Archive for March, 2010

Tasty team-building

March 24, 2010

David Crain, KJA Creative Director

Sure, it begins with a paycheck.  (J. O. B.)

But if it ends there, it can be a miserable, uphill trudge. Counting the minutes to “quittin’ time” is a sign that something’s badly askew. Several dynamics can affect whether you find yourself in that trap — or not.

We credit the KJA founders, Ken & Suzan Juneau, for creating a rock-solid team-spirit foundation. But we also recognize that daily, each one of us has a vital role in maintaining that spirit as we march forward. Over the course of a year, our team embarks on a spectrum of unscripted and spontaneous efforts, each magically bonding a diverse collection of individuals into a passionate and committed TEAM.

The activities vary. Greatly. They can range from a Christmas party at one of our homes to a punkin’ carvin’ contest in the conference room.

Today’s installment – nothing less than genius. And while you’d expect that from a company that does award winning work, today’s creation came from one of our team members who’s not officially part of the “creative” core. (We’re all rethinking this right now!) Our receptionist, Janet Logsdon — the first face you see when you enter our front door, has an array of creative skills of her own. For our people celebrating birthdays in March, Janet crafted a stunning and scrumptious work of art.

Is it a basket of fruit? Is it a cake? Is it even edible?
The resounding “OMG!” responses answer all the above.

Yeah – being part of the KJA team has its perks. Today they were extremely high calorie.

Team-building usually takes a bit of effort – but the benefits always outweigh the investment.

Now you know the secret of our recipe for camaraderie. What’s yours?

–> Click here to see shots of the cake-making process.

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Mobile and social collide

March 22, 2010

The rising popularity of smart phones continues to make the world smaller. Now you can tell your friends where you ARE – not where you’re going to be or where you’ve been. It’s an immediacy a desktop PC, or even laptop, lacks.

And of course, if you can tell people where you are, you can tell them what it’s like.

I’ve been sitting in the ____________ drive-thru for 15 minutes waiting for it to move.

Huge surprise party waiting for me when I walked in ____________. Their cheesecake is my FAVE!

The dude at the ___________ counter wanted me to have some of his no-good-very-bad day. No thank you!

Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and countless other social networks, as well as user-review sites like Yelp and Urbanspoon make it easy with mobile applications. Your customers don’t have to wait until they get home to review your joint. They can do it on the spot…while their memory’s garden-fresh. With mobile web access, sites like insiderpages.com put a review of your medical practice, bookstore or auto repair shop is just a few finger taps away.

review screen shotsHere’s the bottom line:
The internet is readily at your customer’s fingertips. They share their thoughts to countless friends and followers…many of whom often live in the same area. For local businesses – this means your customers talk to one another – and to potential customers.

What are they saying about you?
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Make more from less

March 18, 2010

Less seems to be the focus. Less profit. Less customers. Less enthusiasm. Less money to spend on reversing the “less” trend.

Ok – so be it. On paper, maybe there’s less.

So are you getting MORE out of what’s at your disposal?

Your employees, more than ever, need to be on their best customer service toes. Above and beyond. Create more experiences for your customer to remember positively (and, ideally, tell their friends about).

Your products or services have to meet the changing needs of your customers. Different hours? New products? Expanded services? What problem can you solve for them?

Your customer relationships should keep you from guessing about what they need. (Shots in the dark waste precious resources.) Shore up those connections. Engage them and discover new ways to keep them coming back. Well-executed social media efforts can provide inexpensive ties to customers – both new and undiscovered.

Belt-tightening can tighten your focus, providing opportunities to learn and adjust. The more you do this – the less you’ll focus on “less”.

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The internet in your pocket

March 2, 2010

four smartphonesAre you paying attention to mobile web? You know, internet on-the-go…the worldwide web accessed on those bits of plastic and circuitry you carry around in your pocket.

PC-World reported smartphone sales will surpass desktop PC sales by 2011. Numbers for these do-it-all phones continue to increase as standard mobile sales decrease. You know the names, Blackberry, Palm Pre and the game changing iPhone. People are adopting. They’re buying phones that do many of the same things as their PC…and then some.

These smart phones are where social networking and mobility collide. Like when the peanut butter and the chocolate formed the Reese’s – mobile social makes for a very tasty (yet awkward sounding) morsel.

Chew on this idea. Consider how this growing technology could impact your business.

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