Maurilio Amorim

Month: January 2013

  • How to Market to Your Multiple Audiences

    Messaging is critical in any marketing campaign. The wrong message to the wrong audience and all you your effort is a miss. No organization has only one audience. Even if your organization has the most homogeneous target audience, say retired male teachers, it might be at different levels of engagement with the organization: some have never heard of it; some have just been exposed to your services; others are members; and you might even have a volunteer force that helps you fulfill your mission. Since budgets are always tight, the temptation is to create materials (brochures, mailers, email blasts, visuals) that communicate to the entire target audience. Unfortunately that seldom works. What to do then?

    marketing campaign target audience strategy

    Identify your stakeholders. Every marketing campaign my company puts together involves a strategic session where we identify the target audience(s) and their level of engagement or commitment. Know who they are, their motivations, and the best way to communicate with them.

    Create a progression flow. From potential member to committed core, there are logical entry points or milestones for every business, ministry, or church. Identify them and decide what it would take to move someone from the outside in. This exercise will help you decide the next level of engagement and what kind of information or type of an “ask” is reasonable to make of people who are in that group. The bigger the “ask” of your organization, the more levels of engagements you should have. If you work for the Peace Corps and your ultimate ask is for someone to give you his or hers best years, that’s a big ask. People will not sign up for two years in Africa because of your cool YouTube video. They might want more information because of the video, however, but that engagement process will take a lot of more effort, and therefore, more intentional communication.

    Develop a communication strategy for each group or phase. Each of your identified target groups should have its own specific communication track. With the continued migration of communication from paper into the digital domain, that is becoming more and more a reality. As a matter of fact, some of your target groups might not respond to letters, print brochures, or direct mail.

    What else would you add to this list?

  • What Should You Stop Doing?

    “Every leader must learn that just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.” That’s what I came up with after the lady asked me to write down my favorite quote. Nothing had come to mind but that statement.


    That was it. Of all the books I’ve read and of all the people I’ve studied, is that THE quote? Come on. But it has stuck with me over the past few weeks since the incident. As I think back in my professional career, I have lived and continue to live that statement. As a matter of fact, the more I’m able to apply it to my life, the more successful I become.

    I remember the first time that I decided to stop fixing the office printer early in my career. Yes, I could do it, but so could someone else and my time was best served elsewhere. It’s not that I’m too important to fix the printer, but for every hour I spend dealing with printer issues, I fail to do the most important things I could do for my company: lead, sell, and inspire.

    I remember the day I stopped designing. I loved to tinker on the computer and come up with very cool graphics. It took me hours, even days to come up with very nice work that I enjoyed, but, that ultimately did not help grow and develop my business.

    The big question then is “what should I do that only I can do for this organization?” Once I understood the answer to that question and began to work in that sweet spot, I saw growth.

    Today I work with people who are much smarter, more sensitive, and more talented than I. But I know that what I do everyday contributes the most to my team. Often I find myself going back to doing the things I’m capable of doing but shouldn’t be doing them. When I do that, everyone loses.

    What should you give up in order for your organization to grow?

  • How to Form a Great Partnership

    Partnerships are important part of business as well as ministry. Great partners can help you grow while a bad one can be the death of a dream. While we can easily form a partnership, it takes a long time to break one apart, sometimes with dire consequences. Here’s what I consider before going into a partnership with an individual or organization.

    partnership success

    Trust. If there’s no trust then you should never, ever go into any kind of partnership. If you get the feeling that the other party is waiting for you to mess up so they can get the upper hand on any situation, run for the hills.

    Respect. Whether it be business or personal, if you don’t respect the leader of an organization, then you shouldn’t create any kind of partnership, no matter how beneficial it looks on the onset. Once, I went to work for a man because I thought I could “bypass” my own lack of respect for him. Big mistake.

    Different skills. Find people and organizations that bring different skills to the partnership. If you bring the same skills to the table, you might not have a partner but a competitor.

    Compromise. No one gets everything they want. That’s just life. If you or your potential partner cannot compromise on the onset, you’re doomed.

    Defining the win. Wins can be vastly different even for people working on the same venture. Don’t assume that your partner’s win is the same as yours. Understand what they value and what they want out of the partnership. Managing expectations is critical in any relationship.

    Exit strategy. Nothing lasts forever. Even the best of friends often grow apart and move on. It’s imperative to have a clear, well-documented exit strategy for both parties. That’s where a good lawyer is worth every penny you pay.

    What else you add or change on this list?

  • Trust and Competence: Leaders Must Have Both to Succeed

    Some people you trust with your life. Some people you know will get the job done. These are two essential qualities that every leader looks for in building their organization. But unless you find both trust and competence in those whom you lead, you don’t have a dynamic team who can grow your business, church, or not-for-profit. As a matter of fact, without trust and competence, the only thing you have is a mess in your hands.

    The trustworthy and yet incompetent is often the first to be hired and the last to be let go. After all, who does not love someone you can trust, someone you know will have your back and whom you do not have to worry about what they are “up to?” However, his inability to perform and deliver will catch up with him and the entire team. Sure, he’s a likeable person, but in business and even in ministry, people expect results. Good will only goes so far and then your entire organization loses credibility.

    The competent and yet not trustworthy is an equal liability. Usually these individuals are highly motivated to succeed. But his personal success and advancement are what matter the most. He is willing to throw his team mates, their boss, and the entire company under the proverbial “bus” in order to save face or advance his career. His primary concern is to take care of number one. Leaders often struggle with firing these start performers because they feel like the individual’s contribution to the organization is worth their selfish behavior. In reality it’s quite the opposite. He is not delivering your product, but his performance.

