Every city or nonprofit has the ability to create and sell logo merchandise online. But should you? First, ask yourself what the goal of the program is – revenue? increased visibility? both?

Next, go through these questions to see if you are ready to set up your store:

Will you just be selling on-line or will you have retail store locations?
Do you have the resources in-house? (customer relations, IT support, shipping, returns, legal)
Is your Finance department able to accept credit cards?
Will your legal department allow you to sell surplus?
Would an outside vendor make a profit if you outsourced this effort?
Can you partner with your tourism office?

The City of New York has a very robust online store. Here is a copy of their RFP to help you create your own should you choose to outsource your store.

I have been doing research lately about government services and how they will evolve in the future. Traditionally, governments are usually a decade behind the private sector in adopting technology to help solve problems. I started thinking though, what services will I expect as a citizen in the future? I have compiled a list of the top ten technologies that are already available for use – or should be! However, most cities don’t have these services available due to a variety of reasons: the cost, the internal resistance to implementation, the complexity of coordinating various levels of government agencies and the lack of know-how.

1. I want to be able to find information and government documents about me online. I don’t care if it is my water bill or the deed to my house – I want to have access to it inexpensively and quickly online.
2. I want to be able to pay bills online. So far, I can pay for utilities and traffic tickets online but I want to be able to pay for any service that way.
3. I want to have one login for all my government services from the local, state and federal level. This is probably the most worrisome of my requests for the government because of security – but having a global login where I can pay my taxes and at the same time report potholes down the street – well, that’s just efficient.
4. I want to interact with my elected officials and tell them what I think and have them respond to me quickly and personally.
5. I want to be able to report potholes, graffiti, vandalism etc. using my smart phone and then be notified when the problem is corrected.
6. I want to understand what is happening in my government in a way that won’t put me to sleep. Where does the money come from and where does it go? I want that infographic on the front page of every government agency website.
7. I want my government to stop worrying about lawsuits and making knee-jerk reactions every time there is one small problem. And that requires citizens to start exerting some peer pressure about lawsuits. Your friend fell in a park and only mildly sprained their ankle? They should not be filing a lawsuit and you need to tell them that. Likewise, I want my government to use data points to see if there is a real trip and fall problem in that park or if it was a one time occurrence before they ban everyone from running there.
8. I want to be able to watch and participate in government meetings from my home. I want notifications before specific topics are discussed if I have signed up for that service.
9. I want to know what services cost. Why is the administrative fee to pay a ticket online $140 when the ticket is only $20? Where is the managed competition?
10. And finally, I want a real person to answer the phone.

Here is a presentation that I did to help nonprofits learn about successfully selling merchandise online. There are many things to consider in choosing whether it have an outside vendor provide the service or to sell the items yourself. The biggest obstacle is payment and if your agency is ready to accept credit card payments.

In a post by Bill Blantley from GovLoop, he talks about why government employees are slow to embrace social media in the workplace, even if they use it at home. Using ideas from the book The Art of Engagement by Jim Haudan, he explains what prevents government workers from engaging and then how government leaders can work to change that.

The following is an excerpt from his post:

Haudan explains that engagement has four characteristics:
1) Feeling like you are part of something big.
2) A sense of belonging.
3) You are on a meaningful journey.
4) Your contributions will make a significant impact.

Nothing new here. In fact, if these four points are novel to you, then your organization has a severe problem with engagement.

Then Haudon goes on to list six reasons why people feel disengaged:
1) Overwhelmed – You are trying to do your work and deal with the last set of management objectives when they send down another batch.
2) Not Relevant – You don’t understand how this new management objective fits in with your work.
3) Scared – You don’t feel secure enough to question what the new objective means or make learning mistakes while understanding the new objective.
4) Not Seeing the Big Picture – How does this new objective fit in with your agency mission?
5) No Sense of Ownership – Especially common with imposed objectives. If I was not invited to contribute to the initiative and I won’t directly share in the benefits, why should I care?
6) Leader’s Don’t Understand the Reality of My Job – The top leadership has no clue what I do or what I have to work with (technology and resources) while trying to do my job and deal with fellow colleagues and the public. This Gov 2.0 stuff sounds great but it doesn’t help me with my everyday work.

These are very real and important reasons for disengagement. What can leaders do to help people engage in Gov 2.0?

