Intrepid LLC

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Wow, the end of my first full year of blogging. Went by fast. So here is a quick accounting of my favorite posts from 2009:

Obey The Rules, Miss The Fun – I love this post, because I strongly believe in having fun with your marketing. Because if you aren’t, what’s the point?

14 Intrepid Ways To Improve The Customer Experience – I can never write enough or think enough about ways to improve your customer’s experience.

A Day In The Creative Life – This is my favorite post of 2009. My homage to Hugh MacLeod.

Just A Few Steps A Day – This is my second most popular post for the year, sort of a day in the life of how I go to market…

25 Steps To Fortify Your Customer’s Brand Relationship With You – You don’t just create your brand. You earn your brand.

Loving What You Do Is Good Marketing – This is my most popular blog post of the year. The name says it all.

A Hands On Example of Caring For Your Customer – This was the most personal post I wrote all year. It followed the death of my dog of 15 years…

He Said, She Said, Round 8 – Interruption Marketing – Couldn’t help but include an episode from our popular He Said, She Said series, featuring Chris Brogan…

Does Anyone Care About Customer Service? – This is a favorite post from the latter part of the year, and had the honor of a comment from David Meerman Scott himself…

Don’t Be A Part Of This Marketing Conversation – This was the most fun post I wrote in 2009. And it asks some tough questions too…

Thanks for reading this past year, and for all your support in 2009. See you next year!

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Today we filmed Round 10 of He Said, She Said. What a momentous occasion! We made it to 10. Not that we didn’t think we would…but still, kind of cool!

It was Stephanie’s turn to ask the question, and she asked, “What do you think is the the greatest advantage of promoting an event via social media?” Watch the videos below to discover our thoughts, and feel free to add to the conversation via the comments section!

Join us for the PunkRock Champagne Holiday Social + TweetUp on December 16th! Hope to see you at FuegoMundo Wood-Fire Grill!

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Interruption marketing…represents all that is bad about modern marketing. Being forced to watch commercial messages against your will is nowadays just. bad. marketing.

In this episode of He Said, She Said, Stephanie and I discuss some alternatives to interruption marketing. And, stick around to see a surprise ending!


A great thrill for us to have Chris Brogan join us for He Said, She Said. Thanks Chris, you are a class act!

Here is the original post on the He Said, She Said blog. Here is Stephanie’s version of the post from Radiant Veracity.

Miriam Salpeter, Chris Brogan, Stephanie Lloyd, Todd Schnick

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In round 7 of He Said, She Said, Todd and Stephanie discuss the different ways they go to market using their respective radio shows.

Stephanie is host of Dream Job Radio, and Todd is co-host of the High Velocity Radio Show…

To see the original post of Round 7 on the He Said, She Said Blog, click here!

To see Stephanie’s Radiant Veracity version of Round 7, click here!

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Last night, my colleague Stephanie A. Lloyd and I discussed the merits of multi-dimensional blogging. Stephanie’s question was inspired by our attendance the night before at Atlanta Bloggers…

Round 6 was filmed live at the inaugural Atlanta Red Shoe Project TweetUp at FuegoMundo South American Wood-Fire Grill.

Here is the Round 6 post direct from the He Said She Said blog. And here is Stephanie’s version of Round 6…

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cartoon by @gapingvoid

As you know, we here at Intrepid are big fans of giving back to your community. Whether this is done as an individual, a family, or a business, it matters not because it is all important.

But, as I’ve written before, you know I firmly believe that giving back to your community is good marketing for your business too. Not only does it reflect well on you and your brand, and help the community, but the effort also [usually] exposes you to new people in your community – people that might not run in your usual business circles…

But today, I was inspired by this post from Stephanie A. Lloyd, my co-hort with He Said She Said. She wrote about donating clothes and linens to HopeATL, an outfit working to help those who suffered tragically with the recent Atlanta floods. Here is a quick video about their mission:

I am inspired, everyday, by people like Stephanie and by organizations such as HopeATL! I continue to be amazed by what people can do, and what they will do, out of the goodness of their hearts and souls. When I witness people giving back, I categorize them as the best and brightest – and the kind of people who make a community what it is.

