Rob Hendrickson

To Benefit From The Information Age - Companies Must Commit.

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:24:00 -0500

There are alot of neat and nifty things written about networking technology, such as Internet and Mobile. And if your business has deemed these new techs as necessary for growth, perhaps even survival, then this thread of insights might be of interest to you.

A while back I was contracted by a magazine publishing company to review ways they could improve performance with their Internet initiatives. Not a difficult task as the performance was leaking water like a cruise ship.

After a presentation outlining the necessary actions they would need to take in order to be successful, and after a few confused and glassy eyed glances around the room, they asked how they were to enact these ideas.

I hesitated and then said, “Total commitment to it. If not, go find something else to do.”

This article is heavy on the publishing industry, but much can be applied to any industry.

Step 1: Commit

The company and individuals ALL have to commit to the common goal. The goal should be simple and clearly spelled out. A goal for digital or network technologies might be… 25% of ALL revenues generated through digital initiatives. or… Operational cost savings of 12% using web based automation and customer communication such as email renewal notification.

Notice I use the words digital and networks. I tend to steer clear of word Internet or Web because there are so many new technologies available and our goal is to be platform agnostic.

At many companies, I estimate that 1 out of every 5 leaders do not want to or will not commit. People (especially magazine people) tend to love their delivery vehicle. They view the Internet as a support mechanism, the website as a repository for old articles and email newsletters are to inform what is coming up in other media.

I preach that their ability to create good content about niche topics is the true value and that we need to push it out using any vehicle our customers want and is the essence of their product and thus the essence of their brand. It’s a matter of rethinking the content gathering process combined with an understanding of the medium.

I find it funny that many magazines changed their layout to reflect the Internet, short bursts of information such as how-tos, top tens and little or no in-depth coverage over a particular topic. “That’s what people want now.” is a common comment I hear. That’s like saying “We removed the car’s windshield because motorcycle sales have gone way up and it’s because people like the wind in their hair.”

Some publishers have been waiting for this change, some understand it and others fight the new goals. The latter need to go use their talents elsewhere as we have lots of work to do and little time to do it without an internal fight about whether pushing our content online is a good idea.

Commitment to the goals of using digital and network technology is essential to the success of the endeavor and therefore, I have placed it as Step 1.

I Heart My Family!

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:48:35 -0500

I Heart My Family!

Well we’ve just finished up the initial designs for our...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:32:00 -0500

Well we’ve just finished up the initial designs for our first line of Horse products. FullBucket is an animal nutrition company that gives one FullBucket to an animal in need for every FullBucket that is purchased.

Website is in the works and should be live in a couple of weeks.

Very Strong Customer Relationship

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 10:33:26 -0400

A couple of months ago I was introduced to Mike Dillard while attending a Marketing Mastermind Summit hosted by Josh Bezoni.

At the time I didn’t get a chance to follow up with everybody and research all the people I’d met.

However, now that I’ve followed up with Mike, I wish I’d of done it sooner.

You see, Mike Dillard has developed marketing and sales training for the network marketing space. Check it out at http://www.magneticsponsoring.com/

It’s not a niche I’m particularly interested in but his material is shazaam! Good.

Just learning from his free modules you’ll get a ton of modern marketing techniques. And more important, if you read between the lines and break his material down, he shows you some of the best customer relationship techniques I’ve ever seen.

Notice: I didn’t say customer service. Mike takes a proactive roll with his program and reaches out to his customers BEFORE there’s ever a problem.

Look for more of these types of programs and learn even more when we launch Modern Business Marketer.com.

Be one of the first 100 to pre-register and get a free 10 video course on monetizing social media.

Robo

"When investing in high risk/high reward investments, first use your magnifying glass, then your..."

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:28:24 -0400

“When investing in high risk/high reward investments, first use your magnifying glass, then your calculator and lastly your gut.”

- Robo

Agriculture Media Summit - a great convention and a powerful...

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:40:45 -0400

Agriculture Media Summit - a great convention and a powerful voice for the people who feed our nation. We have a generation too far removed from their food supply. These people make it real.

MediaPost Article about Lady GaGa is Good

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:09:53 -0400

There have been many articles written about the Ga of Ga but I think Johanna Skilling did a great job of applying it to a business culture. Read “What Pharma Can Learn From Lady Gaga” and see for yourself and how the methods might apply to your business.

http://bit.ly/oDEn8Q

"Use free media (PR) to give a new product life - while it’s new and newsworthy. Use paid media..."

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:49:10 -0400

““Use free media (PR) to give a new product life - while it’s new and newsworthy. Use paid media (Advertising) to keep it alive.””

- Rob Hendrickson

Where Is Your Occupation Heading? The US Bureau of Labor...

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:03:00 -0400

Where Is Your Occupation Heading?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has posted their 2010/11 research on vocation markets. It’s very interesting to click around and look at the “Projections” category of different job titles.

It will give you a description of their methodology etc. It also lists average pay scales. Keep in mind these are nation wide so they may not be completely accurate for your area. For instance, a good graphic designer in the Dallas market might command $50K - $75K. In North Dakota this same job might pay $1.95 an hour. ;-)

This could be a useful tool to help define your career direction or hunt new markets to focus sales on in the coming couple of years.

