Collaboration + Creativity = Innovation

By Bray J. Brockbank

In today's rapidly changing world, entrepreneurs and executives must create a "culture of innovation" that increases performance and output throughout the organization. Too often, this creation process of cultural innovation starts with a poorly defined and communicated message, leaving middle-management to divide the message, process, and implementation.

Rediscovery begins from the top of the organization down. For innovation to be an integral part of an organization, the tone must emanate from the top of the organization down. Innovation must be reflected in human performance, systems, processes and technology.

Innovation is the most critical -- and most often overlooked element for sustained organizational success in the New Economy. The New Economy is really an economy of innovation. Only innovators forge ahead, for innovation is essential for economic survival in the New Economy.

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR INNOVATION

Innovation is one of the most fundamental challenges businesses face today. Innovation requires selecting the best ideas, people, and resources to create new products, services, business systems and practices -- then using them to stay ahead of the competition through successful and sustainable cultural innovation.

Entrepreneurs and executives must know what innovation really is, how to create it, and how to sustain it. Innovation is many things, including: applied creativity, adaptive response, proactive performance, empowerment, and visionary thinking.

Applied creativity. An organization must not only think creatively, but be able to apply creativity. Creativity without application is useless to the organization.

Adaptive response. Adaptive organizations generate insights for new products, services, and processes. This requires redefining the organization and revolutionizing "what is " to conform to the vision of "what should be."

Proactive performance. The New Economy is built on "speed, innovation, and adaptability." An organizations' success depends on its human performance. Proactively developing innovative ways to raise organizational performance is the responsibility of the organizational leadership.

Empowerment. Knowledge workers are no longer content with just performing work, they want to be empowered to get things done. Centralization of power will no longer work. Today, power and authority must be delegated, distributed and handed down throughout the organization.

Visionary thinking. Entrepreneurs and executives should be chief innovation officers. As chief innovation officers they create new methodologies for organizational innovation, developing new products, services, platforms and business ventures.

DRIVE CHANGE AND INNOVATION

For innovation to be possible, change must be possible. Change must be embraced and present. I see five fundamental steps necessary for driving organizational change and innovation:

First, visionary leadership. Change is almost always resisted, ignored, rejected, or resented by those forced to confront it. Visionary leaders understand "change-resistant environments" and focus on creating "change-adept environments", where employees embrace change.

Second, people-centric. Organizational performance is the summation of individual performances. Change without fundamental, people-centric focus and process will fail. The organization needs to buy-in to the change through an understanding and acceptance of the motivation behind the change.

Third, understanding abilities and proficiencies. Visionary leaders must understand their organization and its human capital abilities and inabilities. Constraints in achieving objectives must be accepted and improved upon. Without the right human capital in place, change and innovation will fail.

Fourth, collaboration. Organizations need to embrace collaborative technologies. As organizations become more organic, diverse, and geographical, technology will bring people, systems, and resources together. Emerging technologies such as e-Learning, learning management systems (LMS), customer relationship management (CRM), knowledge management (KM), and web-based technologies allow organizations the ability to collaborate across the world. These management systems support facilitation for exchanging best practices, knowledge, customer information, real-time access to experts within the organization, training and development, customized marketing information, and collaborative work environments for project teams.

Fifth, open technology mind-set. Technologies must be fully integrated to create a complete organizational solution. Modular in concept and practice - where all the modules, components, or systems communicate and work together - without dependencies on each other. This allows unrestricted addition and removal of components as the organization grows. Adopted technologies must have the capacity to work with new or emerging technologies yet to be marketed or conceptualized. Entrepreneurs and executives need to be champions of this approach, to manage change at scale and speed -- technological advances must be embraced and adopted.

POINT OF CONTACT

Today, interaction between customers and organizations is more complex, customers are more demanding, sophisticated, and difficult to retain. To succeed in this environment, innovation must be present at point of contact.

Organizations must:

1. Focus on optimal performance to meet ever-growing and changing customer expectations.

2. Understand the customer wants and needs; past, present, and future.

3. Manage new and traditional points of customer contact.

4. Recognize and serve best customers.

By understanding the four principles, innovative organizations find ways to use customer knowledge now and in the future.

COLLABORATION + CREATIVITY = INNOVATION

The focal point for successful businesses in the 21st century will be a continuum that begins with the creation of new ideas -- creativity - culminating through the application of new ideas, processes, products, and services that create value for the organization -- innovation.

