The idea for the session stems from two rather obvious trends:

• Everyone’s a startup
  Thanks to the downturn, the streets are littered with talented but unemployed professionals. Some are using the occasion to go into business. Others are hanging out a shingle only until something steady comes along. And then there’s the rest of us who were already on the “eat-what-you-kill” diet.

  All of us are looking for ways to be more effective in how we conduct business, while keeping our costs down. Which leads to the next trend…

• Cheap biz tools are everywhere
  There have never been more cheap tools available to entrepreneurs for creating work product and managing and promoting their business. It seems to me that someone just getting into business could run their business using mostly Web-based freemium services — without compromising quality, and possibly with noticeable improvements in some areas.

What’s on your short list of must-have business tools for small business owners?
Let me see if I can identify some categories and give you my current picks… Perhaps you know of some cool services I’ve never heard of. My goal for the session at UnSummit is simply to gather everyone’s favorite tools in each category and find out how people are using these tools.

My favorite business tools

Info Architecture
OmniGraffle (not free, but it beats the pants off Visio)

Content creation
MS Word (I know. Not very free, nor very cool. But old habits die hard.)

Content collaboration
Google docs

Email client
We just switched from Entouage to Apple’s Mail app, running off a virtual Exchange server. Not crazy about Mail, but it’s only been a week.

Backup/storage space
Amazon S3

Recruiting (for freelancers, other help)
Twitter

Project collaboration
Basecamp

Conference calls
Freeconference.com

Webconferencing (screen sharing)
GotoMeeting.com

Web site/blogging
WordPress

Media relations
Pitchengine.com

Webinars
GotoWebinar.com

Business cards
Moo.com (looking for something new, though!)

Web analytics
Google Analytics

International calling
Skype

Social media monitoring
filterbox

Bookmarking
delicious

Image searches
Compfight.com (searches Flickr for Creative Commons photos)

Marketing (This category requires multiple entries, as I tend to use all these tools in tandem.)

• Twitter (current client: HootSuite)
• Delicious
• WordPress
• Pitchengine
• Flickr
• Slideshare
• Vimeo

Networking (this category also calls for  multiple entries)

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Ning
• Foursquare

Hmm, have I missed anything? I’m mostly a strategy and content guy, so you coders and designers will probably have a bunch of resources that I’ve missed. I’m eager to hear (now or on the 10th) what tools work for you!

For most businesses, the question of what to play while customers are on hold is not critical. Important, but not vital to customer satisfaction.

What if most of your business is handled over the phone? If you’re the iconoclastic savings bank ING Direct, you help customers cope with waiting by playing messages that are witty, informative and, most importantly, respect your customers’ intelligence.

Check it out!  ING Direct: On Hold Messages

“Over and over, I have seen how a UCD (User Centered Design) process will tend to emphasize certain benefits of an experience like ‘convenience’ over other, more meaningful sources of social value.”

From an article in core 77 by Robert Fabricant, creative director of frog design.

So, while we’re doing a great job getting recognition from Ad Age and NYT as  an advertising town, we’ll need to lay some groundwork if we’re ever to get our fair cities on the entrepreneurial map. No doubt, we’re fortunate to have MinneDemo, MinneBar, Social Media Breakfast, UnSummit and Minnov8, but more needs to happen before MSP can become a breeding ground for startups.

So, yesterday I was delighted to have someone bending my ear about some projects that seem to be aimed at helping creatives and geeks collaborate, innovate and launch new ventures. Below is a rundown of just some of the efforts that Jeff Pesek (@JeffPesek) shared with me.

Co-working (possibly) coming to Minnesota

For whatever reason, and despite a fair amount of interest,  co-working has never caught on here in the Twin Cities. But that might change in the coming months. Stephen Filing, of ClubTix fame, is closing in on a space in Minneapolis that will be converted into a co-working location, with multiple tiers of membership available. You can get more info at www.twincitiescoworking.org. A co-working interest group is meeting on Wednesdays in St. Paul to discuss. As I understand it, Stephen is pursuing this project as a for-profit venture (only noteworthy in light of the following item).

