by Lisa Wedmann | Mar 6, 2013 | Branding, Business Success, Interactive, Latest
In this business, we all want to keep our clients happy. Yet in this busy, fast paced go go go world, one key component is lacking – listening!
Instead of hearing what our clients are saying, we are so eager to “sell” our latest idea, fix a problem or answer a question, that we interrupt, ramble on and miss important knowledge and insights.
Listening is THE only way to provide a client with great ideas and plans. Yet instead of hearing what our clients are saying, our brain is busy rushing ahead preparing answers and plans.
Here are a few tips to help listen to clients.
Keep an open mind
Don’t go into a meeting with pre-conceived ideas about what is going to happen. Yes, prepare an agenda. Yes, do the necessary research. And then, let the meeting happen.
Listen with intent
Actively listen to what your client is saying. Don’t jump in, or worse, interrupt. Provide answers when necessary. Remember, the goal is to keep the conversation going and lead to a plan of action.
Talk Less Than You Listen
Be present and be quiet. Yes, ask questions. Yes, provide answers. But let your clients speak, without interruptions.
Ask open ended questions
When asking questions, the aim is to get your client to share. Avoid simple yes and no questions. Instead, ask questions that will get you client to open up and share important insights.
It’s not personal
The client is always first… even when they are wrong! Understand that this is part of business…any business not only the advertising business. It’s hard to sit in a meeting and have your latest ad torn apart after hours of work.
As tough as it can be, remember it’s not personal – this is business. Don’t get upset, interrupt, or get defensive. Hear what the client is saying and let them get it out.
Get off email
When a client sends an email expressing a concern, get it off email – quickly. Pick up the phone, or set up a meeting to talk it out. Then listen. This will lead to a solution quicker than having multiple emails going back and forth. It’s so easy today to “duck” facing issues personally… but just because you can, doesn’t mean it’s the right approach to use.
Communication with clients is a two-way street. We do need to be persuasive “sales” people. But in order to achieve success, to obtain the “go ahead” or buy in that we want, we need to listen first.
by Miriam Hara | Mar 4, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Events, Latest
There’s a lot out there about how business has changed over the last decade, let alone 25 years. During the course of our journey leading to this point, suffice to say, 3H Communications has not only seen many changes… it has embraced them. My earlier blog written last week speaks to those business changes. Here, I would like to talk about the ‘business staples’ that have provided us with the ability to meet the challenges of change head on, maintaining our credibility and growing the business.
1) There is no “business as usual”
Each brand, business and company is unusual… and each comes with its own personality, culture, character, challenges… Just like a person! This is a thinking perspective that 3H Communications has always implemented. Perhaps this perspective is a result of 3H’s strong marketing focus and the fact that we had never set out to be an industry specific agency. Specializing in marketing creative, we work in all industries, all media, and all channels. That has enabled us with lateral and forward thinking assisting us in identifying business patterns.
2) Passion is essential
No matter how many changes there are in business and how often business changes, the necessity of maintaining passion for the industry, for the people, for the product and for the business is essential. Just like business is unusual, a business led without passion, is led without drive. Drive is the force that allows us to focus, to work towards success… to deliver results.
3) Relationships are the cornerstone
With all the change in technology and how individuals and business communicate today, it’s easy to say that one on one relationship are no longer valid. I would beg to differ. We send out e-zine, e-newsletters; we comment on LinkedIn and set up lead generation tools on web sites; we offer e-books and feature case studies, all online, all though technology… all with the aim to establishing relationships… so we can call, meet and develop the relationship. The tools that we used in the way relationships are established, formed and even fostered may have changed…but the essence of cultivating relationships is still monumental.
4) The client is always first
No matter what else change… clients or customers are still first and servicing them in the way they need and want to be serviced still stands. Understanding the old adage, if you don’t take care of your client, someone else will has never been more relevant. With technology breaking down geographical borders, competition has never been fiercer…so servicing clients is the point of differentiation.
