…in other words, we need to cut our losses.

In most cases it’s a tough decision to make. Let’s face it; money is money and as small business people we work hard for what we get. But if we step back and really look at the situation, many times it’s only money in the short run. These are not the clients who stick around for the long term. They are not the clients that talk us up and refer us along. Many times they are the ones who are jumping from vendor to vendor leaving a wake of stressed out staff, over flowing email boxes and unpaid bills. Is this really the kind of client we want to hang on to?

Not on your life.

Sometimes we find we have to cut our losses because while we’re giving these clients the attention they are seeking, we are overlooking new possibilities for new revenue streams and better clients who appreciate our time and talents. A friend of mine once said that by hanging onto these bad situations, we are tripping over dollars to pick up pennies. I agree with statement wholeheartedly and have repeated it many times. Take a moment to think about that. Then take a look at your client list and talk to your staff. Is there a client who is driving everyone crazy with no real return? If so, maybe it’s time to really look at the business you’re doing with them. Is it fruitful? Do they pay their bills on time? Exactly how much are you making per hour when you really look at. Are they a client who has brought your more business by referring you on? If not, maybe now is a good time to let them go. Maybe now is a really good time to cut your losses.