An organization must be able to gather, share, and use knowledge about its customers, market, suppliers, and partners. Through this process the organization ensures that new innovative products and services will be designed to meet customer and market needs. This is accomplished through effective collaboration across disparate disciplines and departments, such as sales, marketing, R&D, engineering, QA, and design.

This requires a methodology, a culture, and a system for sharing ideas and capturing best practices from design through development. It ensures that the organization has the expertise, knowledge, and resources it needs to assess business problems and opportunities as they occur.

Unfortunately, most organizations do not operate in a collaborative environment, but rather operate in isolation, where each department is compartmentalized and segregated from the other. Consequently, smothering new ideas and creativity.

In an over-crowded marketplace, the capacity to innovate gives organizations the competitive edge that differentiates them from their competitors. For organizations to remain in a continuous state of innovation, a perpetual free-flow of ideas is necessary.

Organizations need to rediscover the wealth of creative potential and knowledge within their own workforce. Rediscovery begins from the top of the organization down.

In the future, the management of ideas will be the mantra; executives will orchestrate by creating opportunities for organizational collaboration, creativity, and innovation. Only the innovative will prevail.

CREATIVITY

A student organization may be able to survive on the same old ideas, projects, events and programs, however, one needs an influx of new ideas to excel. All of us have the capacity to be creative. Here are some suggestions that may help you rediscover your creative self.

EXPLORE AND DISCOVER RESOURCES YOU CAN USE TO CREATE NEW IDEAS

Ø Give Yourself a Whack on the Side of the Head - Break out of habitual thought patterns. Jolt your routine.
Ø Look Somewhere Else - Venture off the beaten path. You can't see the good ideas behind you by looking twice as hard at what's in front of you.
Ø Borrow Ideas - Remember, there is no such thing as a totally new idea.
Ø Find the Second Right Answer - The best way to get a good idea is to get lots of ideas. Don't stop with the first right answer you find, look for others.
Ø See the Big Picture - What are the larger implications of your ideas? How does it fit into the big picture?
Ø Expect the Unexpected - Often what we're looking for leads us to something much different. Columbus was looking for India.
Ø See! Hear! Taste! Feel! Smell! - Pay attention to a wide variety of different information. What other senses can you use to develop your ideas?
Ø Listen to Your Dreams - How can you relate a recent dream to a current problem?
Ø Look to Nature - Bell invented the telephone by imitating the ear. What patterns and cycles in nature can you use to develop your ideas?
Ø Look to the Past - What ideas from history can you apply to a current project or idea? What were you doing ten years ago that might be useful to you now?
Ø Hear the Knock of Opportunity - Where do you hear opportunity knocking? How can you answer it?
Ø See the Obvious - What are you overlooking? What resources and solutions are right in front of you?

TRANSFORM YOUR RESOURCES INTO NEW IDEAS
Ø Use Your Imagination-How can you keep the artist in you alive?
Ø Think Something Different- The first person who looked at sawdust thought compressed fire logs did this. What different ways can you think about your ideas?
Ø Do Something to It- Transform your ideas. Break the rules. What creative things can you do to your ideas?
Ø Ask “What If?”- What off beat “what if” questions can you ask about your concept? Such questions will stretch your thinking and lead to new ideas.
Ø Be Wacky- Being wacky stimulates your creative juices. What wacky things can you do to your idea?
Ø Break The Rules- Challenge the rules and try a different approach.
Ø Make Your Own Rules- What new rules can you make up for your idea?
Ø Combine Ideas- Gutenberg combined a wine press with a coin punch to create the printing press. What different ideas can you combine?
Ø Think Like A Kid- What would a five year old see if he were looking at your project?
Ø Pause For A Bit- What problem are you working on that would benefit from a pause?

EVALUATE YOUR IDEA AND DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH IT
Ø See the Positive- When you judge new ideas, focus initially on their positive and interesting features. This will counteract a natural and negative bias, and enable you to develop more ideas.
Ø Sense What’s Out of Whack- Be critical and sense what’s out of whack with the idea. Why won’t it work? What is it lacking? What doesn’t feel right about the idea?
Ø Ask A Fool- Break the group think environment by having someone dislodge assumptions and allow you to see things more clearly. What would a fool say about the idea?
Ø Check Your Timing- Is the timing right for the idea?
Ø Slay a Scared Crow- Many riles outlive the purpose for which they were intended. What rule, policy or way of thinking has been successful in the past, but may be limiting you now?
Ø Loosen Up- What can you take less seriously?
Ø Listen to That Hunch- What hunches do you have about your idea?
Ø Flex Your Risk Muscle- Don’t be afraid to try new things.
Ø Slay a Dragon- Where does fear hold you back?
Ø Don’t Fall in Love With Ideas- If you fall in love with an idea, you won’t see the merits of alternative approaches. What part of your idea are you in love with? Kiss it goodbye!
Ø Avoid Arrogance- A little humility can help you steer clear of disaster. Where does ego adversely affect your performance?
Ø Trust Yourself- What the world really needs to know is what kind of ideas are in your head. What ideas do you have waiting for expression?

