Barbara Walters Price

Just for Fun

All you music lovers, check out Pandora. 

It is a Music Genome Project.  A group of musicians and music-loving technologists got together in early 2000 and began the process of deconstructing songs.  They paid no attention to the category the music was assigned or the look of the band -- only the structure and musical qualities of the songs.  (Who has time to do things like this?)

Therefore, you choose an artist or a song you like and Pandora chooses other songs that should be complementary to those typical of the artist you've chosen or those most like the song you've chosen.  I've tried it and, for the most part, it does a good job.  Check it out.

Merry Christmas

⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,  ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:8-14 (KJV)

Great Networking Tips

Kudos to my friend, Eva Lang, for alerting me to this article from Business Week:  Networking for the Right Reasons.  There are great tips here.  Be sure to read it before making any new year's business development resolutions.

Audio Cassettes are not Dead

Marketers have to remember that just because some technology is second nature to us, it may not be to our customers and clients.  PDFs and MP3s are a case in point.

From a September article at Marketing Sherpa:

PDF vs. printed copy: 

"I asked Sharon Hamner who heads customer service if she had any idea why someone who just paid for a Guide wouldn't want to open and read it. "We have PDF customers who call a few weeks later to complain they haven't gotten their copy in the mail," she said. "I don't think they always understand what ordering a PDF versus printed copy means.""

[BWPrice:  We offer e-books in PDF format and have experienced this as well but not in big numbers.]

MP3 files and audio cassettes:

"Audio downloads and podcasts seem to be in a similar situation. Some consumers embrace them wholeheartedly. But you can't discontinue older-formats and only feature MP3s.

Example - a Case Study on WIE.org we published this Summer revealed a landing page for educated 40-somethings got 59% clicks on PDF links versus 16% clicks on audio download links.

Another example -- this week's Case Study on Simply Audiobooks reveals the company's big new launch for Fall 2005 is offering cassette tapes in addition to CDs.   What about audio downloads?  VP Marketing Sanjay Singhal told us they're holding off on those because study results show there's nine times more demand for cassettes now.

How weird is that? A super-hot Internet company is launching into the cassette marketplace because it's more profitable than audio downloads."

[BWPrice:  I'm frankly surprised by this.  I, like many of my peers, thought audio cassettes were essentially dead.  Now I know better.]

I sent this article to my associate, Matt Washburn, a very bright and talented fellow, who had some great comments:

"Very interesting. I've heard some staggering numbers about how much PDFs limit accesibility on websites, and this seems to confirm that. Here are my initial thoughts.

1. Many browsers are now configured to open PDFs inside the browser, which is usually much faster, and is less confusing than opening an entirely different program. I think this will only improve as the browser technology improves, until it is eventually seamless.

2. While I do get the occasional call from a customer that is confused by the e-book, it's actually pretty rare in proportion to all the orders we get.

3. As for the audio downloads, the key is how you introduce and present the technology. I think as long as we present it as another way to access content (instead of a primary way), we'll be ok. The early adopters will love it, while those who still can't work a record player will probably ignore it, which is OK, as long as its clearly presented where they can read it, order it, etc.

I think there is a lot of value in giving people a variety of options to consume content by whatever means works for them. The trouble that companies get into is pushing one technology as the "only" way to get content."

Well said.

How to Use Professional Pictures to Your Advantage

In my last post, I critiqued a very capable and professional firm with a very unprofessional staff photo highlighted on their website. 

As promised, here is an example of how to do it right.  Compare and contrast against the firm wide photo.  At first glance, which financial advisor would you consider more knowledgable?  Whom would you trust?

Notice that it's not a group photo.  Group photos are fraught with problems.  When someone leaves the firm, your photo is out of date.  When someone new joins the firm, your photo is out of date.  The number of people in the photo can elicit a myriad of unintended responses from "My, I thought this firm was bigger.  I wonder if it is safe to do business with them?"  to "Gee, these guys are huge.  I wonder if I'm getting what I pay for or is some underling really doing all the work on my account?" 

So, the moral of the group photo story is ... don't do it.

There are better ways to portray the professionals in your firm, namely 1) individually; and 2) either full body or waist up.  Eschew the standard headshot.  It's over done.  If you're going to the trouble to get a headshot, then go the extra mile and get something more useful.  The photographer doesn't care and, if you have a good one, would love to participate in something more than a tedious headshot session.

