BusinessCast Podcast

Seth Godin and the Art of Marketing

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:45:22 +0000

Seth Godin is probably best known for being the father of “permission marketing”. But, he’s also the World’s most renown marketing “thinker”. His books are international best sellers and senior marketers from across every industry flock to listen to his provocative analysis, insights and predictions. In BusinessCast episode #144, we caught up with Seth at the Art of Marketing conference in Toronto.

As the chosen podcast media guest and sponsor, we also gathered key insights from the event’s other leading speakers/authors, Max Lenderman and Frances Cole Jones.

If you missed out on the Art of Marketing event, watch out for the eMetrics Summit — touring the World’s major centers. The conference remains the gold standard for helping entrepreneurs get a handle on measuring the business value of the Internet’s many platforms (e.g. websites, email, social media and podcasts) and popular tools (e.g. Twitter, YouTube, etc.).

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The Mitch Joel Interview

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:42:35 +0000

Mitch Joel is a successful entrepreneur, international author and social media guru. In BusinessCast episode #143, Mitch shares the story behind his success and longevity as well as his rare approach for helping business leaders succeed at leveraging social media tools and strategies.

A reminder of upcoming (Toronto) events critical for all business leaders:

The Art of Marketing (March, 2010). Note: BusinessCast guest Mitch Joel is speaking at this conference.
Emetrics Marketing Optimization Summit (April, 2010)

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Choosing the Right Buyer

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:14:10 +0000

You’re being courted by a handful of companies that want to purchase your business. Wow! That’s an exciting scenario that many entrepreneurs strive for and consider essential validation that they’ve been successful.

But, the truth is that rather than being an easy destination in itself, this is a critical cross-roads that takes a great deal of determination, patience and focus. The countless number of issues that you need to address include:

How do you choose between potential buyers?
Is this the right time to sell?
What’s your role going to be once the purchase is complete?
What are your key measures of a success?
When should you walk away from the deal?
Who should you involve in the selling process?
What are the likely surprises that you’ll face?

To get the answers to these questions in BusinessCast #142, we interview Chris Carder, President of Thindata 1:1 — one of North America’s leaders in multi-channel and database-driven marketing solutions.

In March of 2008, Transcontinental purchased the company that Chris and his partners built. So, in BusinessCast #142 Chris provides practical hands-on insights and candidly shares his pre-purchase concerns and post-purchase lessons. This is essential listening for any entrepreneur who ever thinks about selling their company.

*A reminder of upcoming (Toronto) events critical for all business leaders:

The Art of Marketing (March, 2010)
Emetrics Marketing Optimization Summit (April, 2010)

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The Boss’s Survival Guide

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:42:51 +0000

In BusinessCast episode #141, internationally renowned business author Bob Rosner sits down with Robert and me to share insights from his updated best seller, “The Boss’s Survival Guide“. Always presented with a great sense of humour, Bob’s advice ranges from the contentious to the sublime.

But, whatever type of business you are leading, chances are you’ll find at least one practical business nugget that you can begin implementing tomorrow in BusinessCast episode #141.

*Reminder of upcoming (Toronto) events critical for all business leaders:

The Art of Marketing (March, 2010)
Emetrics Marketing Optimization Summit (April, 2010)

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A New Breed of Entrepreneur

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:35:05 +0000

Entrepreneurs are evolving — successfully adopting new business models, new technologies and finding new ways of penetrating markets. That’s why in BusinessCast #140, Robert and I sat down with Jessica Herrin, Founder and CEO of Stella & Dot. Jessica is a successful serial entrepreneur perhaps best known for building and growing The Wedding Channel.

Well, Jessica’s entrepreneurial acumen is back in full force with Stella & Dot — a wildly successful direct sales business that has grown quickly and profitably by anyone’s definition. In practical terms that means she’s seen her workforce grow to over 5000 engaged, committed and enthusiastic members (called “Stylists”) in under three years! Much of this success is because Stella & Dot has tapped into, and enabled, a new breed of entrepreneur.

Then we spoke to one Toronto-based “Stylist” to get the inside scoop into this new breed of entrepreneur. The findings are inspiring for any business leader and manager!

Listen to BusinessCast #140 and you’ll learn some of the keys to Stella & Dot’s rapid success. Then, visit Stella & Dot as well as the website of our guest stylist to see how Stella & Dot actively uses social media and web technologies to support their growing workforce.

Finally, using the latest Internet technologies and tools is a critical part of Stella & Dot. But, if you’re like most entrepreneurs, you need to get a handle on some key online metrics before truly optimizing your online/social media efforts. In just a few weeks, many of North America’s leaders in “e-metrics” will gather in Toronto to share their insights and stories for entrepreneurs at the Emetrics Summit. Robert and I will be there as accredited members of the media. Let us know if you plan to attend and we’ll meet up.