IMPLEMENTING YOUR IDEAS
Ø Fight for It- Be a warrior. What are you willing to do to put your idea into action?
Ø Map Out Your Plans- Can you visualize yourself reaching an objective?
Ø Take a Whack at It- Start now. Go for it. What are five ways you can take a whack at your idea?
Ø Be Dissatisfied- Dissatisfaction can be the prod you need to spot potential problems and opportunities.
Ø Put a Lion in Your Heart- What gives you the courage to act on your ideas? What puts a lion in your heart?
Ø Get Support- It’s much easier to be creative if your environment both supports and expects new ideas.
Ø Get Rid of Excuses- What three factors will make it difficult for you to reach your objective? How can you get rid of these excuses?
Ø Have Something at Stake- Survival, self-esteem, money, reputation, whatever- have something at stake so that you’ll be motivated to make your idea successful.
Ø Give Yourself a Kick in The Seat of Your Pants- Don’t wait for your idea to happen. What are three things you can do to reach your goal?
Ø Expect Resistance- What resistance do you expect to your idea? How can you overcome this?
Ø Sell, Sell, Sell- How can you make your idea more attractive to other people?
Ø Assign a Deadline- What tight deadline can you give yourself?
Ø Be Persistent- How persistent are you?
Ø Learn From Mistakes- Edison knew 1,800 ways not to build a lightbulb.

Adapted from A Whack on the Side of the Head, A Kick in the Seat of the Pants, and Creative Whack Pack, by Roger von Oech. Roger von Oech’s books are available in the Leadership Library in the Student Activities Office, Memorial Union 360.

10 Steps to boost your creativity

by Jeffrey Baumgartner
Johann Sebastian Bach
1.
Listen to music by Johann Sebastian Bach. If Bach doesn't make you more creative, you should probably see your doctor - or your brain surgeon if you are also troubled by headaches, hallucinations or strange urges in the middle of the night.

2.

Brainstorm. If properly carried out, brainstorming can help you not only come up with sacks full of new ideas, but can help you decide which is best. Click here for more information on brainstorming.

3.

Always carry a small notebook and a pen or pencil around with you. That way, if you are struck by an idea, you can quickly note it down. Upon rereading your notes, you may discover about 90% of your ideas are daft. Don't worry, that's normal. What's important are the 10% that are brilliant.

4.

If you're stuck for an idea, open a dictionary, randomly select a word and then try to formulate ideas incorporating this word. You'd be surprised how well this works. The concept is based on a simple but little known truth: freedom inhibits creativity. There are nothing like restrictions to get you thinking.

5.

Define your problem. Grab a sheet of paper, electronic notebook, computer or whatever you use to make notes, and define your problem in detail. You'll probably find ideas positively spewing out once you've done this.

6.

If you can't think, go for a walk. A change of atmosphere is good for you and gentle exercise helps shake up the brain cells.

7.

Don't watch TV. Experiments performed by the JPB Creative Laboratory show that watching TV causes your brain to slowly trickle out your ears and/or nose. It's not pretty, but it happens.

8.

Don't do drugs. People on drugs think they are creative. To everyone else, they seem like people on drugs.

9.

Read as much as you can about everything possible. Books exercise your brain, provide inspiration and fill you with information that allows you to make creative connections easily.

10.

Exercise your brain. Brains, like bodies, need exercise to keep fit. If you don't exercise your brain, it will get flabby and useless. Exercise your brain by reading a lot (see above), talking to clever people and disagreeing with people - arguing can be a terrific way to give your brain cells a workout. But note, arguing about politics or film directors is good for you; bickering over who should clean the dishes is not.

from: http://www.jpb.com/

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http://www.creativitypool.com/

Culture of Pakistan

Pakistan has a rich and unique cultural heritage, and has actively preserved its
established traditions throughout history. Many cultural practices and monuments
have been inherited from the rule of Mughal emperors.The rich traditions of
Pakistan before it was subjugated by Mughuls no more exist in the
country.
Pakistani society is largely multilingual and multicultural.
Religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life in
society. Education is highly regarded by members of every socio-economic
stratum. The traditional family values are highly respected and considered
sacred, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system, owing
to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family
system. Past few decades have seen emergence of a middle class in cities such as
Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Faislabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Gujarat,
Attobabad, Multan, etc. The North-western part of Pakistan, bordering with
Afghanistan, is highly conservative and dominated by regional tribal customs
dating back to hundreds of years.

