A personal GPS

Today I was driving – headed out to the mountains – just to rejuvenate and get a sense of perspective about life. It had been several months since I had made the trip and I knew I desperately needed the break. I was riding and about to pull out my laptop to do a little work while on the road when I was interrupted by a British woman’s voice reminding the driver to turn right in 300 meters. A little surprised, I then remembered the new addition to the van – a GPS, mounted on the dash. For several minutes I was absolutely engrossed in the visual and auditory map guiding us to our predetermined destination. A Global Positioning System. I was captivated by the accuracy and the features of this accessory. And when I mentioned that I found it hard to hear the voice over the sound of the traffic, my husband asked me to set the radio at 88.7 fm – and there was the voice now – over the entire sound system of the van! I watched carefully as the route was mapped out before us – and used the plus and minus signs on the touch screen to see bigger and smaller maps. It even told us how far we had left to drive, our speed and estimated time of arrival. Then I began to think about the reason for my daily sojourn. I was taking the day off to gain perspective – to see if I could determine my direction – check the map so to speak. Then I began to wonder what it would be like if we all had our own business or life GPS. What would it be like to get out of bed in the morning and set our destination for the day – and then have laid before us the map and the route we should take. We could punch in destinations like ‘success’ ‘enjoy the day with a friend’ or even ‘make a thousand dollars’ and before us would be the verbal and visual view of exactly how to arrive at the destination. Even better would be the functionality of warning us of the detours that we could encounter along the way – or even the possibility of bad weather or foul moods. What then would prevent us from reaching our destination? Then it became very clear to me. It was only ourselves of course that could prevent arriving at the destination of success – or whatever destination we had determined. If you think about it for a minute – when you type in your destination into the GPS – a specific set of directions pop on the screen – and then several warnings if there are weather or road condition concerns. And no matter how I tried – there was no way I could get the British woman to tell me that reaching that destination was impossible. The same thing applies to both our lives and our businesses. All we need to do is to decide on the destination, find the directions, watch for the warnings, bumps in the road and set out with the firm belief and understanding that we would arrive if we followed the directions. It is no more complicated than that. But many of us have our business or life ‘global positions service’ unplugged. We are so busy looking at everyone else that we fail to set our destinations. Your destination whatever it is – is in reach. So plug in and strap on. Turn on the radio and enjoy the ride. The directions may not always be as clear as you would like – but the destination is reachable. What destination are you in-putting?

Can you really believe in advertising?

While browsing the newspaper this morning, (which I try not to do too often for fear of starting the day discouraged) I saw the strangest ad. In the bottom left of a full two page news spread was a 2 inch square advertisement. The headlines read: "Why you can believe in advertising". The content directed me to a website - Advertising Standards Council of Canada, and also stated that this organization helps ensure the ads you see and hear are truthful. I wonder. How in the world can an organization like that oversee the millions of advertisements that run on TV, radio and in the news daily? How do they know that the content is in fact truthful and accurate? Do they really believe that this advertisement will helps us to have faith in or believe that the ads we see and hear are accurate? I hope not. Advertising as most of us know - is often loud, invasive and boring. Same old, same old sales, boxing day blowouts, white sales, inventory clear outs and 50% off days bombard us from every direction. It makes you wonder how these companies can afford to advertise AND offer 50% off. Perhaps properly marketing their goods at a reasonable price might be a better solution than a sale - or at least a start. The best advertising and marketing a company can do is to show me that they care about me as a customer. And that my friends, takes time and effort. Good marketing is not a fast buck scenario. Building trust with a potential client over a period of time reassures them - letting them know you care. Then and only then do you ask them to believe that what the see and hear is truthful and accurate. You can build trust with your potential clients by giving them good information, follow up and keep in touch with them. Building relationships with each and every one of them will put your business on solid ground. So, sorry Advertising Standards Council of Canada - your ad did not convince me. How do I really know you are ensuring that the ads I read, see and hear are truthful? Your 2 inch ad in no way showed me that you are holding advertisers to a standard. And even more ludicrous - is the idea that one agency could even begin to police such an industry. Self serving advertising like this ad went the way of the dodo bird because customers now want proof that advertising is accurate. People were tired of being ripped off and cheated. And they are showing it with their wallets. Businesses that are winning in todays market are those who continually build relationships with their customers. So the question remains: Can you really believe in advertising?