by Miriam Hara | Jan 10, 2017 | Advertising, Communications, Content, Marketing, Social Media
[Guest Post from Skilled.co]
The proliferation of smartphones has brought about a new trend in consumer buying behavior called mobile commerce. According to recent research the mobile commerce trend is expected to continue to grow globally in the years to come. Business owners who have developed a viable long-term mobile commerce strategy will profit from this trend the most. Mapping out an effective strategy can be challenging if it is unclear what the target audience expects from an m-commerce service. The best way to overcome this is to talk to the the customers directly.
![10 Must Do Steps to Improve Your Mobile Commerce Strategy [Infographic]](https://skilled.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/FINAL_Improve-Your-Mobile-commerce-strategy.png)
Presented by Skilled.co
Below are 10 easy-to-follow tips for devising a successful mobile commerce strategy. The tips are based on data obtained from 2016 Smartphone User Behavior Report and a survey which polled 2000 US millennials. This is the demographic group with the highest rate of smartphone ownership and usage. The millennials who took part in the survey were asked to answer a series of questions regarding their mobile commerce habits.
1. Target Millennials
Millennials and their smartphones are rarely separated, this is supported by the data collected that reported that 28% of Millennials in the US prefer to shop on their smartphones. According to the survey results millennials are invested in mobile commerce and they consider the prospect of online shopping to be one of the top three advantages to being a smartphone owner. Mobile shopping is also huge with high school students and millennials on maternity and paternity leave. Owners of online retail business should keep in mind that women in this age group are twice as likely to spend money on clothes via their smartphone compared to men.
2. Don’t Waste Any Time
Mobile commerce is yet to become the number one shopping method for US millennials. It was reported that 72% of US millennials currently prefer shopping on their desktop. There is room for growth within mobile commerce for businesses targeting millennials.The highest potential for mobile commerce expansion is within services like hotel booking, flight tickets and fashion stores. These were ranked as the three lowest priorities in terms of spending money via smartphones according to the 2016 Smartphone User Behavior Report.
3. Focus on Social Advertising
Millennials and social media are inseparable. It was reported that approximately 82% of young adults in the US check their smartphones within an hour of getting up and 73% go to sleep with their smartphones by their bed. To keep up to date with current events in the world Millennials prefer to use social media. The data collected showed that 68% of millennials choose to use Facebook as the social media network of choice for news consumption. Twitter is the second most popular source of news for this demographic group with 21% reporting use the microblogging site to find out about current events. It has been reported that 41% of millennials check and update their social media as soon as they wake up in the morning therefore, targeting young adults through social media marketing should be an integral part of every great mobile commerce strategy.
4.Know Your Target Audience
In order to come up with a unique and effective strategy to implement mobile commerce, there must first be a complete understanding of the needs and preferences of the target audience. For example business owners looking to target millennial consumers might be interested to know that, 40% of those polled in the survey spend more on flowers when shopping via mobile than on any other product. Millennials also use their smartphones to order a taxi and book various services. Young entrepreneurs are fond of ordering transport services like Uber via their smartphones while high school students are more likely to use their devices to order food. Young parents and full-time employees normally use their phones for online banking and bill-paying services.
5.Encourage Sharing
1 out 4 millennials reported suffering from the ‘fear of missing out’. This is where millennials develop anxiety that someone is having a great time without them. This phenomenon is particularly common among 18 to 22-year-olds who suffer from the fear of missing out marginally more than other millennials. For millennials sharing is one of the most popular features on social media platforms. The survey highlighted that 1 out of 2 millennials ranks sharing life moments with friends and family as the key advantage to owning a smartphone.For business owners who wish to develop an innovative approach to m-commerce they should encourage their millennial customers to share online content.
6.Include Health Information
Millennials are often accused of being overly confident about their lifestyle choices and irresponsible in regard to their health. This does not mean that young adults are not interested in learning about different ways to lead a healthier lifestyle. Out of the millennials polled in the 2016 Smartphone User Behavior survey, 46% ranked the opportunity to find health information online as the key advantage to owning a smartphone. One good example of mobile commerce done well is the app called ShopWell. This app offers nutrition facts and healthy eating tips based on the supermarket receipt scans, courtesy of a team of diet experts.
7.Make Security Your Top Priority
Online business owners who want to plan out an effective m-commerce strategy should always keep customer safety at the top of their priority. The survey results show that 25 to 30-year-olds feel the safest paying for products and services with their smartphones. Approximately half of the surveyed millennials reported that they feel unsafe paying with their smartphones. This is the same for high school students. The data collected reported that 1 out of 3 feel unsafe shopping on smartphones. The popularity of mobile wallets is slowly increasing, with 12% opting to use a mobile wallet.