Roots
Pakistan has a very rich cultural and traditional background going back to Indus Valley Civilization, 2800 BC–1800 BC. The region that is now Pakistan has in the past been invaded and occupied by many different peoples, including Greeks, White Huns, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and various Eurasian groups. There are differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially where pre-Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices.
The pleasures of Pakistan are ancient: Buddhist monuments, Hindu temples, Palaces and Monuments built by Emperors, tombs, pleasure grounds and Anglo-Mogul mansions - some in a state of dereliction which makes their former grandeur more emphatic. Scuplture is dominated by Graeco-Buddhist friezes, and crafts by ceramics, jewellery, silk goods and engraved woodwork and metalwork.


Film and television
Traditionally, the government-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) has been the dominant media player in Pakistan. However past decade has seen emergence of several private TV channels (news , entertainment) such as the GEO TV and the ARY channel. Traditionally the bulk of TV shows have been plays or soap operas---some of them critically acclaimed. Various American, European, Asian and Indian TV channels and movies are available to a majority of the population via Cable TV.
Pakistani music is represented by a wide variety of forms. It ranges from traditional styles (such as Qawwali) to more modern forms that try to fuse traditional Pakistani music with western music. A famous Pakistani musician, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is internationally renowned for creating a form of music which synchronized Qawwali with western music. Popular forms of music also prevail, the most notable being Film music. In addition to this are the diverse traditions of folk music
An indigenous movie industry exists in Pakistan, and is known as Lollywood as it is based in Lahore, producing over forty feature-length films a year. In contrast, Indian movies are popular in Pakistan despite a ban on the screening of Hindi films since the Indo- Pakistan War 1965.


Sexual conservatism & cultural taboos
Pakistanis are highly spiritual people. The translation of Pakistan's name meaning land of the pure, implies spiritual purity. And one of the pillars of this spiritual purity is sexual purity, which over time, has become a part of the Pakistani sense of national identity.
Sexual purity does not imply not having sex —- in fact, both Pakistani men and women are highly sexual people who engage frequently in sex —- rather it only implies a complete avoidance of pre or extra marital sex and sexually deviant behaviour.This does not mean that pre-marital sex is absent in the country, indeed it has been noted by various NGO's that the Pakistani youth is sexually active.
The roots of this spirituality are based on the Islamic faith, which prescribes strict sexual conservatism, especially when compared to the west. Therefore, the following norms of a western society are usually strict cultural taboos in Pakistan:
Public displays of affection, even by married couples. This however varies from place to place.
Wearing of bikinis at the beach, or at a public swimming pool, where men might be present (although women do wear bikinis at women only private club swimming pools. Once again there is great varience here.
Consumption of alcoholic beverages. (Having alcohol in public is illeagal. But wine shops, especially in Karachi and the Sindh province, operate freely. However, there are not many bars. Pakistan does have a few notable companies making local alcohol beverages out of which beer made by Murree Bewries, is the most popular).
Some strict cultural taboos in the west, are the norm in Pakistan, such as:
The staying of children in their parents' house after a certain age. In Pakistan, the girl child is supposed to go away any time between around age 18 to age 25, to her new home after marriage. But the boys are there always - acting as the parents' social security, since there is no government run official 'social security' that is administered.
The boys stay with their parents all their lives (at least one of the sons does) and take care of them in their old age. This being the reason for the commonly strong desire in Pakistani parents to have sons as compared to daughters. In fact, if a young man moves out of his parents' family home and gets a place of his own, the move is usually considered highly offensive and insulting to the parents. It therefore, only rarely happens, especially if the son is an only child or an only son.


Adherence to monogamy
Contrary to popular belief, although the law of Islam and Pakistani law allow Muslim men to have up to four wives under certain strict conditions, monogamy is in reality the norm in the vast majority of Pakistan. It is highly unusual for a Muslim Pakistani man to have more than one wife, and in most cases, if he does, society usually ostracizes him.