An incubator for social entrepreneurs

Meanwhile, Jacquie Berglund, co-founder and president of Finnegan’s (makers of Finnegan’s Irish Amber and arguably the tastiest non-profit in the state) is considering the potential of using unused space in her organization’s headquarters as a hub for social entrepreneurs. The space in question is a 5,000-square-foot mansion (map) at Portland and 10th in Minneapolis.

One of the ideas Jacquie and Jeff have discussed is whether part of the space could be turned into a co-working-location-slash-incubator that would be attractive to like-minded creatives, geeks and others. Interested? Contact Jeff, who says:

“We’re looking at filling this space with 7 to 10 technically oriented/creative people who would be interested in $100 month shared space (700 square feet) in a socially conscious environment.

Please note that Finnegan’s is only 6 blocks from the Metrodome light rail stop. No word yet on whether the watercoolers will be stocked with Irish Amber.

A new role for CentralStandardTech.com

Started in 2006 by Luke Francl, Central Standard Tech has been a hub for coders and technology entrepreneurs in Minnesota. The site’s stated purpose is:

“to get developers, designers, testers, recruiters, entrepreneurs, VCs, and other members of the tech community talking to each other.”

Luke is hanging in the Valley these days, but has agreed to let the community repurpose and re-energize the site in order to extend the site to non-geeks. Jeff Pesek and Toby Cryns (@TobyCryns) are heading up the effort and hope to redesign the site so that it becomes a one-stop repository for:

• Personal profiles (hmm, I wonder if a mashup with extendr.com would make sense here?)
• Project updates
• Gig postings
• Local events (with a calendar that aggregates events from tech and creative organizations)
• Blogs

Since the intention is for CST to be a community driven site, the list above is only speculative and may expand, contact or morph depending on who joins the project. Interested? Meet Jeff, Toby and me on Monday, July 20, 9 a.m. at Spyhouse Coffee.

MNtechstartups.org

Finally, Jeff told me about a site I’d never seen before: MNtechstartups.org. It’s a community hub that seems to be aiming to achieve much of what I described above. The site’s stated goal is to:

“…add value the Minnesota startup community by providing a comprehensive resource for local startups, one that serves the entrepreneurs who make it happen…”

But how is it different from CST? Are they competing sites? Should they be folded into one big mega community? Maybe Jeff can leave a comment and set us all straight.

It’s no secret that the advertising and marketing industry gets walloped quicker and harder than most any industry during a recession. At least that’s how it played out in the last dip and how it’s looking this time around.

If you look at some of the specific crises driving this recession you’ve got a perfect storm:

• The credit crunch caused by the mortgage crisis
• Disappointing 4th quarter retail sales
• The prospect of one or more U.S. automakers going under
• The very real threat to print media (see this and this)

It’s a domino effect goes something like this: Consumers can’t afford to buy > stores can’t sell > manufacturers don’t make > less money for ads > pink slips for creative types.

The headlines in the trade rags and elsewhere bear this out:

• Media agency forecasters pull no punches: Smith, Coen and King see little hope for economic recovery anytime soon (subscription required)
• Ads subtracting: Massive job cuts seen across Madison Avenue
• Magazine ads evaporated in 2008, faster as months went on (subscription required)
• Most media to suffer retrenchment in 2009 (extensive but free subscription required)

The predictions call for even more bloodletting over the coming months. Which is to say, we could be in for the worst of it.

