by Kirby Hasseman
Maybe I just have trust issues. More and more, we are seeing a proliferation of “reviews” that influence the way we make decisions about purchases. Whether you are buying a car, booking a vacation, or looking for a restaurant, we check the “reviews” of a business before we are willing to set foot in any place. Not only that, but sites like Amazon, Facebook, and others are actually moving companies up and down in their search criteria based on the number (and ranking) of their reviews. And in theory, I get it. It’s nice to be able to take a quick look behind the veil to make sure we aren’t walking into a scam artist. I like the idea that each of has “a voice” in commerce. If we have a bad experience, we have a way to “warn others.” But is that really what you think happens? I don’t. Here are (just a few) of my issues with online reviews. Who are these people? Again…maybe this goes back to my trust issues. But why is it I should value the opinion of random strangers on the internet? Don’t get me wrong. If EVERYONE has had a bad experience at a place…that helps me. But it’s human nature that we are attracted to that one bad review. If a friend tells me they have had a bad experience, it might hold value. But…who are these random strangers again? Who validates them? The answer is…no one. As a matter of fact, Facebook and other places are making it even harder to take reviews down. If one of my customers has a bad experience, I do want to know. But I DO want it to be one of my customers! The last time I went to our Facebook page, we had 3 “featured reviews.” There were 2 5-star reviews. There was 1 1-star review. It’s fine…except that NONE of the 3 were customers. Some people can’t be pleased: We all know them. These are the people that are pissed off if they can’t find something to be mad about. So…how many of those people do you think just LOVE to write reviews? My guess…a lot of them. So how much should I value their take? Have you ever noticed that a 1 star book review on Amazon is never written by a best-selling author? Why? First, because they don’t have time to mess with that. But more importantly, they know how much work creating a book takes. I don’t know what that tells me…but it tells me something. Make sure you are happy by signing up for our VIP newsletter. Each week we send out an email with all of the content we create each week. Sign up here!
by Kirby Hasseman
The Delivering Marketing Joy Podcast is back! Our goal here is to attack 2018 with a vengeance! The Delivering Marketing Joy Podcast will provide some inspiration, motivation and education to make it happen! Consider this your 10 minute “kick in the pants” to get your week started off right! Today on the podcast I want to flip the script. We spend a lot of time thinking, talking and agonizing over “what keeps us up at night.” That’s natural. But what gets you excited? What gets you up in the morning? It’s a different way of looking at things…and I name a few things that have me fired up now! If you want to check out the Ohio’s Heart website you can do that here. Oh…and make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for the Hasseman Marketing VIP list here!
by Kirby Hasseman
I love the idea of “seasons of life.” This concept was introduced to me by Jon Acuff, and it totally resonates with me about how life really works. Life is not “pedal to the metal” all of the time. I love the term “hustle,” but you can’t live your life in forever hustle mode. In reality, though, life is also not just “sitting on a beach with a drink in my hand” in perpetuity either. It’s a shame…but it’s true. Life comes in seasons. Some of seasons are easy to recognize. They are almost more phases of life. There is parenthood, or work, or school. Sure. But I think “season” can be even more finite. *They might be newborn baby season or puppy season (we know this all too well at our house now). *Starting a new business (at least the launch) can be a season. *Losing a job could be a season. Or job hunting could be one as well. *Having a high school senior is certainly a season we are living through too. Regardless, it’s important to note that these are finite. Whether good or bad, a season is not forever. The wind will blow, and the words “this too shall pass” will ring through your ear. Don’t worry. It’s just a season. Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
We all want to grow. It’s in our human nature to want to be challenged and have purpose. And if you are leading an organization, a team, or a family, it’s your job to seek growth for yourself and those you serve. So how do you do it? How do you challenge yourself to grow? And how do you help members of your team grow? If you know me at all, you probably can predict that I will say “read more.” If so, you would be right. But read what? Here are a few books that I think are awesome for leaders (and those that aspire to lead). First things first, I wrote this post about books I want my daughters to read. These books are foundational, and I think these should probably be first on your list. Now let’s jump into the “Leaders Reading List.” Leaders Eat Last: Simon Sinek burst onto the scene with the TED talk and the book Start with Why. It’s really good and I recommend it too. BUT, I actually enjoyed Leaders Eat Last even more. I loved how Sinek dove into the biology of what makes a great leader and why we react the way we do. Powerful stuff here. 4 Disciplines of Execution: Have you ever felt like your team was busy, but never made headway on new initiatives? Raise your hand (every leader). The 4 Disciplines book digs into why this happens, and gives you a roadmap for getting your team to get more done. It starts with the Wildly Important Goal (WIG). Good to Great: Jim Collins created a classic and destroyed the myths on what makes a great leader here. Collins explains why certain companies are able to become amazing…and leadership tells the tale. Extreme Ownership: This powerful tale of what leadership really looks like comes from two Navy Seals. This one was a gut punch to me about blaming anyone but myself…for anything. Everything in my organization is my fault. This book taught me that. Culture Code: I just finished this one and really enjoyed it. This is filled with great reminders about what make teams great. And it introduces some counter-intuitive truths about great organizations from the Navy Seals to Pixar. These are 5 books that have helped shape the way I think about leadership. I am hardly a guru. But inside these books you will find philosophy and tactics that will help you get better when it comes to running your team. Become a VIP! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We send out one email per week to catch you up on all of the content!