Globalization
Increasing globalization has increased the influence of "Western culture" in Pakistan. Pakistan ranks 46th in the world on the Kearney/FP Globalization index [http:/.com/issue_marapr_2004/countrydetail.php]. Many Western restaurant chains have established themselves in Pakistan, and are found in the major cities.
A large Pakistani diaspora exists in the West. Whereas Pakistanis in the United States, Canada and Australia tend to be professionals, the majority of them in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Scandinavian nations comes from a rural background and belongs to the working class. A large number of Pakistani expatriates are also living in the Middle East. These emigrants and their children influence Pakistan culturally and economically, keeping close ties with their roots by travelling to Pakistan and especially by returning or investing there.


Sports
The most popular sport, followed religiously in Pakistan, is cricket. Pakistan has historically produced several multi-talented players who have been among the best batsmen and bowlers in the world. Almost every district and neighborhood in Pakistan has its cricket team and most people start playing from a young age. Pakistan has won several important international cricket events, including the pinnacle of cricket, the World Cup in 1992.
Hockey is also among the popular sport in Pakistan. Pakistan has won the gold medal at the Olympics and the Hockey World Cup a few times.
Squash is another sport that has a large following. Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan are considered legends of the sport and have won several World Squash Championships and other tournaments.
Football or Soccer is played in Pakistan as well, though mostly on a local level.
Polo is believed to have originated in the Northern parts of Pakistan, and continues to be an important sport there with large competitions throughout the year.
Tennis is also very popular and Pakistanis compete in various international events.
Athletics Pakistanis compete in various athletic events including Swimming.
Other popular sports followed on TV include Formula-One motor racing, Basketball (NBA), Rugby, Table-Tennis, Chess, Badminton.


Mercantile culture
Pakistan's service sector accounts for 53% of the country's GDP. Wholesale and retail trade is 30% of this sector. Shopping is a popular pastime for many Pakistanis, especially among the well-to-do and the thirty-million strong middle class. The cities of Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Quetta are especially known for the great contrast in shopping experiences - from burgeoning bazaars to modern multi-story shopping malls. In particular, Lahore and Karachi are peppered with colourful shopping plazas.


Food
Pakistani food is good and similar that of northern India, with a dollop of Persian, Turkish and Middle Eastern influence thrown in for good measure. This means menus peppered with baked and deep-fried breads (roti, chapattis, puri, halwa and nan), vegetables, meat curries, lentil mush (dhal), spicy spinach, cabbage, peas and rice, and of course that staple of hippies, the sturdy Hunza pie. Street snacks are popular in cities - samosas and tikkas (spiced and barbecued beef, mutton or chicken) - are delicious, while a range of desserts will satisfy any sweet tooth. The most common sweet is barfi (it pays to overlook the name), which is made of dried milk solids and comes in a variety of flavours. Though Pakistan is officially 'dry', it does brew its own beer and spirits which can be bought (as well as imported alcohol) from designated bars and hotels.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Market Positioning

by Jan Welborn-Nichols


An article provided by Jan Welborn-Nichols, 734-429-2267, Market Arts, Ann Arbor, MI, a provider of marketing services for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Falling in love! As entrepreneurs, we do it every day. Our passionate belief in, and commitment to, our product (or service) makes all things seem possible. The most successful entrepreneurs learn to transform their passion into position.
Positioning is a perceptual location. It's where your product or service fits into the marketplace. Effective positioning puts you first in line in the minds of potential customers.
As individuals, we continually position ourselves. The responsible older sibling, the class clown, a number cruncher, a super genius are all examples of positioning. These identifiers help us define ourselves and distinguish our abilities as unique and different from other people.
Positioning is a powerful tool that allows you to create an image. And image is the outward representation of being who you want to be, doing what you want to do, and having what you want to have. Positioning yourself can lead to personal fulfillment. Being positioned by someone else restricts your choices and limits your opportunities.
That's why it's so important for entrepreneurs to transform their passion into a market position. If you don't define your product or service, a competitor will do it for you. Your position in the market place evolves from the defining characteristics of your product. The primary elements of positioning are:

Pricing. Is your product a luxury item, somewhere in the middle, or cheap, cheap, cheap.

Quality. Total quality is a much used and abused phrase. But is your product well produced? What controls are in place to assure consistency? Do you back your quality claim with customer-friendly guarantees, warranties, and return policies?

Service. Do you offer the added value of customer service and support? Is your product customized and personalized?

Distribution. How do customers obtain your product? The channel or distribution is part of positioning.

Packaging. Packaging makes a strong statement. Make sure it's delivering the message you intend.