Haudon’s Six Keys to Engagement:
1) Connect through Images and Stories – Don’t try to sell people with the usual text-heavy PowerPoint. The best communicators know that helping people visualize the benefits of a change project will help them see the big picture and how they can fit in. Stories are the best way to help people understand and have been for thousands of years.
2) Creating Pictures Together – Don’t just show-and-tell; involve people in the process of creating the vision. This helps in bringing about the next key:
3) Owning the Solution – People are less likely to resist something that they helped create.
4) Believing in the Leaders – Are the leaders listening to us and answering our questions? Do they actively solicit our ideas and incorporate them into the solution? Are they honest with us in terms of the cost and benefits of the new objective?
5) Seeing the Big Picture – What is the big picture of the new objective and how does my part fit into it? Will I be making a significant contribution?
6) Practicing Before Performing – Let’s do some rehearsals before we make the big change. Can we try some pilot projects first to work out the problems? Will I be allowed to make learning mistakes?

Reference:
Haudan, J. (2008). The art of engagement: Bridging the gap between people and possibilities. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Image from ICanHasCheezburger.com

Everyone is talking about social media, but what is the purpose of investing time in these efforts from a business perspective?

There are several reasons why it makes sense to invest time on-line. Here are three major ones:

1. Learn what customers are saying about your products and services
2. Make relationships with people you want to be your new customers
3. Allow your current customers to fill your sales pipeline based on their advocacy of you

Unfortunately, many people jump into using social media without focusing on these reasons, and end up being the equivalent of a self-absorbed insurance salesperson at a cocktail party – they can start a conversation, but rarely does anyone stick around long enough to hear the ending.

Here are five tips to help you become the most interesting person in the room, combined with five tips on what to avoid saying if you want to be successful in this domain.

Do say something of value. Don’t spend all your time talking about yourself.
This seems easy enough on the surface, but the most common question that I get asked is: what should I say? On Facebook and Twitter, start off by talking about lifestyle choices that would be popular with your customers. So, if you own a pet store, talk about parks where pets can visit off-leash or how to travel with a pet. The worst mistake to make is to just send out message after message about your product or service, without creating a dialogue with other people.

Do listen to others. Don’t act like social media isn’t worth it.
Good social media is listening to what others are saying. Do a Google search on your business name, your industry, your competitors and see what comes to the top. Read the reviews for your business and your competitors on Yelp.
Even if you aren’t ready to jump in and start creating web content, it is a grave mistake to ignore the online community and what they are talking about – because they will talk. You will be in a better position to respond to your customers by spending a small amount of time listening to what they are saying.

Do invest more time talking to a few people. Don’t jump into social media without thinking about your audience and where they can be found.Another question that I am frequently asked is, ‘What’s the ROI on social media?” In my world, we call it Return on Ignoring. That being said, some of the measures that people do track include numbers: how many friends they have for their Facebook Fan Page or how many followers they have on Twitter. When I sit down with a client, I disregard these measures because they mean nothing unless those followers are part of the target demographic and are helping the client to achieve a certain goal.

Usually, if you are a business to business operation, you should be spending your time cultivating contacts on LinkedIn and creating videos and blog posts for a very specific audience. For example, if you sell biotech equipment, you want to have video interviews with the scientists using your products. Likewise, don’t be afraid to write blog posts that are probably far too complex for the average reader – your audience will understand them. Use LinkedIn to build connections with hospital and research facility decision makers on LinkedIn. Your target market may only be several hundred people, but social media can help you connect effectively with them.

Do help promote, support and connect people. Don’t ignore your friends.
If you do something good for someone – they will remember you for that and repay your good deed. You can retweet their information, share it on Facebook and also create partnerships with them when appropriate.
Offering your own free information is critical to creating a loyal following. You can write articles for your blog, create videos or link people to cool things happening in your town. Look at every activity as a potential piece of content.

Do respond to promotion. Don’t keep doing what you have always done and think it will be enough.
Author and businessman Seth Godin talks about taking the traditional sales funnel and turning it on it’s side – so that it becomes a megaphone. You create systems on-line so that your happy customers can tell other people about their experiences and turn your future cold calls into warm calls.