8.Make Use of Notifications & Alerts
Millennials are not just the largest group of smartphone owners but they are also the most obsessive checkers. One in every three millennial checks their phone at least twice an hour while 2 out of 10 confess that they check their devices up to 10 times an hour. It was reported that 43% of millennials admit that they do not go to the toilet without their smartphone. The assumption can be made that the chances of a millennial missing a notification on their phone are small to none. This is why every great mobile commerce strategy should include an app that sends regular notifications and alerts to millennial customers.
9.Help Your Customers Find You
Recent research of mobile shopping trends shows that millennials often use smartphones to find the location of a store. This indicates that millennials are increasingly reliant on their smartphones and even ranked the location feature as one of the top 3 advantages of owning a mobile device. College students and full-time employees are most likely to use their smartphones to find information about their location. For Business owners adding a location feature to their m-commerce will assist in their targeted millennial audience to find their store.
10.Use Games & Giveaways
Mobile games and free giveaways are popular with millennials. Almost 7 out of 10 millennials say that playing games is one of their favorite thing to do on their smartphones. An easy for for business owners planning on mobile commerce expansions is to include millennial-focused games and product or service giveaways. Heinz, one of the most recognizable condiment brands recently upgraded its e-commerce strategy by including game features, QR codes and other engagement methods.
The collected data indicates that the mobile commerce trend is not only here to stay but is going to increase steadily in popularity.It was reported that many young adults are still a little hesitant to switch from desktop to mobile shopping due to safety concerns. This means that there is room for growth for business owners looking to expand their e-commerce. The infographic below highlights the top 10 tips for successful mobile commerce strategy. The data used in the infographic is up-to-date and obtained from trusted sources to support business in implementing these tips into their m-commerce plan.
by Miriam Hara | Oct 27, 2015 | Business Success, Communications, Latest, Management
A company without a social media presence is almost unheard of today. Consumers expect brands to be on social media. New Social Media Research Shows What People Expect from Brands. Are you prepared for the commitment? Are you making the time or do you begrudge the time spent on creating and maintaining a social media presence? Think your social media commitment is killing your company’s overall productivity?
Control your productivity: It’s about managing the day instead of the day managing you.
I run an advertising agency. Every day has priorities but within those priorities there are continuous moving parts that must be addressed in a timely manner. A social media presence is one of those moving parts. Business is not always about multitasking, it’s also about fluidity, responding smoothly and appropriately to situations and not being bottle necked by the myriad of details. It’s about making split-second decisions on whether to expedite, deal with, or delete. It’s about managing the day, instead of the day managing you. Within that framework comes managing your social media commitment.
You have to make time for social. You have to assign the people. If you begrudge the time it takes to create and maintain your social media presence then you have to change your thinking. If you can’t be joyous, then at least be jovial about this social investment. Approach it in the spirit of good fellowship. Social media is not a tangible asset; it’s intangible, but just as important as all of the other intangible assets that make up your business’s identity — your brand, your logo, your reputation. In today’s business climate social media is about social good will. It’s the warm and fuzzy aspect of business. A business without good will? We all know what happens to businesses that don’t nurture good will.
It helps to think of social media as a customer.
It helps to think of social media as a customer. Would you allow a relationship with one customer to suffer because you were spending all your time on another customer? What would happen? Would you ignore your Accounts Receivable because you didn’t have the time to follow up? Would you forget about Accounts Payable? Would you put pitching for new business on the back burner because you’re too busy servicing the customers you already have? This last is a common problem with small businesses — finding the time to get out there and land new accounts! Same with social media, for many of you it’s a question of time and how to manage your social media commitment.
Social is a demanding customer. It vies for your attention. It sucks up your time. It expects creativity. It costs you money … so plan for productivity!
Yes, social is a demanding customer. It vies for your attention. It sucks up your time. It expects creativity. It costs you money — you’re paying someone on staff (maybe more than one person) to deal with it and often those people have other responsibilities, too. Their productivity suffers. Maybe you’re dealing with social media activity yourself and as the business owner your own productivity is suffering. So how do you deal with demanding customers? Every so often in business you get one. A customer has hired you as the expert, to help them, but they’re just not listening to you. You’re putting extensive time and effort into the relationship, but the payback currently isn’t there. You see no promise or value in the long-term proposition. No business wants to lose a customer, but sometimes you have to let one go. But not social media. That’s one customer you can’t afford to let go … so plan for productivity!