Positioning is your competitive strategy. What's the one thing you do best? What's unique about your product or service? Identify your strongest strength and use it to position your product. The product Nyquil was conceived as a superior daytime cough suppressant. Unfortunately, it made people drowsy. Determined to recoup product development costs, the side affect of drowsiness was then transformed into a powerful positioning strategy. Nyquil became "the night time, coughing, sniffling, sneezing so you can rest" medicine. Nyquil created and owned the nighttime cold remedy market. As the Baptist minister of my childhood would say at the conclusion of a lengthy sermon, "I've said all that to say this". Positioning, when used effectively, can help you be first in the mind. Being first in mind equals ownership. Market ownership allows you to be a big fish in a small pond. When you're a big fish, you can always increase the size of the pond.

From : The Marketing Resource Center

Making it Easier for Customers to Buy From You

Position your organization in the market to achieve your business objectives.
By M. Michelle Poskaitis, CEO, Originations Marketing LLC

Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, is famous for admitting, “I am the world’s worst salesman,” and his resulting business philosophy “therefore, I must make it easy for people to buy.” Making it easier for customers to buy from you starts with sound marketing strategies—the logic you use to position your organization in the market and achieve your business objectives.
Here is a five-step, relational thinking exercise to get your wheels turning. This exercise focuses your attention on those aspects of your business that most need to be addressed with marketing strategies. Consider the questions indicated under each step.

Step 1. Identify Broad Strategic Goals
What are the organization’s broad strategic goals as outlined in the strategic plan?
What general marketing approach does the organization intend to take this year to meet its strategic goals?

Typically, strategic marketing goals fall into one of four categories:
Market penetration: This approach focuses marketing initiatives on gaining and retaining a greater share of existing targeted markets (i.e., we aim to get and keep relationships with more customers like our current customers).
Product development: This focuses the organization on developing more products or services to sell to existing target audiences (i.e., we want to fulfill a broader range of our customers’ wants or needs in new ways).
Market development: You focus on selling existing products or services to brand new target markets (i.e., let’s figure out who else wants or needs our products or services and form a relationship with them).
Diversification: A combined approach, marketing initiatives focus simultaneously on new target markets and more products whereby existing, modified, and new products are sold in existing and new markets at the same time. (For example, let’s form and keep relationships with our primary target audience, find new and different targets to build relationships with, sell our existing products or services to both, and invent new products or services for both.)

Step 2. Use Strengths to Neutralize Threats
What strengths does our organization possess that neutralize threats from competitors and market dynamics?

Step 3. Build on Strengths to Leverage Opportunities
What strengths does our organization possess that can help us take advantage of our opportunities?

Step 4. Overcome Weaknesses That Aggravate Threats
How can the organization improve those weak spots that would help a threat from our competitors or the market to actualize?

Step 5. Choose Offense or Defense
Will a good “offense” or good “defense” help us use our strengths to neutralize threats, build on strengths to leverage opportunities, and overcome weaknesses that aggravate threats?
As in sports, in marketing there are offensive and defensive strategies. Developing offensive marketing strategies requires you to anticipate and take action accordingly. For example, you foresee customer wants and needs (via market research) and then develop an offensive customer strategy to adjust products or services to meet those needs before or better than competitors. Or you know (via market research) how potential customers think, feel, and experience the organization and then design an offensive communication strategy to build awareness of the mission, clarify any misperceptions, and engender loyalty.
Defensive marketing strategies are reactive in nature—typically in response to competitor activities or market dynamics. For example, you design a defensive cost strategy of incentives (lower sales prices, discounts, buy one, get one free) to attract customers away from competitors. Or, you utilize new or expanded marketing channels to increase the customer’s opportunity to buy from your organization versus competitors as a defensive convenience strategy.

Sample Marketing Strategies
Be sure the priority of your marketing strategies tracks with the expense priorities in your marketing budget. The following are common strategic approaches to consider as you develop appropriate marketing strategies for your organization’s unique situation:
Target a specific market segment where your competitor is weak.
Challenge the market leader in multiple ways simultaneously to erode competition and thereby capture market share.

• Follow the market leader to minimize risk while maintaining market share.
  Stimulate customers to stay loyal, try products and services, and purchase more via incentives.
• Bypass competition by diversifying products and services.
• Adapt domestic activities for international markets.
• Identify and strengthen your weaknesses with targeted market segments.
• Anticipate competitor attacks and position yourself to prevent, delay, or minimize any negative impact.
• Build awareness and loyalty by promotion of image and mission.
• Expand or diversify marketing channels.
• Partner with competitors to cross-market noncompeting products and services.