One way to get them writing about you is to offer incentives for customers to write a review on Yelp, LinkedIn or Facebook. Ask people to comment or post photos on your website and Facebook Fan Page. Another way is to hold a contest – everyone loves to compete against others.

The main point is that you don’t have the option to ignore social media. Fifteen years ago, very few businesses had a web page – and now almost all of them have some sort of web presence. According to a recent University of Maryland study, social media adoption by small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% in the last year. The next generation relies heavily on their phones for information – so digital content will be critical to being found by your future customers.

This is part of our technical know-how to get your business noticed on the web. It won’t cost you a red cent to take advantage of Google Maps Local Business Center, and it will help you to go from being invisible on the internet to maybe even being on page one under your key words or phrases – in 24 hours or less. In this video, I show you how to validate your business listing on Google maps. This is the first step to help your business show up when potential customers do a Google search for your key words. The second step is to get your friends to leave reviews about how great your business is – once you have it listed.

Foursquare is a hot new marketing tool that uses cell phones to let your customers tell their friends where they are and help them find out where their friends are hanging out. It also allows them to post reviews, collect points, win prize “badges,” and includes little pop-up coupons that will be the future of how retail business will be found by Gen-Y mobile users.

The more I work with clients, the more I see patterns emerging that can be easily corrected. Let’s take a look at six common ones.

1. No goals. Social Media should be an integrated part of your overall marketing plan. In order for it to succeed, you need to understand your audience and what you want them to do.
2. No measurement. You can’t pay the bills with fans and followers. The best bang for your buck is to engage your current customers at their point of experience with your brand. This builds their loyalty and facilitates great word-of-mouth.
3. No social culture. Do you really want to engage your customers and hear what they have to say? Facilitating relationships with your guests takes time and requires the efforts of someone that knows your business. Every person in your organization should be asking for feedback to make the experience better. Using social media is just a technological way to assist that discussion. The best organizations engage everyone in that process.
4. Nothing to say. This is the most common concern. First and foremost, you don’t talk about yourself non-stop. Stop pushing specials, coupons and discounts to your social media community because you are telling them that they are nothing more than a transaction. Talk about the lifestyle of your clients: if you are a restaurant, what do you guests do before and after they leave you? How about taking a picture and posting the names of your loyal customers? Any special events going on in your community that your guests support?
Every time a guest walks through your door, it’s a day in their life. First date, last date, engagement, divorce, birthday, anniversary, new job, old job, every success or failure is celebrated and if you can add to their level of enjoyment by making a significant difference in their day’s event, you can make an emotional connection that plants the seeds of real loyalty.
5. Trying to be everywhere. The only platforms you need to engage in, are those where your guests are. Which means you have to have a conversation, or use a survey tool at some level, to get a good understanding of where your guests socialize online (and offline!) . Where do they talk with their friends and family? That’s where you need to be, no place else.
6. Forgetting staff. The most important people in your social media efforts are those front-line employees who greet, shake hands, talk to, laugh with, engage with, celebrate with, encourage, and serve every single guest, at every single table, every single day. They know your guests better and they know your business better. They make or break every guest experience. Your guests know them better than they know you. Plus there’s simply more of them. Ignoring the impact that your staff has and can make is insane. Which is why the first people you need to dedicate yourself to are them. Don’t hold them back from being a part of your social media efforts. In fact, insist on it. It should be a criteria for employment. If you have a decent Facebook or Twitter presence as your main social media focus, then allow your staff to post to it. There’s nothing more powerful than a server commenting to a guest on your social media outpost with: “Hey George! Glad to see you visiting our Facebook Fan Page. I wanted to thank you for allowing me the pleasure of taking care of you and Helen when you were in celebrating your 40th anniversary last night. I’ll email you some of the pictures and video we took so you can share it with your family and friends.”

Based on a post by Jeffrey Summers, Pres., RestaurantWorx Consulting
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

There are so many ways to increase the power of your Facebook Fan page. Today, I take a look at creating a custom landing page to welcome your guests to your business.

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

They also have the Spark of Genius Series which is a promotional effort, and the real reason to sign up. Each week day they will cover a promising new startup (posting on Mashable), as part of the series. Each post showcases a promising new software company, and finds the unique feature that separates it from the competition. Full list of coverage can be found on on the “Spark of Genius” channel. If you think your company matches up with what they want – then be sure and give it a try and sign up!