A good work environment starts at the top.

Earn the respect of your staff by employing some simple workplace strategies. The following are thoughts for business leaders to consider in their own work environments.

#1 Protect your people.
Your people need to feel (and know) that you have their back. Understanding that the ultimate goal is to create an efficient and profitable work place, protect your staff from things that waste their time or create unnecessary situations. Doing this shows your employees the quality of their work environment is a priority to you. This, in turn, should translate to a more committed and productive employee.

#2 Lose the jerk.
There is no well-planned, efficient and effective workplace environment that can’t be ruined by one negative attitude. It can ruin morale and productivity and, in turn, profitability. Negative attitudes are contagious and can bleed from one person to the next. It can infect the working environment of people at all levels of your business. A good boss not only inspires his people, but he also eliminates the negative influence in his work environment.

#3 Learn to shut up.
You need to be in tune with your staff. Plant the seed and watch it grow – without regularly digging it up to check on its progress. Giving people ownership and empowering them shows that you respect them. It will yield better work that reflects the level of commitment your staff has to the business.

#4 Somebody is watching.
Be aware that you are being observed. The vastness of a leader’s responsibilities can sometimes cause him/her to lose touch with the emotional sensitivity of employees. Realize your performance is always being judged. This may not be important to some people, but it is relevant to how your business operates overall and your ability to encourage your staff to willingly follow your leadership.

#5 Be fair.
If you are creating a productive environment that encourages people to have constructive ideas that exist in an atmosphere of mutual respect, open yourself up for criticism. The final say is always yours, but you should have the courage to be questioned. However, once all is resolved, everyone should strive to move forward and focus on the future. We should all rise and fall together.

These are exercises I personally try to implement regularly. And, although I may waiver from them at times, it’s good to remember that the core of our potential to succeed as a team comes from these principals.

The people you have in place must be the people you need to have in place. The relationship a business leader has with staff is always intimate and personal. Common sense dictates that it be treated with the sensitivity it deserves.

Quiz: What's Your Leadership Style?

Alex Raffi serves as Creative Director/Partner for Imagine Marketing.
Contact Alex at araffi@imnv.com

Big rewards gained via small marketing changes

Sometimes small changes in your business model can reap big rewards. Take Little Caesars Pizza Hot-N-Ready Pizzas. For those who haven’t tried them, Hot-N-Ready Pizzas live up to their name. Just bop into a Little Caesars anytime and you’ll see a stack of medium cheese and pepperoni pizzas for five bucks each. No ordering, no waiting. The entire transaction takes about a minute.

Maybe once a month, my wife will ask me to pick up a Hot-N-Ready pizza on the way home. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you consider that we never ordered from Little Caesars before, I’m sure it makes a difference. Especially when you multiply it by the tens of thousands of new customers they’ve developed through this one simple innovation.

Now nobody’s claiming that Little Caesars makes the best pizzas in the world. They’re just okay. But sometimes okay is good enough, especially when they fulfill the promise of the Hot-N-Ready name for a fair price. Notice they didn’t name them “Hot-N-Delicious.” That would have been a stretch. I believe the name is an essential ingredient (along with cheese, tomato sauce and a darned good warming table).

Speaking of good names (and good ideas), have you heard of a company called “Throx?” The word is a combination of “three” and “sox,” which is exactly the way they bundle their products. The tagline is “Socks with a Spare.” Creative packaging solves the pesky problem of lost or holey socks, something we’ve all faced (usually at the most inopportune times). As they say in those Guinness commercials, “Brilliant!” I’m sure their competitors are kicking themselves for not thinking of it first.

What’s the one change you can make in your business? Take a long weekend to think about it. Schedule a company-wide brainstorm session. Maybe the answer is right under your nose. Or on your feet.

Brian Rouff serves as managing partner for Imagine Marketing.
Contact Brian at brouff@imnv.com

Evaluating your marketing firm

As a marketing professional, I’m always under close scrutiny. Operating in a subjective and, many times, seemingly intangible industry, how can I not be? As someone who is on the “frontline” of working together with our firm’s clientele, I’m also the one who needs to showcase our team’s talent, ability and, more importantly, results. For marketing firms that are not as confident and results-driven as ours is, this can be difficult to do.

Most professionals know and value the power of marketing. However, valuing it alone is not enough. As a business person, you make an investment in your marketing firm partners in order to produce results. So what should you be asking yourself when it comes to your marketing firm?

Consider the following when evaluating the effectiveness of your marketing firm:

Did you and your marketing firm establish expectations and/or a baseline of desired results at the start of your working relationship?

• Have those goals been met?
• If not, what can be attributed to not reaching those goals?
• Was it the lack of support from your marketing firm?
• Did you change the focus of your business and, thereby, your marketing efforts to another area?

Has your marketing firm taken the time to really understand your business, your market, your products/services as well as your short-term and long-term business goals?

• Do they ask you the tough questions and provide you with feedback on areas your business may need to develop?
• Do you have access to more than one person at your firm to ensure you receive the highest quality of workmanship and responsiveness to your needs?
• Trust your gut. Does your marketing firm feel like a business partner to you or an outside vendor?

You have short-term and long-term business goals in sight. Has your marketing firm provided you with a short-term and long-term marketing plan to correspond with your vision?

Marketing can help transform your company. But, beware of consultants and firms who misrepresent themselves as the experts. In an industry that has no barrier to entry, our world is littered with marketing pros who promise services but cannot deliver the goods.

Take caution in your selection and review process and take the time to align yourself, and your business, with the right marketing partner.

Amber Stidham serves as director of strategic planning for Imagine Marketing.
Contact Amber at astidham@imnv.com

Hallmark marketing campaign loves each one of “us”

Over the years, I’ve commonly heard Valentine’s Day called a “Hallmark holiday,” meant to sell cards, flowers, candy and dust-collecting stuffed animals. However, this year, Hallmark released a campaign I can get behind. In fact, I actually wish they had expanded on it.

The essence of the campaign is, instead of saying “I love you,” say “I love us.” By saying that, you acknowledge what you’ve been through, how far you’ve come and where you’re going. The tag line is “Life is a special occasion.”

Where I think they could have expanded this idea is in the word “us.” To me, “us” can include family, friends, work family, customers, Facebook friends or random people on the street. It can be as intimate as a couple and as broad as the human race. Loving “us” can mean whatever you want it to mean. It’s not for just couples, it’s for everyone.

In the hustle and bustle (and lately, there’s been plenty of that going around), sometimes it’s difficult to stop and smell the roses. Read an email instead of skim it. Ask someone how they are doing and wait for the answer. Holidays, even “Hallmark” ones, are good bookmarks and reminders to stop and do these things not only with clients but co-workers, spouses, family and friends, too.

Now, there’s no need to set up a kissing booth for clients or take the office out to lunch, but when you’re in the business of making customers happy, a holiday – no matter the occasion – is a good time to stop and share the love, so to speak, and a good excuse to reach out and say “hello” to a client who has been out of touch for awhile. It may cure the most cynical Valentine’s Day haters when they realize at the heart of the holiday, it’s all about love. Love for your customers, appreciation for your co-workers as well as giving recognition of jobs well done and progress reached.

So, to say that I was impressed with Hallmark’s campaign is accurate, even if I took it to the next level in my own head. As the Beatles said, “Love is all you need.”

Tiffannie Bond is the media relations specialist for Imagine Marketing.
Contact Tiffannie at tbond@imnv.com