We hear it every day…The one thing about business that is constant, is change. So the one thing that businesses need to be is flexible. To adapt, to maneuver, to navigate. Being nimble and less cumbersome. That doesn’t mean to blindly follow all changes and trends. The need to assess and to research is still very essential…but decisions should be streamlined so that change is allowed to take place.
6) Business stance
The best offense is a great defense may be true in sports, but in business a defensive strategy is a losing one. Just look around at the businesses that are no longer. Business must always have a progressive strategy…because only then will it defend the market space it now enjoys, grow and prosper!
by Jenna Elberson | Mar 1, 2013 | Business Success, Latest, Social Media
How many blogs have you read about how to create a successful social media campaign or what elements should go into a social media soup? There are hundreds of tips on how to create a successful social media strategy. But how do you do that and not risk of loosing focus for your brand.
Let’s face facts first: social media is here to stay. When you open up the gates to the wonderful world of social media, there are key ingredients that should be imbedded into your brain… forever. Like the golden rules of life, there are golden rules to social media. HOWEVER, these golden rules are always changing. The realm of social media is fluid and changing almost everyday. New and invigorating ideas comes out of the shadows to change social media. THAT is something to love about being a part of social media and marketing – if you can stay flexible!
Also, when someone tells you “I’m a social media expert”, don’t believe them. Why? As has been stated, social media is always changing. With change comes new knowledge and an expert is someone who knows and understands everything about that subject matter.
When you come to that point where you are ready to plan your social media calendar there are a few things that are small, but make a world of difference for your brand and followers. Take the time to evaluate your plan after you’ve read these 3 tips.
1. Understand what you know.
It’s simple. The best way to do this is to create a writer’s web (see image below). We use these to help build characters, story lines and just basic writing ideas. When you have a good grasp of your brand content, ideas will be coming out of your brain like a rocket.
Start in the middle. What is your brand, what do you do or provide? Next spread out to things your audience know about your brand and why they follow you. Continue to grow the web to content your audience would like to have that you might need a 3rd party come in to help with. This will give you some support and help you produce content.
2. Focus
There are many social media outlets out there and from my experience, focus is very important. You need to understand and see benefits only to those outlets you have researched that fit with your brand. By putting all you eggs in one basket you’re losing focus and often enough will get overwhelm. Let’s say you are a clothing retailer; Pinterest is a great place to tap into. Companies who post their products on Pinterest saw big growth on their online sales on top of their already prosperous sales. If you’re like us we blog; posting our blogs on twitter and following relevant companies and influential people is key to gaining growth. By knowing what social site you will benefit from will help pull focus and engagement to your fans.
3. Timing
Time is money. Do you know when the best time to post content is? Did you know that 4:00pm during the week is the best time to post on Twitter for RTs? It may be a small thing to keep in mind, but it can make a big different. To get you to wrap your head around this idea here is a great infographic to give you some timing ideas.
Monitor the engagement you get when posting, not all these times will work best for your brand. Depending on your audience you should tweak your post times accordingly.
Overall, understand what your goals are and why you’re using social media for your brand. Integrate these 3 tips and they will help you generate content and get the engagement you are [hopefully] looking for and open up new networks for your business.
Have any more tips for me? Let me know in the comments below!
by Miriam Hara | Feb 25, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Latest
There’s been a lot of changes in the last 25 years, not only in the agency business but in business in general. I will be predictable and say it has all come about because of the computer. That would be right to a certain extent. However, I believe it’s the way in which business and people have embraced the computer and its technology that is responsible for the majority of the business shifts.
Here’s my list of what has changed at 3H over the last 25 years:
The space a designer needs: It really seems like yesterday I was trying to fit one more large drafting table in the studio… let alone purchasing one more Art Director Marker set and art pads and sketch pads to bring in a new designer. Gone are those days!