Like many things in life, changing your thinking can change the outcome.
Like many things in life, changing your thinking can change the outcome. Try thinking about social as a customer. Accept that it’s a time-gobbling client, but worth the effort because the rewards are there. Accept that the return on your investment won’t be felt immediately, but when done right, it will be felt. Be patient. Remember, the currency you’re dealing in is good will. Do what you do with all other aspects of your business — plan for it. A good social media presence doesn’t require an enormous budget and if you plan for it, the time spent on it becomes purposeful.
While good will can’t be quantifiably measured, it won’t be difficult to measure your productivity, and ultimately the success of your business, without it.
While good will can’t be quantifiably measured it won’t be difficult to measure your productivity, and ultimately the success of your business, without it. Social media is about creating good will. Without good will, productivity issues will be the least of your worries. Repeat customers, new customers, brand loyalty and affection for your brand. Good will plays a role in all of it.
For more about productivity, read our previous blog, ‘Productivity: Write this Down’.
Get tips on building your social media presence and great content with two of our free downloadable e-books, ‘Social Media Understood’ and ‘Content Creation Understood’.
Keep in touch! #SharedWisdom
by Joyce Turner-Gionet | Oct 9, 2015 | Communications, Content, Latest
Typo: Abbreviation for typographical error. AKA fat-finger syndrome.
Typos are not necessarily the same as spelling errors.
In marketing and advertising, we often refer to a spelling error as a typo, but typos are not necessarily the same as spelling errors. The term “typo” originated with the mechanical process of typesetting. You may know how to spell a word correctly, but your finger hits the wrong key. Sometimes we transpose letters, and it’s a case of our brain moving faster than our fingers. Either way, when a typo or spelling error shows up in content, it’s not pretty.
Poor grammar can steal the thunder from that brilliant thought you were eager to share.
Too many typos or spelling errors in a piece can compromise your credibility. Poor grammar can steal the thunder from that brilliant thought you were eager to share. Punctuation rules the rhythm and flow of your piece, so keep it in mind.
What’s the difference between grammar and punctuation?
Once upon a time, writers and editors lost sleep over typos and spelling errors. Nowadays, we sleep easier because much of our content is online. When working with an online publishing platform (e.g., WordPress), corrections are simple: We edit the existing document and then hit the Publish button. Presto, the mistake disappears. One caveat: If the social media content you’ve published has been been picked up by another site before you’ve had a chance to correct the mistake, there’s not a lot you can do other than fixing the root file.
If your piece is going to a printer, go mad with proofing. If a typo makes it into a printed piece, you’ll be left cringing over it for the life of the piece.
Write the way you speak.
Write the way you speak. This piece of advice is particularly relevant for social media. Social media is about conversations and making connections, so a casual tone works well. Slang is acceptable only in certain contexts — use common sense here. We’re definitely more casual in much of our writing today, but …
Spelling, grammar, and punctuation remain important; they’re every bit as important as in formal business writing.
Before you hit Publish …
- Spellchecks are helpful, but … 8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Just Rely on SpellCheck.
- Proofread your content more than once.
- Have someone else proofread your content. Even the best writers benefit from a proofreader or editor. What’s up with that: Why it’s so hard to catch your own typos.
- Don’t guess! When you’re not sure, look it up.
- Walk away from your content and go back to it later. You return to it with a fresh eye and may see typos or other errors that you missed on your first go-round. Walking away also provides an opportunity to mull over additional ideas that could make your content richer.
- Don’t let grammar rule you! Grammar has rules, but they can be broken occasionally. Just make sure that if you are going to break the rules, you do so intelligently, with style, and for a purpose.
- Major newspapers (online and in print) often have errors in copy, and they have an entire staff of proofreaders. Errors happen! If you notice one, and it’s too late to fix it, relax. World peace probably isn’t at stake. I’ve included a few funny proofreading blunders, later in this post.
Imagine! Years ago, punctuation didn’t exist. The mysterious origins of punctuation.
While creating content, it’s helpful to have a few authoritative resources nearby. Here are a few of my favourites:
Reference Books (in print):
A Canadian Writer’s Reference
The Associated Press Style Book
These two are particularly fun to browse:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
Miss Nomer’s Guide to Painfully Incorrect English
Websites:
Oxford Dictionaries
Merriam-Webster
Thesaurus.com
Grammar Girl
Grammarphobia
Apps:
Using a good spelling, grammar, and punctuation app? Let me know and I’ll update this post.
