Print vs. Virtual - Lessons from Magazines

Ad Age provides a guide to more magazines that have gone the way of the Dodo bird. On a consumer level, reviewing the list made me kind of sad - as I subscribed to many of Conde Nast publications over the years. As a professional though - I understand that if a product isn’t generating revenue it either needs to be repositioned or pulled. I wonder if some of these publications had done a better job of building their presence on the web (such as Oprah’s magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Real Simple, etc. has done) if they could have sustained the essence of the product reformulated to “web only” even as their print publication went away?

For those who rely on printed brochures and have written this line-item expense into their 2010 budgets - perhaps you should reconsider. Why not phase-out the printed materials to the degree that it is reasonable and create virtual/digital brochures? In what ways could you save trees, money and enhance your brand by building your presence virtually and without print?

Tags: Ad Age, Branding, Conde Nast, magazines, Marketing, print vs. virtual, virtual magazines

How Your Workspace Can Influence Productivity, Creativity & Motivation

After reading this article, I rearranged my office.  Thought you might be interested in some simple secrets to improve productivity, creativity and motivation in the workplace, whether that’s a home office or an office away from home.

Click here for the link.

Tags: creativity, Feng Shui, motivation, productivity, workspace

A Sense of Belonging Builds Morale . . .

I read a good article that talks about how to retain morale even in the face of cutbacks.  The bottom-line?  Stimulating assignments - AND - working with great colleagues.  It’s worth a read:

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/4972

In Praise of the Hardest Working People in Property Management

I don’t envy the front line team members at our apartment communities right now.  The dismal economic conditions have made life extremely difficult for these associates in so many ways.  High unemployment rates have lead to a shrinking renter pool, higher vacancy, negative rent growth, and competitive concessions.  The pressure on our on-site teams to achieve their budgeted occupancy and revenue goals is tremendous. Read more…

Tags: property management

The Bottom Line & Beyond

Companies like Chipotle, Google, Whole Foods and Starbucks have linked their socially responsible attributes to their brands and corporate missions. It’s true that socially responsible companies have been known to outperform companies that don’t engage stakeholders, from shareholders and customers to employees and activists. It has been proven that customers and clients prefer to do business with companies that are taking active steps to reduce their environmental impact. Read more…

Tags: Go Green

If You Build It, They Will Come.

No, we’re not talking about the Field of Dreams. Although with the season coming to an end and the wild card race on, it is tempting to talk baseball. After all, we are located in San Francisco and we are Giants fans. However, we’re really referring to “fans” of a different sort. Many of you have a Facebook fan page set up to attract customers and followers. If you are like most, once you have a fan page you find yourself asking “Now what do I do with it?” Read more…

Tags: FaceBook, Social Media, Twitter

5 Ways To Manage Customer Loyalty

I found this fascinating quote today:

Managers are typically taught to things that can be easily quantified and reported on a balance sheet. Stop for a moment to answer this fundamental question: “What is the purpose of any business?” On the face of it, this question seems pretty easy to answer. Most managers would answer: “To make a profit.” But that’s the wrong answer. Profits are an outcome. They only tell us if our business strategy and execution are viable. Peter Drucker, widely considered the father of modern management, argued that the common belief that creating profits was purpose of a business was not only wrong, but harmful. It causes us to make bad business decisions Read more…

Tags: business, business strategy, customer loyatly, customer satisfaction, Peter Drucker

The Bottom Line & Beyond

Companies like Chipotle, Google, Whole Foods and Starbucks have linked their socially responsible attributes to their brands and corporate missions. It’s true that socially responsible companies have been known to outperform companies that don’t engage stakeholders, from shareholders and customers to employees and activists. It has been proven that customers and clients prefer to do business with companies that are taking active steps to reduce their environmental impact.

If that is not enough to compel you to consider taking a greener approach to doing business, check out these startling facts and our list of 25 simple ways to green up. Going green might be easier than you think.

Read more…

Discover True North Urges Multifamily Firms Not to Miss the Chance at a $100K Extreme Corporate Makeover

Most Deserving Multifamily Firm Will Receive a Corporate Makeover

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – June 16, 2009 – Discover True North, in association with its Alliance Partners, some of the finest service companies in America, have launched the $100K Extreme Corporate Makeover, in which the most deserving multifamily firm will receive a corporate makeover including creative, training, consulting and performance improvement services valued at $100,000 from DTN and its Alliance Partners. Some of DTN’s Alliance Partners include Brook Furniture Rental, Inc., Carter Design Group, Fast Signs, Grace Hill, Green Up Today, Howitz-Dunn, and Vendout.com.