Our inspiration tools: Gone are the days of flipping through Creative Source or Illustration Guild books to get inspired for the next big idea. At 3H, we use to have a library of creative and resource books… now we have half a shelf…and that’s going too! Image banks are the tools of inspirations nowadays and there’s nothing wrong with that… until those images become the concept!
How concepts are presented: With the advent of the computer and printers, now mock ups seem complete and already done. Clients have a difficult time in processing that what is in front of them is “conceptual”… not complete. That even if we could purchase the image on our mock ups, artwork has to be created, images have to be prepped, copy has to be finalized… etc… At times, I lament over marker renderings where it was obvious the person in an ad was a place holder for an image of a person that was yet to be casted, chosen and photographed!
Time to develop: If the speed of business is fast and faster… the agency business is at warp speed! There’s a belief by business in general that since everything is computer driven, it should take less time. That is very rarely the case, if ever. Computers in the creative world have provided creative types and agencies with the ability to expand on the possibilities and to show them in more concise ways. It still takes the time it takes to come up with an idea and to develop it!
The definition of a designer: What really is a designer? In my way of thinking, designers need to be conceptual thinkers in the visual medium. This is just my opinion… but find, many designers today know technology and yet have no conceptual vibe. They rely on image to create a concept rather than using the image as a resource too. More and more the designers out of school today think inside the screen and not inside their minds! Again… my opinion.
Relationship building: Time is at a premium. With the speed of business coupled with, restructuring, right-sizing, down-sizing or whatever hip term is currently out there… clients don’t have the time nor the inclination to go for lunch. But for those of us who do have a relationship with our business partners (yes, I mean clients!), the relationship is stronger… texting, emailing and yes even face timing. It has allowed us to reach out in snippets…by the sentence, being integrated in the day to day fabric.
Cold calling: Cold zinging you mean! Getting someone on the phone to talk to you when they don’t even know you is more difficult. How we get leads… and follow up on them is totally different. On line lead generation, web site lead generation and e-zines are now the “in” thing to do in cold calling. That means efforts can be more streamlined both in time and money. A warm lead is much better than a cold one…so rather than spend your efforts and money on cold and warm alike, you can double your efforts on the ones that have expressed an interest…or following.
Brand reaching capabilities: The ways in reach we reach our target markets… and how niche we can go is astounding and becoming more so each and everyday. Through social media (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, tumblr, Youtube, Linkedin), online properties, blogs, blogging, traditional media the options available to local, small, big and global advertisers are numerous and very exciting! Some of these channels don’t require design, but all require time and know how…that hasn’t changed a bit!
3H launched in 1988 with its corporate logo in Purple and Mustard. We had become synonymous with Purple because of our Mustard accents… and then we changed our accent to Titanium to speak to the digital and technology…to change our clients’ perception of what it is we do… but still remaining in the Purple so to speak. I am not sure what the next 5 to 10 years will hold, but I have often been heard saying “Complacency in business means death”… and I believe it.
Over the last 25 years, the ability to change has changed. Businesses are constantly looking for the new opportunity and are more than ever, open to the next best thing… even though embracing it still takes a little time.
by Lisa Wedmann | Feb 21, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Latest
It’s our silver anniversary!
25 years ago, the 3H Communications journey began. It was a humble start. Miriam,now Chief Creative Officer, was just helping out a couple of friends, one to advertise an airline and the other to launch a shopping center. 25 years of experience later and 3H Communications is a flourishing, cutting edge, full service, advertising and marketing agency.
Over the years, 3H has developed a process driven by our passion and dedication to understanding our clients’ products and capabilities. While every opportunity and client requirement is unique, there is an integral process we go through with clients to meet, and exceed their goals and expectations.
IDENTIFY
We arm ourselves with information. Our approach starts with investigating your company, your competitors and vertical markets. If required we initiate market research from store checks to informal panel discussions to full out qualitative or quantitative research. We assess the results. We then are set to plan and develop programs based on our identify target markets and demographics. We add to that customer analysis to develop personas based on psychographics, competitor analysis and more.