A touch of serendipity …
While writing this post I received an email ‘funny’ about proofreading blunders. (I’d give credit where credit is due but no sources were provided.) A little proofreading would definitely have spoiled the giggles …
Sign in a public washroom: “Toilet out of order. Please use floor below.”
Sign in a department store: “Bargain basement upstairs.”
Sign in an office: “After tea break, staff should empty the teapot and stand upside down on the draining board.”
Outside a second-hand shop: “We exchange anything — bicycles, washing machines, etc. Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain?”
Notice in a farmer’s field: “The farmer allows walkers to cross the field for free, but the bull charges.”
In a Safari park: “ELEPHANTS, PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR.”
In a Laundromat: “Automatic Washing Machines: Please remove all your clothes when the light goes out.”
In a newspaper: “Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers.”
Also in the news: “Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over.”
(Thanks to Yellowknife Girl for proofreading this post before I hit Publish. Any errors after the fact are not her fault.)
by Miriam Hara | Sep 11, 2015 | Communications, Content, Latest, Social Media
News is when you have something original to say. Noise is when you don’t.
Be relevant in 140 characters or less!
The 140 characters or less is simply a reminder to be relevant and stay focused when creating content. Visualize yourself writing a standard Twitter tweet, which limits us to 140 characters or less: say as much as you need, then say no more.
Don’t get too attached to words. Even for content writers, it’s not always easy to be ruthless and cut out words, but it’s necessary. You’re fighting to be heard. So be ruthless. If it isn’t necessary, boot it out of the sentence!
The proliferation of internet content, particularly with Social Media — whether visual (graphics), video or written — is overwhelming. I’ll say what many of us in the business say in our heads: everyone’s a writer or a wannabe writer. Students, business owners, executives, CEOs, celebrities, the guy next door, everyone’s writing. But what makes for good content, what speaks to good content, is relevancy.
10 ways to be relevant and remain relevant:
- Decide what you want to write about. Make a list of the hot topics and categories that surround your business or interest. Develop word clouds to help you decide on topics to write about. Word Clouds and the Value of Simple Visualization. Wordle is a good website to help you get started.
- Decide a) how you want people to perceive you and b) how you want people to perceive what you write about. It’s easy to forget about ‘perception’ in our hurry to ‘get writing’; but who you are and what you write about are important. The internet has a memory.
- Decide on the angle you’ll take in creating content. There are different angles to every subject. Being relevant doesn’t necessarily mean being trendy or current; certain topics are evergreen, meaning they’re always relevant.
- Define your target market and the niches within that market. Demographics are not the only definition of a target market.
- Nail down what you want to say and say it thoughtfully, with conviction. Rewording other people’s thoughts doesn’t add value. However, reflecting on other people’s thoughts can lead you to develop new ideas or new points of view that offer relevance to your readers. Being relevant also requires being aware of what’s going on out there, so stay informed.
- Decide how to say what you want to say and which vehicle you will use to say it. Which vehicle parks you closer to the place(s) your target market hangs out.
- Have others review your content for brevity, clarity and to make sure you’re actually saying what you wanted to say. If even one person doesn’t understand something you’ve written, look at it again, critically, and make the necessary change.
- Content needs to be actionable: promote action, ask for feedback, work hard to get your audience to connect with you by giving them reasons to connect.
- Check spelling and grammar and have someone else check it too. A good editor is every content writer’s best friend.
- Many of us sleep on things to see how we feel about them in the morning. Content’s no different. Allow time to step back from what you’ve written for a while and reread it with a critical eye before you hit the ‘publish’ button. Having said that, the beauty of the internet is we can update content easily, quickly and regularly.
Be Relevant Stay Relevant: Download our latest FREE eBook
For more tips on how to be relevant and stay relevant, download our free eBook: Content Creation Understood. 21 short, snappy insights (we call them biz-isms) that will help you look at content from a number of different angles.
by Joyce Turner-Gionet | Sep 9, 2015 | Agency, Branding, Business Success, Communications, Creative, Design, Interactive, Latest, Marketing, Social Media
Rah-Rah, Google! Give us an ‘E’ (but make it crooked!).
Gotta LOVE that crooked ‘e’ in the new Google logo. It’s so Google! Irrepressible, playful. I hear it’s annoying people. They want to straighten it. Personally, I think it’s perfect. Think about it. Leaving the ‘e’ crooked speaks volumes about Google’s personality.