So, what to do? If you’re an agency type, where will you hunt for sustenance? A recent article in AdAge points the way, citing several areas that might make for good hunting grounds. (Comments in parentheses are mine):

• Washington D.C. (new gov’t, new spending)
• Package goods
• DRTV
• Beer (couldn’t agree more!)
• Online video
• Hispanics (with 30+ Hispanic cousins, I can verify this one)
• E-books
• Public relations
• Cable TV
• Marketing consulting (it was true in the last downturn: companies shed FTEs then bring in consultants)
• Digital out of home (see previous post: The shopper marketing revolution)
• Mobile (I’m getting an iPhone this year, recession or no!)
• Pet care
• Marketing analytics (yet another nail in the coffin of print and broadcast, which is barely measurable compared to online)
• CBS (huh?)
• Luxury recycling (2nd-hand yachts for pennies on the dollar!)
• China
• Package and fast food (Can a boom in the weight-loss industry be far behind?)
• Online coupons
• Gun sales (that huge clicking noise was the sound of millions of NRA members locking and loading)

Photo credit: GlobalJet

• 70% of all purchase decisions are made in store.
• 68% of in-store purchases are impulse buys
• 68% of consumers are brand-switchers.
• Only 5% are loyal to one brand.

These numbers, which come out of a GMA/Deloitte research paper called “The Call for Shopper Marketing,” really bring into question how we’ve allocating our time and money in reaching out to consumers. All this advance effort to sell people on Brand X…and for what? They jump to Brand Z on a whim at the last second. I

I’m sure it still makes sense to prime the pump and create awareness about products via online, direct, broadcast, outdoor and print. But with so many decisions — correction — with so many impulsive decisions happening in the aisles, it seems that we are insane not to focus more on the so-called last mile.

Why isn’t there a stampede among creative agencies to develop expertise in this burgeoning field of “shopper marketing?”

Consider two additional statistics, also in the GMA/Deloitte paper:

• Each week, 127 million customers visit Wal-Mart
• Each week, 68 million people on average watch ABC, CBS or NBC evening news.

So, how is Wal-Mart trying to influence all these millions, perhaps billions, of weekly impulse decisions? Of course, there are the usual mainstays of retail merchandising, such as coupon dispensers, end-cap displays and product sampling. Experiential marketing is also getting more play.

But it’s well reported that Wal-Mart and many other retailers are putting their money on digital signage: intelligent networks of in-store flat-panel displays that can be managed to deliver infinitely localized and relevant messages, using variable data such as:

• Time of day
• Day of week
• Seasons an holidays
• Customer language preferences
• Store traffic patterns
• Weather
• Market and economic conditions
• Local news events
• Inventory levels
• Product sales velocity
• Sales goals vs. actuals
• Proximity sensors
• RFID readers
• User inputs (voice, touch, cell-phones, etc.)

For me, digital signage holds much of the promise that excited many of us marketers in the early days of online marketing, when we realized how we could use data to deliver ever more granular and relevant messages to prospects.

The difference is that digital signage all happens in the store. At the moment of truth, where, according to the research, our expensive ad campaigns and brand loyalty initatives come face to face with disloyal and easily distracted customers. Clearly, whoever has the ability to influence fickle consumers in the aisles has a tremendous advantage.

Photo credit: Phil Romans

You can find wisdom in the most unlikely places. I found this gem in a research paper about Warren Buffett by Michael Mauboussin of Legg Mason Capital Management (in which he references Nassim Taleb’s book the The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable).

Humans have a near insatiable desire to link cause and effect. Unfortunately, causality is often very difficult to deconstruct, even in retrospect. But coming up with a cause and effect story helps settle our minds, and provides a greater (albeit false) sense of control as we face the future.

What’s your story? How do you explain your success or your failure? I know I’ve got mine

Talk of the recession is, well, everywhere. And it can get depressing.

So, where are the contrarians? Who’s looking for (and telling others about) the silver lining in this grey economy? Who’s trying to describe an alternate reality?

Well, here are a handful for you to consider.

Graeme Thickins, in The Clear and Simple Solution to the Current Downturn: The Entrepreneurial Economy,  at Tech~Surf~Blog sees salvation in good ol’ entrepreneurism:

The big answer to our current economic plight is not a new one: it is staring us right in the face. It has brought us out of many a recession before this one, and it will do so again. It is simply this: the ingenuity and perseverance of the American entrepreneur.