INITIATE
Leveraging our findings from research, we start the creative process. We bring out the popcorn and we brainstorm, we conceptualize and we create the story. Whether it’s blogging, digital advertising development, packaging design, traditional and social media advertising, or TV media we push boundaries to develop the right strategy, the right voice, the right channels to reach your objectives.
ENGAGE
With your Brand’s voice we start telling the brand story: how it should be told, to whom it should be told. The right timber, the appropriate messages based on personas, brand positioning and brand objectives. From science-speak, food write ups, fashion critics to pharma aids, business white papers and consumer talk, we implement the right approach and channel for your brand’s voice: web design, social media, digital media, events, print media and more.
LISTEN
We keep the momentum going…we listen, we respond, we engage…in order to build the brand relationship. By listening your brand continues learning from its relationship with brand ambassadors, which means we can create the most effective strategies to meet your objectives. We become your subject matter expert. It’s about creating a conversation, listening to their needs and requirements and we act with purpose and intent.
OPTIMIZE
We aim for effective, perfected and valuable solutions and results – and often it’s the numbers that reflect the effectiveness of an initiative. We measure each result; we get analytical. We dig deep and look at your local or global rankings, your SEO standing and your ROI. We then evaluate and take the necessary actions.
Through this method, the company has continued to grow and succeed. We are tight team that works hard and plays hard. Each member plays an integral part of our clients’, and our, success. Over the next year, we will be sharing stories about our journey, from Montreal to Oakville, what we have learned, how the advertising world has changed and all about our great team members. Keep checking back for regular updates!
To help us celebrate our anniversary play our new contest, Winfall Instant Win Contest! This is your chance to win prizes instantly, including an ipad Mini, and there a number of ways to play and win – including liking our FB page, sharing the page, liking us on Pinterest and more!
by Miriam Hara | Feb 13, 2013 | Business Success, Latest
Lucky are those that are in love with what they do. Everyday is a new wonderful day filled with commitment, dedication and emotion. As I reflect back on the 25 years I have spent at 3H Communications and with all my clients, I truly believe that I have been blessed. Like any love affair or relationship there have been times that were in turmoil, filled with indecision and fraught with doubt…but more often, there were times that the challenges brought laughter, fulfillment, achievement and oh…the great memories. It has allowed me to build relationships that I value.
It’s easy to say that because I chose a “creative” profession that it is easier for me to be passionate about my job. But I really don’t believe that this is true. Over the years in business I have met people in all professions who really love what they do; from scientists, sales people, physicians, marketers… and yes, even accountants. All of us who love what we do, feel in our hearts and minds, that we have a calling.I can hear the collective thought saying “money”… but I can say for many that I have met, it’s not all about the money. It’s about that calling that makes us passionate and emotive about our accomplishments. It’s about doing it differently, doing it better and doing it well. It’s also that calling which makes us care, all that much more and strive for that extra elusive… thing.
I really do believe that you do what you are… and you are what you do. The perfect yin and yang scenario. To be one of those “they” people who love what they do. To have a passionate affair with your work, with what you do for over 8 hours a day is the best anyone could hope for. You never have to work a day in your life and better yet, you never look at it as work. Yes, the term workaholic comes to mind, but I don’t believe that this is an accurate term. Owning and working at your own business is a personality type. For those of us who are entrepreneurs you all know what I am talking about. Running 3H Communications over the last 25 years… I have worked… and not worked. I remember reading an article that Arlene Dickinson You Inc called Born this way that really resonated with me. Mind you, this speaks to being an entrepreneur…and the drive to become one. I believe that you don’t necessarily need to be an entrepreneur, or run your own business to really love what you do. Just like you find love in many places…you find passionate people who are driven by what they do… from volunteers , coordinators, managers, store clerks to big business executives.
I will end this post by apologizing for taking advantage of the Valentine’s Day timing and using “love” as the hook, line and sinker of this blog! I hope I haven’t turned anyone off by being gimmicky… but it was too good to pass up!
