Welcome to the Leader’s Blog, the official blog of John and Amanda Fildes, where ideas on innovation, exceptional experiences, competitive differentiation, and business management are shared.
Posted: January 6, 2010 | John Fildes
It is never surprising to see Mozilla leading the pack in innovating customer’s online interfacing.
And although it is exciting to read that an innovative leader like Mozilla is leading the task of creating the single preferred location where people access their various digital information, we are about to see the same challenge the company is working on solving resurface among the market of single preferred digital information locations. In other words, as Mozilla progresses this opportunity, so does Microsoft, Google, and a whole host of new product creators. So although this is good news for advancing R&D for the customer’s need for a single inbox for all their various digital communications, the news of Mozilla Raindrop confirms organizations must continue to navigate the fragmented world of digital marketing for the time being. The news also indicates organizations will need to consider and deliver against more proprietary technical considerations for deliverability and to display across these new third party consolidated communication applications like Mozilla Raindrop.
On the bright side, Raindrop’s features may also present the opportunity for organizations to embrace the application’s power of sorting and prioritizing communications to strengthen connections with customers. Organizations will be able to work toward gaining the privilege of having their communication part of the customers accepted or high priority messaging – opening up the opportunity to further build loyalty and separate the brand from the competition.
Read the Article | Browse More Articles like This One in Our Publications Section
| Permalink
Posted: January 6, 2010 | Amanda Fildes
CNN describes Finland as one of the most wired countries in the world with over 95% of the population having an internet connection. So why would the Finnish government take steps to make broadband Internet access a legal right?
Having broadband access in all areas of Finland – regardless of whether you reside in a city or rural area – can create efficiencies for public service agencies. Finnish government could use the Internet to push out public service announcements to all areas of the country during an emergency or natural disaster. Additionally, broadband can improve access to information that was previously limited to people in rural areas.
Expanding broadband also creates opportunities for businesses to expand their online capabilities and services to broaden Finland’s economic opportunities.
As broadband becomes the norm we will all be better connected. Finland could just be the beginning of a trend because the United Nations shares this view and is taking strides to make Internet access a citizen’s right.
Read the Article | Browse More Articles like This One in Our Publications Section
| Permalink
Posted: January 6, 2010 | John Fildes
38 percent of LinkedIn users pull in $100,000+ per year.
23 percent of Facebook users earn $100,000+ per year.
What do those numbers tell us? In the business-to-business world it means traction continues to grow for social media amongst senior leadership. This can be attributed to the fact that more senior executives are embracing social networking – partially the result of younger executives entering leadership teams and leapfrogging social media into relevancy amongst their peers.
LinkedIn is no longer perceived as an online rolodex – today LinkedIn members are using the tool as a vast business networking opportunity – connecting with former colleagues, using peer networks to gain references for services and people, and participating in interactive peer groups – in turn providing business leaders access to a wealth of shared knowledge and thought leadership. Facebook continues to grow in popularity, although many senior business leaders tend to prefer LinkedIn as the clear business network leader. However, Facebook’s popularity and continued growth still command consideration in an organization’s digital marketing strategy.
The bottom line is that integrating LinkedIn and Facebook with your brand’s broader social media objectives has become a requirement for any business-to-business peer community.
Read the Article | Browse More Articles like This One in Our Publications Section
| Permalink
Posted: January 6, 2010 | Amanda Fildes
This Knowledge@Wharton article stood out to me because it mirrors conversations I have with clients and colleagues every day. Wharton’s “Future of Advertising Project” focuses on advertising but the concept is the same across all areas of marketing – how will new media channels fit into our go-to-market strategy?
With such a rapidly changing landscape people can find it difficult to keep up. Companies range between wanting to ignore all emerging channels and stick with their tried and true methods to wanting to adopt every new medium that they read about. The answer – as you might expect – lies somewhere in between.
The process for evaluating a new media channel shouldn’t differ significantly from your processes for evaluating “old” media channels. Does the new media channel reach your target audience? What is the cost/benefit analysis of adopting the new channel? Does uptake of the new channel improve the perception of your brand?
I have participated in this process with several of my clients over the years and have found that by fitting new media channels into your marketing “big picture” you’ll find the landscape much easier to navigate.
Read the Article | Browse More Articles like This One in Our Publications Section
| Permalink