You can see the stats here: http://1.usa.gov/itSuGw

Giving a branding session about using social media. “So,...

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:50:00 -0400

Giving a branding session about using social media.

“So, What are your expectations with a Social Media program?” I asked.

“We’re not sure but we know we want a lot of Fans on Facebook.” the Client answered.

This is a typical response. All of the hype related to Social Media has finally brought the flock of sheep down from the mountain and into the valley but they do not know where to go.

Social media starts with a plan and that plan should have two main functions:

Strengthen the brand
Introduce that brand to new customers

If this is done properly, there are many things you can do later on with your SM platform.

HorseAdvertisingNetwork.com is DONE!!! It’s Alive!!! Go...

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:49:00 -0400

HorseAdvertisingNetwork.com is DONE!!!

It’s Alive!!! Go look see feel. We still have lot’s of work to do but I’m definitely a believer in launch before your ready. Now I’m working on the tagline, what do you think of:

Horse Publishers and Advertisers - UNTIE!

I want to thank:
Daniel McCarthy for the design;
Andy Nester for the chance;
Jason Lewis for the coding all-nighters;
Jodi for the patience;
The horse publishers for the ad space;
The Advertisers for the Ads!

CRUSH IT! Book Review I’d been introduced to Gary...

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:58:46 -0500

CRUSH IT! Book Review

I’d been introduced to Gary Vaynerchuck’s in-your-face style of promotion by several friends from Austin’s Internet Marketing Party.

I enjoyed the enthusiasm and energy. His approach is not scripted and raw which is the IM signature.

But, Gary’s not for everybody. My wife, and most females that I’ve shown, can’t get into the groove. They think he’s annoying and would rather put a cigarette out on his forehead than listen to him spew.

I enjoy watching him for the reason they don’t - in your face, no holds barred passion for making money and pushing the limits.

The book itself is a direct reflection of the same. My bet is that a ghost writer turned on a recorder and let it roll while he did the Gary rant.

It turned out good because it has what I always look for in a book - short, informative and most of all, there was a gold nugget or two that I took away.

If you’re like me and have several business books, you should have this one.

I give a 3.5 out of 5.

4-Hour Body (Ohmmm) I just finished the 4-Hour Body by Tim...

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:17:47 -0500

4-Hour Body (Ohmmm)

I just finished the 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferris. Not bad. Tim has a way with titles. His first New York Times best seller, 4-hour Workweek, was a time-management book disguised as a way out for the millions of day slavers out there.

It was a really good read and chock full of quotable thoughts, anecdotes and stories. In Tim Ferris style he makes the book very personal and relies heavy on his own experiences and methods.

I’ve referred back to it often and believe it is a benefit to my workflow. The advice given by no means allows me to get rich and live my dreams by working 4 hours. But the product and marketing were genious.

4-Hour body is similar. It’s Tim’s personal journey to craft a body. He does the trial and error so you won’t have to. I’ve incorporated many of his techniques to see if the results are similar and we’ll see.

Much like 4-hour Work Week, I don’t expect to have a perfect body, but I do expect a better one and some interesting techniques to help me get that much needed 6-pack abs my life so desperately needs.

It’s worth the read.

One of the best commercials I’ve seen. Perfect advertising...

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:18:51 -0500

One of the best commercials I’ve seen. Perfect advertising puts the viewer into a specific state of mind and then leaves them with just a taste of the product name on the feeling. This energetic and great feeling brought to you by Honda. Enjoy.

This is the :60 second info-commercial we produced for the Cesar...

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:18:34 -0500

This is the :60 second info-commercial we produced for the Cesar Milan “The Dog Whisperer” show on National Geographic.

This is the Vetericyn vignette that is running on Fox Sports...

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:16:35 -0500

This is the Vetericyn vignette that is running on Fox Sports Network. A real nice personal testimonial by Clinton Anderson.

Traditional Advertising - A Hard Pill To Swallow

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:23:07 -0400

Clayton Makepeace creates a compelling argument against traditional advertising. One that, until I quit the Ad business, I would have not accepted.

Too many people focus on Brand Awareness and not enough on Brand Strength and Sales.

http://www.earlytorise.com/2010/09/13/advertising-schmadvertising/

Vetericyn freight train

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:03:19 -0400

Great meetings in Sacramento, Rialto and San Diego.

Our sales are hitting and the people are banging on all cylinders.

It’s so very nice to work for an energetic company that pushes instead of pulls.

I look forward to seeing the brand growth for the new product Puracyn for the human market.

My takeaways for the day - always stay focused on the top 3-5 items that impede or instill growth jumps. And then have the team work like hell to fix and assist respectively.

Presentation at Vetericyn and Puracyn.

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:43:39 -0400

Presentation at Vetericyn and Puracyn.

"I’m like you. We see eye-to-eye. We want good education for children. We both want to make enough..."

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:01:32 -0400

“

I’m like you. We see eye-to-eye.

We want good education for children. We both want to make enough money that it provides security and sustenance. We want a clean earth with less smog and NO oil spills. We want wars to be replaced by bars full of shouting and singing men. We want everyone to have a home with good food on a table surrounded by family. We want to walk the streets safely. We want to leave this planet and this life in a little better shape than how it came to us.

But, I’m not like you. We don’t see eye-to-eye in how to get this done.

”

- Rob Hendrickson