FRESHviews
Forgive? Forget?
Not likely.
PAUL AND SARAH EDWARDS:
LIFESTYLES FOR THE MILLENNIUM
“WITH BOSSES WE trust, we lower our
guard and raise our expectations of positive
outcomes. We may go the extra mile and let go
of irritations or disappointments.”
So says Wisconsin Costco member Jill
Geisler, head of the Poynter Institute’s leader-
ship and management programs, and author of
Work Happy: What Great Bosses Know (Center
Street, 2012). But, as Geisler points out, “trust
isn’t a gift; it is an earned benefit. Bosses have to
work for it and never take it for granted.”
She offers the following tips for bosses
to remember.
MARY ANN HALPIN PHOTOGRAPHY
Paul and Sarah
Edwards (www.
elmstreetecon
omy.com) are
the authors of
17 print books,
and have a new
BarChart entitled
Social Media
Marketing.
Employees never forget
My boss apologized to me when he or she
was in the wrong. When a powerful person
apologizes, the payback is credibility—
provided the mea culpa is specific and sincere.
My boss responded to a truly boneheaded
error of mine with remarkable wisdom. When
employees do the occasional dumb things—
not life-threatening or criminal, just stupid
and rare—great bosses don’t ignore or avenge
mistakes, they help people learn from them.
My boss responded to something personal and important to me—a joy or tragedy—with empathy and encouragement.
Weddings, funerals, childbirth—those are the
obvious ones. But the right response when
employees win awards or get new certifications, when their children or partners experience success, when their parents get sick or
pets get lost, can make a lasting impression.
Web videos
catch biz
the second-most-used search engine.
In a video the owner or an employee
can speak directly to viewers, providing a
direct contact with potential customers and
building trust and credibility. Videos can also
be used to relate to existing customers and
provide ongoing customer service. They
allow you to give training and step-by-step
instructions and/or demonstrations on how
to use your product, answer common
customer questions, offer testimonials and
promote what you have coming up next.
USING WEB VIDEOS will bring attention to
your website, to your social media posts and
to your email. Having a website with
prominently displayed videos doubles the
amount of time visitors stay, according to
Maureen McCabe, a video consultant in
Toronto, increasing the click-throughs on a
site by as much as a factor of 10. That
increases sales leads and means converting
more of them into actual business.
The advantages
Only one in 10 small businesses uses
video, according to a 2012 SMB Group U.S.
survey. Using video will likely give you an
edge over your competitors.
The cost of making videos is dropping,
while their quality and the ease of making
them are improving.
Social media sites for displaying videos
are growing in popularity. You Tube is now
Some tips
Make and upload your own promotional
clips with low-cost cameras, a webcam or a
smartphone. Use a script for your talking
points or make your video a conversation.
You can use your computer as a teleprompter, using software such as MirrorScript Pro
3. 2, a free teleprompter program. Free tools
such as Animoto and Overstream can help
you edit and distribute your videos.
Ask for responses in your videos, and
respond quickly to comments and questions.
Place your video prominently on your
home page in a way that people’s eyes will
be drawn to it. If you have a blog, supplement blog entries with a You Tube video.
Slow-streaming video frustrates viewers
and causes many to exit. Accelerate your
video’s streaming performance with services
like SPEEDbit Video Accelerator and freeseer.
People will circulate a video they like,
making video marketing a powerful means
to promote your company and products
through word of mouth. C
N
K
S
A
R
S
I
A
U
R
H
C
10 ;e Costco Connection DECEMBER 2012
Employees never forgive
My boss lies. For employees, falsehoods
take many forms. There’s the basic, provable
untruth. But there are also promises that
aren’t kept, apparent inconsistencies in
words and actions, and inflated, then
dashed, expectations.
My boss takes credit for the staff’s work or
ideas. Great bosses never miss an opportunity
to get their employees’ good work on the radar
screen of the organization and aren’t intimidated when staff members look like heroes.
My boss is one person around the troops
and another person in the company of his/
her superiors. Employees want to know that
bosses are conveying the same messages
upward that they do to the troops, advocating for them, shining a light on things that
matter, representing the team and not just
themselves. C
More in archives
On Costco.com, enter
“Connection.”At Online Edition,
search “Paul and Sarah Edwards.”
Tablet or smartphone?
Watch a short video from Paul &
Sarah Edwards on the digital
newsstand version of The
Connection.
Improving your “Face” time
SOCIAL MEDIA can help promote your business. However, certain missteps can have an
adverse effect. In the case of Facebook, for
instance, business writer Courtney Rubin says
in an American Express OPEN Forum article,
“Your Facebook cover photo is the very first
thing customers and potential customers see.”
She offers these tips to make your cover image
work for you.
• Cover images with faces attract more
attention than those without.
• Be sure the photo is not too busy.
Feature an image that relates not only to
your product or service but also to your cus-
tomers. You should show some personality,
but the photo should also make clear what
your brand is.