Notice also that this fellow is dressed professionally, has a pleasing but not goofy smile, and a power stance.  All very important to the overall image conveyed. 

The fellow I have pictured is from an accounting firm headquartered in the UK - Rawlinson & Hunter.  As a bonus, poke around their website!  Hit the "Home" button and prepare to smile.  They have used their website as a great differentiation tool.  Clever.  Fun.  Full of personality.  It's not perfect but it's a heck of a lot better than most professional service firm sites out there.

Enjoy!

Don't Try to Be Your Client's Friend ... Be Their Trusted Adviser

I posted earlier about headshots (some are best described as mugshots).  Reviewing the new website of a very qualified and highly competent CPA firm, I was taken aback by the picture presented of their staff.  (I'm not even going to talk about how group shots are almost always ill-advised.  Among other issues, what happens when someone leaves the firm?)

A bit of back-story: this firm recently changed its name so they employed a marketing agency to help them re-brand themselves; therefore, they had professional help through this process.  See what you think of the staff picture (please forgive the picture quality - had to create a gif from a flash-enabled graphic):

So, what do you think?  I like the functionality built in to the photo (that can be accessed from the firm's website - not from here).  I also think it's a perfectly pleasant picture.  However, it's a truly missed marketing opportunity for this firm.  Rather than looking like a firm I would trust to help me make financial decisions, this picture looks like a bunch of folks at the local Mall. 

So what, you might ask?  They were obviously attempting to be approachable by "regular folks." 

Well, I'm regular folks but I want to be thought of as more than regular folks.  They forgot about aspirational marketing which all professional services firms would do well to remember.  Your clients aspire to more than they have or more than they currently are.  You have to acknowledge those aspirations and market to them. 

While I might like to have lunch with many of these people, I want the firm that provides financial information to me to be knowledgeable and professional and to look like it.  When they look good, I, the client, look good.  And, I'm willing to pay more for the services they provide.

It's so simple yet so often forgotten.

Next post will contain a few examples of how to present yourself and your firm the right way.

Make Voice Mail Work for You

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing had an interesting post on boring voice mail ("Is Your Voicemail Message Painfully Boring?).  You know the kind ... "Hi, this is so-and-so, and I'm out of the office or away from my desk.  Please leave your name and a brief message ...." 

He's right.  That is dreadfully boring and all too common.  John's advice was to spice up your voice mail by making it a marketing tool ... "Hi, this is so-and-so, and I'm out of the office demonstrating to a new customer the powerful benefits of xyz product..."

Michelle Golden of Golden Marketing added a professional service firm marketing spin on it and suggested:

A cost saving alternative might be using your own voice, not to say "I'm busy with a client right now" but something just as short yet with more punch like:

• "I'm determining the value of a company right now..."
• "I'm helping a couple secure their family's financial future..."
• "I'm working on a winning case strategy..."

or this approach:

• "I'm eager to help your business grow so won't you leave a message?..."
• "I'm looking forward to securing your family's financial future..."

While, in the abstract, these are fine ideas.  In the real-world of professional service firms that I live in, there are two problems:

1. Yes, these are dreadfully boring messages and they are boring because nobody wants to offend any caller or be perceived as the moron of the company who has the goofy voice mail message so no one wants to change them; and
2. I know the professionals in my firm would sooner eat dirt than say "I'm out valuing a customer's business right now."  They are greatly skeptical of the word "sell" and, like many in the professional services arena, believe that anything having to do with selling equates them with those folks who peddle used cars. 

What to do?

Use your voice mail to provide meaningful information - like how they can contact you other than to leave a message on the box.

Give people your cell phone number, your e-mail address, even your home number if you work from home a great deal and don't mind mixing business with pleasure.  You're doing the people calling you a service.  You're helping them help you.  You're communicating that you care to speak with them because you're accessible. 

What to do next?

Now that you've given them every way possible to contact you, return that call or e-mail promptly.  In the end, that's all they will remember.

AICPA Survey of Business Valuation Pros

The BVFLS section of the AICPA recently conducted a survey of business valuation professionals who attended the recent ASA/AICPA business valuation conference.*  There were 1,600 folks at the conference which is phenomenal.   

The survey results are interesting and here they are (with a few comments from me in brackets):