Graeme also points us to two particularly relevant posts:

• The “Downturn” — Keeping Things in Perspective, by Jay Turo at the growthink blog.
• Fear Kills Businesses Dead, by Brian Solis at TechCrunch

Ben McConnell at Church of the Customer suggests that the downturn, if anything, presents an opportunity for marketers to try ideas they might not have been able to successfully champion during the last boom. Among his more intriguing ideas:

Adopt the simpler and affordable Net Promoter Score.

Evangelize the benefits of Twitter-driven customer support.

Build a customer, supplier, vendor or employee social network on Ning.

Host internal seminars about design thinking.

Speak out against testosterone-driven “barbarian” mission statements. (ed: Kinder, gentler mission statements? I’d like to see that.)

Underlying all this talk of the recession is the question of fear. As Brian Solis’ post puts it, fear kills. It sucks your soul, at at time when you need all the energy and optimism you can muster. If you find yourself losing sleep over the economy, I highly recommend this post by Robert Middleton on his More Clients blog.

Finally, if you’re seeking out the brighter side of the economy (and happen to live in the Twin Cities), be sure to attend the next UnSummit on Sat., March 7. The theme is “Hacking the Recession” and we’ll be discussing ideas and tools that will help us improve our economic well being individually and collectively. Some of the proposed sessions include:

• Social media survival kit — a workshop to get you up to speed
• Getting good ideas when times are tough
• How to increase your employability using community and social media
• Blogging for fun, profit and survival

Photo credit: Alternate realities by James Jordan

Part 1: Dipping your toe into social media

This is the first in a 4 part series about how you can start a social media strategy program started in a risk-averse company. In part 1, we’ll start out very slowly and just dip our toe in to some of the basic platforms.

I’m sure you have a list of your favorite industry blogs, you’ve dabbled in LinkedIn and Facebook and you’ve even heard of Twitter. You undoubtedly know that you “need” to take advantage of social media to stay competitive, but you’re a bit overwhelmed and your company isn’t exactly sure it’s a good fit.

You know that connecting with your customers on a more personal level can improve your brand and your bottom line. You understand that social media can be a great way to influence behavior with minimal out-of-pocket expenses. And you realize that you’ll need to do something fast just to stay competitive. But, because you’re part of a large company, particularly if you’re in a highly regulated, risk-averse industry like health care or banking, your company may feel there’s just too much risk associated with that level of transparency. And thinking about shifting your marketing communications into conversations, your organization might feel like it would lose control over its message and its brand, and that there could be very real legal and IP considerations.

Here is an easy 4-day (or 4-hour) plan to dip your toe into social media. If you haven’t used these tools before, spend just an hour each week and you’ll be laying the groundwork for implementing a social media strategy for your company.

Day 1: Make it brief
Create a communications strategy brief. The operative word is “brief”. Don’t get bogged down in committee meetings, just create a one-page outline of who your target audience is, what your organization’s goals are for the next year and how you think your company and customers can benefit by adopting social media. Then, write down your top 3 concerns. This will be your guide throughout the process. It’s not set in stone, so feel free to update it at any time.

Day 2: Set up basic accounts
If you haven’t already, set up personal accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and start exploring. This will allow you to get familiar with what each platform offers without involving the company brand. Find a handful of people you know and start connecting with them. These can be friends, co-workers or thought leaders in your industry. The important thing is to explore without any grand agenda.

Day 3: Listen to the chatter
A fundamental benefit of social media tools that often can get overlooked is the ability to eavesdrop on conversations. You can search twitter posts, blog posts and reader comments to find out what people are saying about your brand, your industry and your competition. Here is two good places to start searching–just type in your company name, your product, even your name (come on, you know you want to):

• Search twitter
• Search blogs

What do you notice? Is there even anybody talking about you? Do you see any patterns? Are there people that you’d never heard of that your customers listening to? Did you find anything surprising?