Not everyone agrees with me, Twitter Users Think Google Copied Heineken with its new logo’s crooked ‘e’ (Google kind of admits it.)
All done in house, the rebranding is a composite of three elements: the word mark, a four-colour ‘G’ monogram and animated dots that represent the Google search engine in ‘thinking’ mode. For those who’ve been under a rock, or enjoying the last days of summer up at the cottage, here it is:
New Google Logo
New Google Dots
New Google Monogram
Here’s a reminder of the old Google logo:
1999 – 2015
Here are some Google logo ideas that presumably didn’t make the cut
Here’s why Google did the rebranding …
Says Google … (from the official Google blog)
“So why are we doing this now? Once upon a time, Google was one destination that you reached from one device: a desktop PC. These days, people interact with Google products across many different platforms, apps and devices—sometimes all in a single day. You expect Google to help you whenever and wherever you need it, whether it’s on your mobile phone, TV, watch, the dashboard in your car, and yes, even a desktop!
Today we’re introducing a new logo and identity family that reflects this reality and shows you when the Google magic is working for you, even on the tiniest screens.
Read everything Google said …
Are we impressed?
I asked a few graphic gurus and marketing types across the industry for their opinion on the rebranding:
“Google, with an upper case G … it’s all grown up!”
“The lower case (previous) logo was approachable. With this new logo, Google has maintained its approachability, but made it more mature. More established. The colours and the playfulness with the dots has added to its “fun” nature … almost showcasing its “magic”. Turning questions into a found result. The use of an uncluttered, streamlined font adds to the contemporary nature … the G, unencumbered, is almost futuristic.
More importantly, I love the Alphabet name … the idea. It’s the basis of communications. With letters and building blocks, imaginations soar. What else can we develop? Where else can we go? It offers the ability of each letter to have its significant place in the sun!”
– Miriam H, Chief Creative Officer at 3H
“… suits their position as a search engine (wayfinding system)”
“Overall, it’s a thumbs up from me. The font they used is called Product Sans and was one they created specifically for the new logo and overall rebranding with the animated dots and icons. Similar to the new-ish Twitter icon, it was (mostly) created using only circles and semi-circles. I think it has a much more ‘current’ feel and suits their position as a search engine (wayfinding system).”
– Lindsay S, Senior Graphic Designer
“They’re still leading the way, now with their very own font.”
“It has retained its simple look and colour palette, while bringing a more accessible and contemporary feel. The font also has a uniqueness, a quirkiness, which demonstrates Google’s lighthearted, forward-thinking approach. They’re still leading the way, now with their very own font.”
– Jayne B, Integrated Marketing Manager
“fun and playful”
“I loved the way they presented it, the animation is fun and playful. I like the sans serif font more than the previous serif font. They’ve had the same logo for a long time. The previous logo was dated and the trend is towards sans serif fonts. Nice and chunky. It was a smart move since Google is now owned by Alphabet company. A new beginning for Google and the new logo is a great start.”
– Craig C, Senior Graphic Designer & Mixed Media Artist
“Just another logo”
“Just another logo. Cultural relevance? There’s a lot of talk about this, but I really don’t think it changes much.”
– Jason H, Photographer
“… reminiscent of the avant garde style of the TTC subway signs that came out in the 1950s”
“The new direction of the Google logo makes it easier to display on smaller devices, the switch from a serif to sans serif will make displaying on smaller screens much cleaner and simpler, it will also scale nicely. The thickness also lends itself to displaying more clearly on mobile screens. The change in the Google Icon, the New “G”, now reinforces the colour coding that Google has progressively moved towards, so now even the icon hints towards the growing suite of properties and product offerings. It seems to be a successful step in streamlining the branding of the complete picture of essential elements that Google is trying to put forward. I find it clean, modern and simple, reminiscent of the avant garde style of the TTC subway signs that came out in the 1950s and are still used for everything in the TTC Subway System. I like it.”
– Kyle M, Digital Designer
“Google’s big enough to be brave”
“Rebranding is never easy. You can’t please everyone and it always opens you up to negativity, particularly for a global giant like Google. Not everyone likes change but Google’s big enough to be brave. The clean, linear font ties in beautifully with the Alphabet name that came out of the overhaul of Google’s corporate structure. The company’s new url abc.xyz gave me a chuckle. Nice, clean, modern logo.”
– Mark A, Marketing, PR & Social Media Consultant
“It’s not a WOW logo, but …”
“It’s simple. The colours are very basic. It’s not a WOW logo, but I think that’s the way it should be for Google. Google is not just a company name, it’s a verb, it’s part of our culture. The logo doesn’t need to be beautiful, it needs to be recognizable and it still is. Just like ‘Google Doodles’, the logo gets changed in those but we always recognize it.”