Google takes ad sales to print

By Elinor Mills and Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Google is expanding its lucrative Internet advertising network into the print world in a bold attempt to capture traditional ad dollars.

The search king, which makes 99 percent of its revenue from Internet ads, is quietly testing the waters of print advertising sales, according to executives at several companies that have bought the ads. Google recently began buying ad pages in technology magazines, including PC Magazine and Maximum PC, and reselling those pages--cut into quarters or fifths--to small advertisers that already belong to its online ad network, dubbed AdWords.

"We were approached by Google two and a half months ago, telling us that they were starting this print advertising campaign," Michael Keen, president of Inksite, one of the five advertisers in PC Magazine, said Monday. "Because we had been one of their AdWords advertisers, they thought we would be a good candidate to try their new advertising" effort.

The experiment, as it is described by the companies buying the ads, is Google's latest foray into display advertising and another big step toward becoming a one-stop shop for ad sales, whether online or offline. The trial also marks the first time the company has ventured offline with any of its products, according to industry watchers.

What's new:
Google is quietly testing the print ad market in an attempt to capture traditional advertising dollars. The search giant recently began buying ad pages in technology magazines, including PC Magazine and Maximum PC, and reselling those pages.
Bottom line:
The move is another significant step for Google toward becoming a one-stop shop for ad sales--whether online or offline. The trial also marks the first time the company has ventured offline with any of its products, according to industry watchers.

"Google's been working to add more oomph to its creative for a while. Clearly they have a desire to offer more to advertisers than just a text link," said Tim Hanlon, senior vice president of emerging contacts at ad agency Publicis Groupe.

The print ads also expand Google's efforts to become a middleman for advertisers and publishers.

"Google has shown that big media companies don't have to be part of the mix at all," Hanlon said. "People can just get the content and ads directly from an uber-intermediary. That's caught a lot of traditional ad types off guard."

Inksite, which sells printer ink and toner, paid about $1,000 for a one-quarter page ad in the Sept. 6 issue of PC Magazine, Keen said. By comparison, a text ad in search results for "printer toner" might cost as much as $2.25 per click.

The issue has a full page of Google-facilitated ads with the URL of an online version of the page at the top. Fine text also appears at the top saying "Ads by Google," and "Google advertisers offer these products and services" at the bottom. However, there is no Google logo.


Over the last four years, Google has established itself as the kingpin of online advertising, largely through its sales of tiny search-related ads.

Google's "cost per click" system was built on selling keyword ads to the highest bidder and letting marketers pay only when Web surfers click on tiny text links. It was introduced in early 2002. By also syndicating those ads to third-party Web sites and publishers, Google struck gold, and its revenue climbed to more than $3 billion last year.

Two years later, in an effort to find new sales and avoid an eventual slowdown in the booming search ads business, Google started selling display ads.

Yet the latest move toward the print ad business has some financial analysts frowning.

"I would be surprised and somewhat disappointed if they were to spend a lot of money and resources on a print advertising unit," said Safa Rashtchy, senior Internet analyst at Piper Jaffray. "My guess is it is just an experiment."

"Google has shown that big media companies don't have to be part of the mix at all."
--Tim Hanlon, senior vice president, Publicis
Other industry watchers saw an upside in the move, given that search ad sales could eventually peak.

"All the big talk today is how the inventory available for PPC (pay per click) ads is shrinking each day," Barry Schwartz, editor of Search Engine Roundtable, wrote in an e-mail. "So it does make sense for Google to look for ways to increase that inventory."


Gartner analyst Allen Weiner noted that Google and Yahoo had approached shopper magazines in Europe about similar ads. "Hey, if these companies want to evolve to become full-service ad agencies, I think they'll be looking at print opportunities," Weiner said.

Despite mixed reactions from Google watchers, some online marketers said they are excited about the potential.

Bill Adler, chief executive of security software company CyberScrub, another of the Google advertisers in PC Magazine, said print ads are a welcome alternative to pay-for-click, which "tends to be somewhat up and down as far as effectiveness, for any number of reasons."

"I think this will give us an opportunity to showcase our products to a different audience and reinforce our branding," Adler said.

AHS Systems, a maker of Web-based content management software, paid $4,000 to $5,000 for its ad to appear in PC Magazine for two months, compared with the $3,000 that a typical ad that size would likely cost in the magazine for one month, said AHS Systems President Jeff Witkowski.


"It's a lot of exposure for cheap," he said, adding that Google is "doing a ton of tracking on this. They're using their own 1-800 numbers on this, and it forwards to our line." The Internet addresses of the online versions of the ads also redirect traffic through Google servers.