    Whether we like someone who is loyal but cannot work on the level that benefits the organization or we put up with the untrustworthy because he delivers, we are contributing to a dysfunctional work environment that demoralizes those who are both competent and trustworthy.

    What’s your experience with the trust and competence dynamic? 

     

  • Why Your Next Diet Will Fail

    Chances are you have started a new diet this week. And chances are it will fail.  I recently heard a man describe his failed diet attempt with what he called a “food coach.” His predicament is unfortunately the norm and not the exception.

    diet fail

    After seeing a friend lose close to 40 pounds, this man decided to join the same program and hired his now thinner friend’s nutrition consultant, which he named his food coach. During their first two-hour call he got the marching order on what to do for the first week, including keeping a log of all his caloric intake while using his coach’s advice on what and what not to eat. At the end of week one he had gained 7 lbs.  During the second call, his coached fired him. “Whenever you are ready, you can call me, “ he recounted the conversation to several men as he humorously chronicled his failed attempt at losing weight.

    As I thought about the incident, I know why he couldn’t lose weight. His coach was right, and he was not ready. Unless there’s a motivation tied to a goal, it’s hard for any of us to change a pattern of behavior that has defined us over a period of time.  Why should I say no to warm doughnuts on a Sunday morning? Why should I eat grilled fish when my entire family is eating fettuccine Alfredo with a loaf of bread?

    The answer to those questions will determine your ability to persevere or succumb to the temptation. And the answer might be different to each of one of us. I have some friends who are at risk for heart disease whose answers to these questions have to do more with survival than with vanity. For me, if you ask, my ability to say “no” to a lot of tasty treats has mostly to do with health but a lot of it is pure vanity. Yes, vanity.

    I love the way I feel when I’m not carrying extra weight and I’m able to run faster and get more done during the day, but I also like the way my clothes fit and how I look when I’m at my optimum weight.  I remember looking at a picture of myself 25 pounds heavier and thinking, “that’s it. I’m making a change today.” That was the beginning of a transformation. It happened over a year ago. To date, I’m still on the program.

    Whatever your motivation, you need to see the value in changing your habits and creating an achievable goal or you will, most certainly, not succeed. Hiring a nutritional coach or a personal trainer, and even buying diet pills can only help once you’ve done business with your mind, found your motivation, and set your goal.

    Do you have any health/vanity goals? How are you doing?

  • Choosing Best: When Good Is Not Good Enough

    Sometimes we need to say “no” to a good idea so we can say “yes” to the best idea.  Stephen Covey puts it this way: “It’s easy to say ‘no!’ when there’s a deeper ‘yes!’ burning inside.” While that approach to both business and personal life might make sense, and we see the validity in waiting for the best, that is no easy task for those of us living in our immediate gratification culture. We often sacrifice the best on the crucible of the good. After all, no one was ever penalized for coming up and executing a good idea. But by choosing the good, we forfeit the satisfaction, exhilaration, the mountain-top view of what only the best can provide. So then why do we settle? Here are a few reasons I do it.

    choosing the best

    I don’t know what I want. It’s easy to say yes to a marginally good idea, business, or proposition if I don’t know what I want. If I haven’t thought through an issue or opportunity, then I can go for the good and completely miss the best.

    I’m not willing to pay the price for the best. That’s perhaps the most compelling reason I face when choosing good over best. Whether it’s time, money, patience, or a combination of all of these factors, I’m too often not willing to do what it takes to get the best.

    I’ve settled long enough for the good that the best now seems unattainable. Remember when you were a child and wanted to be an astronaut, a ballerina, a cowboy, or scientist?  But now a series of life choices has brought you into more of a “reality.” The aspirations of childhood have now become the bygone dreams of an adult not rooted in reality.  And the further we live with the good, the more we feel unworthy of the best. Breaking the cycle is virtually impossible and we settle for a lesser good more often.

     How do you feel about this concept? Have you seen it play out in your work or personal life?

  • New Year’s Resolutions Revisited

    Most people who make new year’s resolutions don’t follow through with them. Statistics say only 12% of those do see their resolutions come to fruition.  I say we need a change of perspective. As a marketer, I’m a big fan of re-purposing, re-packaging something that’s still useful but has been rejected by an audience because it’s perceived as no longer relevant. Our current new year’s resolution fits the category well. Maybe we should call it an annual refocusing, but no matter the label, here’s why I think we should stop and think through what we’re doing:

    New Year's Resolution New Perspective

    Make sure you still want to go where the tracks lead you. It’s easy to realize you need a life change during a crisis. If any area of your life, such as your career, marriage, or finances are in deep trouble, you know it’s time for a major overhaul. But what happens when you’re running fast down the tracks and everything is working well, but the train is going somewhere you don’t want to go? Life has a way of subtly changing course on us. If we don’t take inventory periodically of where we are headed, we run the risk of waking up to the dreaded how-did-I-get-here realization.

    Your mind and your heart need alignment. It’s easy to fall for the power of reason. “Job A pays more than job B, so what’s your question?” I remember saying those very words to a friend years ago and causing her to take a job she didn’t want and wasn’t well suited for. It was a disaster. But beyond a job, alignment of reason and passion needs to happen in every area of our lives; otherwise we live either in dread or in an emotional roller coaster.

    Your brain leads you but your body must do the work. If you don’t take care of your body, you’ll shorten your dreams. If you’re too tired, or too sick to travel, move, lead, or play, you’ll cut your life short. I don’t want to waste years of experience, learning, and wisdom playing bingo in a nursing home.

    Make it more than just about you. By its nature, new year’s resolutions have a way of being self serving. After a while there’s only so much “me” focused improvements we can stand. What about resolving to impact others? Consider setting aside more hours this year to volunteer, or even a larger charitable goal for your giving in 2013.

    What new goal have you set this year?