But, for a moment, allow yourself to imagine what others will think of you when you “give back” to your community! What do you want people to think about when your name is mentioned? I observe people every day who have achieved great things in business. And many of those have been active in serving their community, and that is how I choose to view these folks. And, those are the kind of people I want to associate with, and do business with.

But I still get challenged with this idea. How do you have the time? I have no idea what cause to help or support. I will help out as soon as I can make enough money to cover the mortgage. Sure, I get it. This might not be for everyone. I’ve heard every excuse. If you think long enough, you can come up with some reason not to do this. But, as I am discovering every day, it doesn’t take a lot of effort on your part to make a difference in someone’s life. And to your community.

Still need to be convinced? Want a few more reasons to commit you and your business to a “giving back” strategy? Here are just a few:

1. Great PR for you and your business.
2. Exposes you to new people, new people that are not in your usual business circles.
3. Helps you build community.
4. Gives you important things to talk about on social media.
5. Great potential blog content!
6. Helps dramatically with your company storytelling!
7. Strong means to strengthen – and live – your brand.
8. Doing so helps you stand out amongst the clutter.
9. It will differentiate you from your competition.
10. It will give your customers something to talk about.
11. The opportunity to use your association with your charity, non-profit, etc. as a way to engage your customers and community, such as hosting events/promotions where percentages of the revenues are donated to a cause.
12. Allows you to do some real good for the local community.
13. Social media makes it very easy to serve your community – easier than it has ever been.

     

    What do you think? Agree? Disagree? What are ways you have given back to your community?

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Twitter friend Randy Barnes was kind enough to do a little editing and offer a new way to view He Said She Said. Thanks Randy! Enjoy!

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Welcome to Volume 4 of He Said, She Said. My partner, Stephanie A. Lloyd, has recently endured a string of misadventures with Sears. [You can find links to all her posts on the subject below]

So, we thought it was appropriate to conduct Volume 4 live, and on location, from Sears itself. Stephanie’s question was the following: When a company provides a poor customer experience, what is the first thing they should do to heal the customer’s brand relationship?

You can read Stephanie’s series of Sears-related posts: here is the first one about the initial experience, here is the second post recapping her adventure. You can read Stephanie’s Volume 4 post here!

Please vote on the best answer in the comment section below, or on Twitter, tagging your vote with #HSSS! Thanks.

Be Intrepid.

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Welcome to Episode 2 of the groundbreaking video series He Said, She Said, where Stephanie A. Lloyd and I discuss and debate the hot topics of the day. [See more about Stephanie Lloyd below!]

Today’s question, posed by Stephanie, is “what is your biggest challenge as an entrepreneur?” Watch the videos for our comments. More importantly, we need you to share: What are your biggest challenges as entrepreneurs? What are your ideas to help Stephanie and I work through our struggles?

Post your answers on our respective blogs, and/or on Twitter using the #HSSS hashtag.

The best part of this new series has been the pleasure of working with Stephanie Lloyd. She and I are the classic case of two folks who met on Twitter, developed an online friendship, and now have joined forces to change the world.

Stephanie is Founder and CEO of Radiant Veracity in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a nationally recognized writer, blogger, and columnist on the topic of talent strategy, and career and job search. Stephanie has been a frequent guest on local radio, and just recently was featured on 11Alive news in Atlanta.

Stephanie works with hiring managers, HR executives, business owners, and recruiting firms on recruitment and retention strategy including how to better utilize social media for talent acquisition and employee communication. Additionally, she helps individuals by providing guidance on subjects ranging from the job search to personal branding and career advancement strategies.

You can find her complete bio here…

And you can find her post of Volume 2 here…

Be Intrepid!

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The inaugural episode from the groundbreaking video series with Stephanie A. Lloyd, He Said, She Said. It is here that Stephanie and I will debate the important questions of the day. The benefit to you? Two unique perspectives – mine – and a lady’s… Tonight’s question? What is the best application of Twitter for small business?

Enjoy as both Stephanie and I share our answers. Stay tuned for the next episode in the series, to be filmed regularly. Stephanie and I will alternate who asks the questions and the order in which we answer them. And yes, you never know what may happen. May the best “man” win!

Stephanie’s He Said She Said Volume 1 Post!

He Said, She Said – Volume 1 on the Customer Collective!

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