Maximum PC's Oct. 5 edition also has a full page of Google ads. In addition, Inksite's Keen said Google ads were running in Mac Addict, but none could easily be found in the edition that went on sale last week. Keen suggested that Google may be experimenting with the idea of being an online advertising broker like Adauction.com.

Calls to PC Magazine and Maximum PC were not returned. Google declined to comment. (Google representatives have instituted a policy of not talking with CNET News.com reporters until July 2006 in response to privacy issues raised by a previous story.)

"I think Google might be able to bring the same benefits to small advertisers where it is too cost-prohibitive to get into," Keen said. "This is certainly a departure from what they've been doing, but it's certainly a good thing for the industry."

Yahoo IM users get more than they bargained for

By Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

If you're one of the tens of millions of Yahoo users asked to upgrade your instant-messaging software this week, be on your toes: The update can open the door to unwanted PC houseguests--and setting changes--by default.

The newest free version of Yahoo Instant Messenger (YIM) boasts advanced Internet phone calling in a upgrade that comes "highly recommended" by Yahoo. By clicking "yes" to the update, a user can expect to get a slicker YIM interface with buttons to quickly chat, blog, swap photos or call someone online. It even has new smiley icons.

Those changes are what many might expect. What they may not expect are all the other tools they get when not paying attention.

By accepting Yahoo's "typical" installation of YIM with Voice, it will also download Yahoo's Search Toolbar with anti-spyware and anti-pop-up software, desktop and system tray shortcuts, as well as Yahoo Extras, which will insert Yahoo links into the Internet Explorer browser. The IM client also contains "live words," which will automatically show an icon when the user highlights words online and then hyperlink to Yahoo search results, definitions or translation tools. Finally, the installation will alter the users' home page and auto-search functions to point to Yahoo by default.

To avoid these changes, users must actively choose the "custom" installation and uncheck five boxes.

Yahoo spokeswoman Terrell Karlsten said that for avid Yahoo users, the included services are valuable and highlight the integration among all its tools.

"By setting it that way we're giving people choices. For people who want to download software in one fell swoop, they have that option. If they don't want it we give them the ability to customize it," Karlsten said.

Battle for the desktop
Privacy advocates called Yahoo's install tactics disappointing, yet part of a long history of guerrilla marketing among Internet companies promoting free software. Ray Everett-Church, a principal at privacy consultancy PrivacyClue, said in this case that Yahoo was going further than it ever had before.

"This is the first instance where you actually must go and do a custom install to control them from installing other software," Everett-Church said. "Most folks go to the default install and are not expecting to get a whole suite of unasked-for software. That's where the sneaky factor comes in."

Yahoo isn't the only company employing aggressive means to promote their applications and services, nor is it the first. Big companies including MSN and America Online and smaller firms like RealNetworks and Claria have long taken the opportunity to push other tools or features when users install their software.

The tactics are so common that people often forget about the technological battle being fought for control of their PC, in which Internet companies play offense and defense when it comes to changing preferences for home pages, e-mail, multimedia players and default Web searches.

"The hidden check boxes during installation are a common practice for companies trying to further extend their reach onto your computer desktop," Everett-Church said. "Companies have a responsibility to very clearly indicate what is being installed during that process and give a clear opportunity to reject software."

In this case, the YIM software triggers a miniature battle with other software makers. If people accept Yahoo's default home page and search settings and then want to set them back, Microsoft's IE contains an option under its "Tools" menu to "Reset Web settings." That selection, however, will not necessarily restore personalized settings. Rather, it will point people to Microsoft IE default settings, including the MSN home page and auto-search features.

Yahoo is persistent, however. If people set back their auto-search settings to MSN or Google, for example, Yahoo will send a pop-up message asking users if they would like to change it yet again to Yahoo Search.

Previous Next The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company has been testing the new version of YIM with advanced Net phone service since May and released it in early August. This week, it began pushing out a "recommended upgrade" notice to U.S. users, Karlsten said. It has included default home page and search changes since May 2004, when it released YIM 6.0.

Yahoo Messenger with Voice also includes shortcuts to IM from the desktop and system tray. The Yahoo Extras software will specifically add links into IE that point people to Yahoo services like e-mail and shopping. The "custom" installation of the software will let people opt not to receive the toolbar, shortcuts and extras.

Yahoo could be counting on the fact that most people won't care or notice the changes.

"There are a ridiculously high number of people who never budge off the default," Everett-Church said.