– Yukari Y, Senior Designer
What do YOU think of the new Google logo? Does the crooked ‘e’ bug you? Let me know!
A HISTORY, FROM A TO … no Z, because Google is far from finished changing the world:
From Gizmodo … The Evolution of Google’s Iconic Logo
From Time Magazine … A History of Google Doodles
by Miriam Hara | Sep 1, 2015 | Agency, Business Success, Communications, Latest, Management, Marketing, Problem Solving
What is common sense? How important is it in business?
In business, I believe knowledge and experience make for common sense. If you don’t have both, you’re working from opinion. Common sense is a way of thinking, based on what you know for sure.
You might have heard your grandmother say: “that girl is full of common sense.” She meant it as a compliment. The “she” grandma was referring to was a highly practical gal, or in today’s speak, someone who exercised good sense and sound judgement that consistently led to sound outcomes. Chances are this gal was working from what she knew for sure.
It’s called common sense because, supposedly, it’s common to all of us.
It’s called common sense because, supposedly, it’s common to all of us. That’s debatable, since we all do things that don’t make any sense. We spend too much, text while driving, drive over the speed limit, eat a second piece of cheesecake even though we’re on a diet, procrastinate on a project, delay backing up our phone or PC and ignore our doctor’s advice. More than likely, as most of us are doing these things, we know they don’t make sense, but we throw caution to the wind and do them anyway. (Just for fun, take the quiz at the end of this blog if you want to to test your common sense.)
Despite what we might think, common sense is not necessarily linked to a high IQ.
Every day we hear something, read something or see something, that doesn’t make common sense. Politics can be a minefield of questionable sense. Government decisions on how our money should be spent are no different. (For an eye opener, on common sense gone MIA (Missing in Action), check out the 2015 17th Annual Teddy Government waste award winners) It’s the same in business. Business leaders regularly exercise good judgement as well as poor judgement; decisions rooted in common sense or resulting from the lack of it. Despite what we might think, common sense is not necessarily linked to a high IQ.
Not all people with common sense are forward thinkers.
In business we use common sense daily, to prioritize. It’s our way of connecting the dots to business preservation. Business thinkers who connect the dots can be forward thinkers, the surest route to business success. That doesn’t mean all forward thinkers have common sense. And not all people with common sense are forward thinkers.
In business you must constantly assess situations. Common sense helps out here too. It allows us to avoid stressful situations. When we are in an unavoidable situation, we can use common sense to negotiate a way out. The more experience I have, the more common sense I accumulate. Was I born with the inclination for common sense? I repeat: I think it’s learned.
Remember Einstein’s sage advice?
A person with common sense also learns from mistakes. Remember Einstein’s sage advice? “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” In business, as in life, if we don’t learn from our mistakes we’re liable to make them again. Common sense encourages us to look around and see what’s happening beyond our own business world. We can also learn from the mistakes as well as the successes of others, a common sense learning approach that works well.
Most common sense people have learned the art of removing themselves from a situation in order to look at it objectively.
Common sense allows us to assess the value of moving forward and double check the move with our intuition — a gut feeling that is based on our past business knowledge and experience — before we act. We’re able to see both the big picture and the details and assess how the details could help or hinder the outcome. Yes, we value and take into account the (knowledgeable) opinions of business others, but we don’t allow your own sound judgement to be clouded by their perceptions. Most common sense people have learned the art of removing themselves from a situation in order to look at it objectively.
You’ve heard of street smarts. There are business smarts too. They’re centered on developing a plan, understanding the weaknesses of the plan and setting up contingencies. Business common sense, based on knowledge and experience (and that dose of intuition), allows us to clearly and objectively assess every business course of action.
There’s a downside to common sense
There’s a downside to common sense in business and we need to guard against it. We must never become too pragmatic. Good business benefits from a healthy dose of intuition and once in a while, a leap of faith. Both might seem at odds with common sense, but they’re really not. Case in point; we started 3H in the middle of a recession!
Got a comical example of common sense missing in action, send it to me?
Grandma would roll her eyes at this one! But in today’s world, there’s an internet answer for everything: How to Develop Common Sense: 8 Steps (with pictures)
Just for fun, see if you have common sense and take the quiz on Quiznatic
A little more serious from Forbes:
10 Uncommon, Common Sense Commandments for Life and Business
