O MANNY's

Be the person who gets things done. A lot of people have ideas but don’t actually like to do the work. The person who can take an idea and actually make it happen is very valuable. 

Just start. Making things pretty and professional and creating processes will come, but you’ve just got to start somewhere. It’s a real skill to be able to start small and humbly with whatever you’re working on and see a bigger vision for the future.

User research and user testing is key. Talk to customers/users/people to see what they want. This works for usability testing on the website and also for testing out marketing copy.

• The company announced an expansion
• They just laid-off some staff
• The CEO is having an affair
• The business owner is retiring
• A customer just announced a wedding
• Just got funding
• Just acquired a fortune 500 customer.
• Beta testing a top secret idea.
• Core existing product has been improved.
• Announced a restructuring.

 

LinkedIn, facebook, twitter, yelp, search engines, recommendation sites, reviews sites, influencers are a growing importance in the hiring, recruiting, funding, partnership, beauty, intelligence, character, communication, credit rating, background check and even finding love.  

 

So one has to wonder if the people who know how to exploit the system will keep gaining more and crushing others who can`t play? 

Also wonder whether some individuals who don't use good judgment could abuse or misuse these tools inappropriately to decide the fate of others before it even begins.

 

Several examples: Google ranks your site based on algorithm it invented not whether the sites are most likely to meet your specific needs or not. So the fate of your site`s traffic potential is decided. 

The same system applies to Google's Adwords, the highest bidder wins. Scientist came up with a system to measure intelligence, IQ. The fashion industry brainwashed us to think beauty was based on having perfect symmetry and flawless skin.  

Some VC & Angels seem to just be following systematic algorithm that defines what a great early stage start-up looks like. 

According to Naval Ravikant , founder of AngelList. 10000 - 15000 out of 70000 profiles are possibly legit businesses, about 3000 are financeable. 

The startups who get the attention of VC (venture capitalist) or Angels on the AngelList site are based on:

• algorithm screening systems 
• consisting on completion of profile
• social graph filter
• where you went to school
• the number of followers
• team screens. 

It`s basically a spam filter. If you don`t meet the criteria of the system you have little to no chance. It's built from BS? The data is all from the past?

 

In my opinion, life has an algorithm however you get to choose how effective it is. 

Howard Schultz, Starbucks founder, approached 242 people for money. 217 turned him down. I would like to know what algorithm could have discovered Starbucks and predicted it's success.

• Many organization need to revamp their culture to understand and deeply embrace the old & new marketing ways
• Leadership must appreciate marketing as a competitive advantage
• Having or participating in communities that appeal to your targets or has a concentration of marketing talents is a start.  Simply engage them in a conversation, seek their suggestions, and let them get to know you. 
• If your organization doesn't see or respect the importance of marketing or digital marketing you are not going to appreciate the best talent or service providers.
• Can someone with experience in Consumer marketing (B2C) be good at B2B marketing? The answer, maybe. There are some skills and tactics that can be transferred and helpful however because the mind of business owners are a little bit more sophisticated compared to consumers with individual needs might make it trickier but not impossible.
• Good creative talent or marketing service provider  for B2B can be helpful in some environment  and to some extent. Creative can provide a competitive advantage and a great way to differentiate. And in some situation might just be impractical. An automotive plant would likely not use an iPhone to control their machines but might consider a less flashy device. 
• Have any prospective talent or marketing service provider explain to you how your business works, how marketing is currently done. Have  them come up with a quick 1 min game plan as to how they would market the business.  Observe them, listen to what they say & what they ask,  and take notes. Try to see their past work. Know what they are great at and what can be learned.
• Find out which tactics you need or strategy you need and that they have strength in and which they don't. Having multiple strength is very helpful and might save you money. 
• Understand that some prospective talents or marketing service providers might prefer to work short projects only, ongoing basis, some might work close with you and some prefer minimum overview. 
• Evaluate what you might consider a right fit for your business. Large service providers  have their advantages and disadvantages . Small providers also have their advantages and disadvantages.