If we do not create our reality, it will create us. Living is all about making conscious choices, and not living on auto pilot mode

Secret of success = be ready for your opportunity when it comes and as some friends have commented, and when opportunity knocks, don’t complain about the noise!

Some thoughts on Networking, Social Media in Financial Express

God creates all Men equal, once out of the womb, he starts playing favorites

Last Friday I had an extremely interactive discussion with a medium sized company’s owner about his Branding & Marketing processes. Whilst, he had done some innovative things, the basics were still lacking. Having convinced him of them, decided to pen down those thoughts.

Product and promotion

Offline:
• Branding
• Image through communication
• Image through medium used

Online:
• Branding and colors on the site
• Branding and colors on the newsletters
• Branding and colors used for any new application or module

Place and physical evidence

• Sign board at the entrance of Office, Stores
• Entrance to be maintained consistently
• Reception, needs to be clean & maintained so there are posters, reading material of relevant products –
necessary to get the visitor to feel that he/ she has come to a great place!
• Security to greet customers well
• Receptionist to greet customers well and cater to the basic courtesies – ask for tea/coffee/water; ask what
they have come for; keep the area for brochures and newspapers in order.
• To keep the reception area well stocked with brochures and any reading material so that the customer’s wait is
pleasurable and worthwhile.

People in service

• The concerned person should not keep the customer waiting for long
• Each and every employee to make the process easy for the customer
• Every employee to adhere to dress code so a uniform and desirable image is formed
• People to adhere to the selling process steps strictly while attending a customer.

Process in service

• Whether it’s online or offline, every department to make the process easy and pleasurable for the customer

I am sure this is not a complete & comprehensive list. But it is the bare minimum. It is extremely easy to get a lot of ideas, however to execute ONE of them takes a lot of effort & time. All products, companies that are BRANDS today are because of CONSISTENCY.

It is an addiction, study shows a third of office workers were stressed by the volume of message & that’s only email.

Trust me, Being ‘always on’ does affect productivity & create stress.

With your notebook, multiple phones, that constantly beep, it is very difficult to switch off. And when you switch off the office work, there is Face Book, Twitter that needs your attention or else you are not with the times.

It is funny to see 3-4 friends sitting over coffee or drinks & 2 of them are texting, whilst the others are speaking on the phone; then why meet? You could might as well do that on the phone.

I am constantly asked “How do you manage official work, email, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Partying & even writing a Blog”.

And I say “EVERYTHING IS FINE IN MODERATION”

Some of the rules that I follow to disengage & recharge myself, at the same time have me time:

1) I check & respond to your emails just 3-4 times a day, this includes laptop & smartphone.
2) As for FB; Linkedin, Twitter I just go cold turkey.
3) I leave my phone behind when I go on the gym floor.
4) I use Tech to the maximum - program email, blog, phone to garner maximum productivity.

Because, I believe - Be the one to control devices & not the other way around.