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Managing the Numbers

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:34:14 +0000

“FINANCIAL NUMBERS“. Even the mention of the phrase can frustrate the most intrepid entrepreneur. The sheer abundance and sources of critical financially-relevant data in (and around a) business is often difficult to identify, never mind interpret. But, entrepreneurs need to acquire some dexterity in financial numbers to be successful. So where do you begin? After all, you’re running your business, looking for growth opportunities, putting out fires, establishing strategic partnerships and constantly updating your business strategies.

That’s where our special guest comes in for BusinessCast episode #139. Intuit’s senior marketer Barb Anderson provides insight on the first step of successfully working with financial data: managing the numbers. Barb taps into a wide community of growth-focused companies of all shapes, sizes, ages and industries. She shares very practical tips on how to get a handle on your financial data so that you can make better and faster decisions.

Complimenting Barb’s insights on how to manage the numbers, check out BusinessCast episode #98 — Financial Intelligence — where we interview the author of the book for quickly getting comfortable with interpreting financial data. Together, these two episodes give you insights and resources that will increase your financial skills and confidence.

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Ensuring Client Retention

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:55:14 +0000

Customer acquisition — it’s often considered a strong indicator of a company’s growth and success. After all, securing new customers/clients gets considerable glamor and fanfare. However, while it is essential to initiate, plan for and track efforts targeted at bringing on new customers, it can’t be done without understanding the critical (and dependent) relationship it has with your efforts to retain your existing customers.

That’s why for BusinessCast #138 — Ensuring Client Retention — Robert and I sat down with Benjamin McAlister, Vice President of Account Management at Thindata 1:1. Benjamin shares with us the “nuts ‘n’ bolts” of keeping customers — and keeping them wanting more of your products/services. That means we cover topics including short- and long-term steps as well as key metrics — beyond customer turnover rates — that can help you quickly identify/reduce the risk of customers abandoning you for your competitors.

Another useful resource: A previous BusinessCast guest and leading entrepreneur, Thindata 1:1’s President, Chris Carder has a powerfully focused list, that works in tandem with Benjamin’s approach, to help ensure your customer retention is optimized.

If you are in a competitive industry, listen to BusinessCast #138 — Ensuring Client Retention and you’ll get some practical steps that will see your top line grow — even without acquiring new customers.

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Leaders, Managers and Challenges

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:28:26 +0000

For the last 10 years, John Turley-Ewart has contributed to and edited the Financial Post — making him one of Canada’s most respected business and political commentators.

So, for BusinessCast episode #137, Robert and I sit down with John to discuss some of today’s most pressing issues facing business executives — as well as the essential skills that business executives need to ensure their success.

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Social Media – Part 5

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:51:40 +0000

Social media remains an important topic for leaders/managers of growth companies. That’s what you, our listeners are telling us. And, that’s exactly what the research says too. While we’ve covered social media from several angles in previous episodes, in BusinessCast #136, we sit down with the founders of Biz Launch — known country-wide as the trainers for new businesses — who have recently conducted “state-of-the-nation” research on social media.

Listen to BusinessCast #136 and you’ll get some practical tips that you can use tomorrow to begin or hone your social media strategy. At the same time, you’ll also get a sense of where most companies like yours are today — as far as their social media plans, initiatives and successes.

Also check out the following BusinessCast episodes that focus on social media:

#130 – Choosing the Right Social Media Tools – Robert and I speak with social media guru Michael Seaton. He shares with us the social media essentials for all entrepreneurs.

#104 – Leveraging LinkedIn - Robert and I chat with Doyle Slayton on how to cost-effectively leverage the Internet’s most popular online social networking tool. See this episode’s blogpost for useful LinkedIn-related links.

#101 – Leveraging the Groundswell - Robert and I talk with Charlene Li, co-author of the Groundswell – which has become the ‘Bible’ for many social media marketers — about how entrepreneurs can effectively leverage social media.

#64 – Blogging for Business - Robert and I get practical advice for new and experienced bloggers from Matthew Vernhout — a digital media veteran and an up-and-coming social media maven.

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Getting On Board

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:18:08 +0000

Have you ever wondered how you can effectively tap into advisory boards? After all, they are powerful sources of business, networks and more importantly, practical strategic and operational advice.

That’s why for BusinessCast #135 – Getting On Board – Robert and I sit down with a dynamic entrepreneur who has sat on several advisory boards as well as been a recipient of advisory boards’ important insights.

Our guest, Greig Clark is founder of the nationally successful company, College Pro Painters. Greig answers questions from two key perspectives: (i) from the board member perspective; and (ii) from the perspective of an entrepreneur seeking advice and support.

Greg shares his rare experiences by addressing several critical questions head-on, including:

What benefits can you expect from working with an advisory board?
What criteria can you use when choosing advisory board members?
When have you outgrown your advisory board?
What benefits can you achieve by being an advisory board member?
What challenges will you face as an advisory board member?

Listen to BusinessCast #135 – Getting On Board and you’ll know how to get the most from your current and future advisory boards.

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