“We’ve heard impressive accounts of companies that continue to demonstrate strong values in these tough economic times, whether its keeping customer service at the forefront of business, developing work cultures that align performance with their corporate values and professionals, who, while cutting back on expenses, have not sacrificed excellence.” says Deb Bronson-McGrath, CEO of Discover True North.

“We hope to inspire people and showcase worthwhile endeavors from company teams that have been feeling low as a result of the economy. It will hopefully be fun and produce refreshing boosts in morale,” says Giovanni Cruz, Senior VP of Creative Services.

“The winning company will receive an entire refreshment of their brand,” says Sam Cabebe, Director of New Media. “This includes a new or refined logo, new website, key brand messages, customer loyalty program, an interactive training class, leadership retreat, customer service benchmarking, public relations, employee performance benchmarking, and a design makeover of the corporate office greeting area and much, much more!”

A variety of other personal, community, and corporate improvement opportunities will be incorporated into the program; one of the most outstanding initiatives is led by Multifamilypro. They recently launched a best-of-breed mentoring program that taps the expertise of seasoned mentors and pairs them with mentees industry-wide. Details of this exciting “give-back” program are available at www.howitzdunnmanagement.com.

Veronica Dickerson, COO shares additional details, “The 100K Extreme Corporate Makeover event closes at midnight on December 1, 2009. Semifinalists and the winner will be announced in January 2010 by an Advisory Board made up of multifamily experts and executives. Whether your firm has cut back on expenses without cutting back on excellence, they are sustaining an outstanding motivational culture for their employees, they are conducting business in a socially responsible fashion, or exhibiting merit in some other way, we want to hear about it and get your company the accolades they deserve.”

Nomination forms are available at www.100KRefresh.com. Additional information on the program can be found on DTN’s blog, newsletters, through Multifamily Insiders, www.howitzdunnmanagement.com, through other DTN Alliance Partners and members of the advisory board, as well as on the DTN Facebook page and Twitter.

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ABOUT DISCOVER TRUE NORTH: As an agency and business development rainmaker, Discover True North, LLC provides cutting-edge creative, consulting and training solutions to the multifamily industry. The company is made up of seasoned professionals who are passionate about helping organizations create systematic change that improves employee satisfaction, performance and the bottom line. From branding, public relations, logo, website and interactive kiosk design to building Virtual Corporate Universities and on-line interactive courseware, providing training workshops, seminars and leadership retreats, Discover True North is known for delivering high-caliber results while helping companies move beyond average to extraordinary.

Media Contact: Deb Bronson-McGrath

Chief Executive Officer

Discover True North, LLC

One Market Street, Spear Tower

Suite 3600

Tel: (888) 878-6674

Tel: (415) 640-5097

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Tags: "100K Extreme Corporate Makeover, Brook Furniture Rental, Carter Design Group, Discover True North, Fast Signs, Grace Hill, Green Up Today, Howitz-Dunn, Multifamily, Vendout.com

5 Steps to Evaluate the Leaders in Your Organization

In recessionary times, you find yourself analyzing your employees to the Nth degree. All of a sudden, that customer service manager you never had problems with seems to be folding under pressure, that sales director doesn’t understand that she can’t just wait for people to walk through the door and doesn’t it all come back to the manager?

Isn’t it true that we find ourselves far more frustrated that we have been tolerating a mediocre employee, or worse, carrying the dead weight of an employee when we are faced with the challenges brought on by an economic downturn?

Today, more than ever, it is imperative that you have the right leaders in place within your organization, not only to survive but to thrive in all of the doom and gloom in the marketplace. The right leaders know what it takes to keep employees motivated when they feel like throwing their hands up in surrender to the challenge of earning customer loyalty and gaining new business. The right leaders know how to develop a strategic plan, cast a compelling vision and then coach, train and support their employees as they set out to execute a business plan.

Here are 5 steps to evaluate the quality of leadership in your organization. Read more…

Tags: Discover True North, Employee Performance, Leadership, Recession, Recessionary Times