Day 4: Participate in the community
You’ve created your strategy brief (you may have even updated it already), you’re more familiar with some of the core social media platforms and you’ve explored what others are saying about you online. Now it’s time to start participating. The easiest thing to do is to comment on another’s blog. Choose 3 of your favorite industry blogs and post comments on a couple of articles you find particularly helpful or interesting. Your comments don’t need to be lengthy or even deep. Eventually, you‘ll want to provide more insightful comments, but even thanking the blogger for their contribution or insight is enough. Your comments should be informal and authentic and this shouldn’t be used as an opportunity to directly sell your services. Just say what you would if that person were standing right in front of you.

What are you waiting for?
When you start using this simple plan, you’ll be laying the foundation for your company’s social media strategy with very little brand risk. You can do these steps in 4 days or 4 hours. The important thing is to take a little time each day or each week to explore and to participate. Become a part of the community you want to do business with.

In part 2, I’ll kick it up a notch and talk about how you can begin making the case to your risk-averse organization for adopting social media. Part 3 will talk about ideas for implementing social media internally. Finally, part 4 will discuss simple and low-risk ways to turn your social media program outward.

Photo by adactio. Creative Commons image license.

Consider the costs that go into producing a typical corporate annual report. Photo shoots, creative creative concept development, copywriting, design, layout of the financial section — we haven’t even gotten to the killer cost — printing and mailing hundreds of thousands of copies across the globe.

It all adds up quickly.

So, with stock prices in the tank and shareholders ready to pounce on even the appearance of waste, I wonder how many companies will consider doing their stockholders a favor and simply publish the annual report online?

I don’t mean simply posting a PDF of the report. Many companies do that, but the results are not terribly user-friendly for shareholders.

Rather, the ideal online annual is a small site within your Web site that tells the story of the previous year in text, images, video, animation, interactive, etc.

Besides the obvious savings on paper, printing and postage, putting the annual report online offers some serious advantages.

• Everything is measurable – Who reads your annual report? With paper, you may never know. With an online report, however, every visit, link and click can be measured, analyzed and used to make a better, more cost-effective report next year.
• Video is stickier than text - Got stories to tell about last year’s business? Film it and show it. Is your CEO letter tearfully boring? Get creative and film the CEO in an unusual surrounding: at the stores, in the field or in the factory. Would you rather watch two minutes of that or read a page of 10-point sans-serif?
• Take the shareholders’ pulse - You can build polling and surveys into your online annual report in order to gather valuable information from your investors.
• Boost your search engine ranking – What do you think will assist your SEO efforts more: a PDF of your printed annual hosted by an investor relations service…or the same content, in highly searchable HTML, hosted at your own domain?
• Make the data downloadable – Some investors like to crunch the numbers. Why not make your data available for download in a CSV file?
• Create sharable content – You can set up your online annual report so that many of its components (slideshows, videos, commercials, audio, images, etc.) can be redistributed easily by others (bloggers, reporters, fans, etc.), thus increasing your audience beyond investors and helping to spread your story. In a good year, you’ll add to the number of people who have heard about your success. In a down year, you’ll add to the number of people who have heard about your plans for improvement.

Of course, for compliance reasons, you may need to provide your annual report in printed form, or at least to those who request it. To that end, you can print a small quantity of bare-bones reports (mostly numbers, no fluff) and/or make a pared-down report available for download.

Examples of online annual reports
In case you haven’t seen any online annual reports, check out the ones below:

• Coca-Cola Company (This is the 2006 report. I see that they went to a menu of PDFs for 2007. Wonder why?)
• Sutter Health
• Constellation Energy
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (This report combines online multimedia with downloadable PDFs of the print version, a nice compromise.)
• MeritCare Cancer Committee – (Full disclosure: MeritCare is a Polymer Studios client.)