by Kirby Hasseman
Welcome to our awesome blog post series for Hasseman Marketing called:
“Brand-ecdotes!”
Each time, we talk to a branding all star about what makes the Promotional Product advertising media so special! This time we talk with the Grand Poubah of PPAI, Paul Bellantone! Paul is not only an industry rock star, but he is tasked with keeping the industry moving in the right direction. We sincerely appreciate him taking the time!
1. What is your all-time favorite Promotional Product and why?
A rubber jar opener. See below.
2. Can you name a Promo Product that you have that STILL reminds you fondly of an event, person, organization? If so, can you tell us that story?
While I no longer have the original rubber jar opener whenever I see or use one I think of H. Ted Olson, former President & CEO of PPAI. He was my predecessor’s predecessor. I was running a tradeshow in Guadalajara, Mexico in the mid 1990s and Ted introduced himself to me with a firm handshake, a smile and then pulled a rubber jar opener with a PPAI logo out of his jacket pocket. I originally thought to myself, “What an odd thing to give someone in the middle of a tradeshow in Guadalajara.” What I didn’t know then was that one day I would be running the organization he was promoting on the jar opener. And the act of giving a simple promotional product made such impact that I would be writing about it 30 years later!
3. What is the current product you use all the time?
I have a very classy, simple, brown leather Andrew Philips backpack I received as a gift for speaking at the Imagen Brands National Sales Meeting. It has PPAI embossed on it and it has become my constant travel companion.
4. What is an idea/product that you think organizations UNDER use?
Research. There is such powerful and useful research supporting the power of promotional products. It is important that we share this clear, measurable and meaningful data as a differentiator between promotional products and other advertising media with our customers and buyers.
5. What do you think is the best thing about Promotional Products as an advertising media?
It is the only advertising media people say “thank you” to the advertiser and want more of.
Amazing! That’s another awesome edition of Brand-ecdotes! Thanks to President of PPAI, Paul Bellantone, for taking the time to jump in!
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by Kirby Hasseman
When I decided that I was going to write a blog post for this website every day, most people thought it was dippy. Truth be told, many still do. But I decided to do it for a few reasons… 1. I wanted to be unreasonable. I felt like the most successful people I followed did things that most other people feel is unreasonable. I actually talk about that here. 2. I wanted to provide value. I know most people will not be able to read these posts every day. But when they want to read, or when they need a boost, I want to have new content. 3. I wanted to see if I could do it. I love goals that stretch me. And from a content perspective, creating something new every day excited me! These were the reasons I started. But I have discovered some interesting truths along the way. Here are the reasons I am still excited to keep going. 1. It’s working. From an audience perspective, the traffic continues to grow. Content marketing is a long term game. 2. I want to see if I can maintain it. At this point, I have posted well over 100 days in a row. That’s exciting! Will I break the streak? I might. But not today. 3. I keep coming up with new ideas. That’s one of the big concerns, right? You will run out of ideas. But the opposite has been true for me. Jeff Haden talked to me about this. When you are doing it every day, your brain is constantly looking for things to write about. When you are doing it once a week…not so much. So though there are days when I struggle to come up with something, it’s usually no more than when I was writing twice a month. 4. I feel like I am getting better. The reality is, if you want to be great at nearly anything, you need to put in the work. It’s what Malcom Gladwell called the 10,000 hours rule. So no matter whether you want to get better at sales, content, fitness, or cooking, the secret is…there is no secret. You need to keep putting in the work. You need to keep it up day after day. You need to keep going after other people stop. That’s the secret. The great news is, it’s completely in your control. The better news is, it’s probably not as hard as you think…if you just start…and keep going. Make sure you never miss an update! It’s time to sign up for our VIP newsletter! Why? Simple. We are posting a lot of content. Once a week we send you an email to recap it all in one place. Sign up here.
