How a little black wrap dress saved my sanity

Posted on May 25, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

I have always been a self-starter, what people now call an entrepreneur. I was running my own businesses before I even graduated from university. Still, I remember being very nervous about launching my first ‘real’ company the year after I graduated.

My father asked me, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” When I shrugged my shoulders he answered, “You fail and have to go and work for someone, but think of all the experience you will have!”

That was the start of my journey into the business world.

Over thirty years later, and I am still working away on different and varied projects.

Being an entrepreneur makes life very interesting. Over the years, I have been involved in many varied businesses. I love the thrill the start up and seeing the vision come to life. It’s sort of like having a lab where you can play away without having to answer to anyone!

Being an entrepreneur makes life
very interesting.

A couple of years ago, I launched a fashion start up “The Wrap Dress” to distract me during a very stressful time. I wanted to see how far the idea of the wrap dresses could go as a business and in doing so, saved my sanity.

The concept for the start up grew from a corporate sewing group affectionately known as ‘Stitch ’n’ Bitch’! I made my first Wrap Dress in the group as a versatile staple that I could dress up or down for any occasion. I wanted a dress that could get me out the door faster, and still look and feel as fresh and crisp at the end of the day as I did at the start—something that would have me looking and feeling good, wherever my day took me.

I chose the Wrap Dress style for its simplicity and versatility, and something that would perfectly suit the busy, outgoing women in our group. I also chose a stretch fabric that I later discovered was typically used in swimwear.

It turned out that the dress perfectly suited the everyday/everywhere/everybody style of garment. I kept refining the design and make, ending up with a beautiful, comfortable, durable, versatile Wrap Dress. Then a friend wanted one. Then another. Then friends of friends, then people I’d never met. I was wrapped in a great idea and felt it had the potential as a business.

Launching the start up gave me a great opportunity to explore the design and manufacturing processes as well as work collaboratively with textile fabric suppliers, pattern makers, sewers, and logistics. All fields that I knew nothing about. Due to my naivety in the field, I had to ask so many questions and people were so willing to help me and to guide me in the right direction!

While completing my Masters Research thesis last year meant putting the dresses aside for a few months, I am once again onto ‘Project: The Wrap Dress’. I want to see how far I can push this business and to see how much I can learn along the way.

How you can apply innovation to your organisation

When I was at D.School (Stanford University), I spoke to Claudia Kotchka about her time as VP at Procter & Gamble (P&G). I wanted to know how she was able to focus such a large organisation, with thousands of products and thousands of employees, on innovation. Claudia told me, “One product at a time.”

Claudia didn’t try and change everything at P&G at once. Instead, she started slowly and built the organisation’s confidence in innovation. There were several reasons why Claudia was so successful:

> Claudia had direct access to the Executive Chairman and Board

> She created a non-competing innovation group that included other innovative organisations such as 3M

> She started with a product team that understood that they had to change how things were done

> Case studies were presented to the organisation so they could see what the potential for the future.

From my experience, innovation is not a one-off thing, it is a way of thinking and a way of ensuring that your organisation is constantly evolving and innovating. Sometimes things don’t work out, but the ‘learnings’ can be brought to the next project.

What innovative project are going to start working on today?

*Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists and the founder brand management consultancy, Brand Audits. With more than 30 years’ professional experience, Christine has helped a diverse client base of local and international brands, including Gold Coast City Council, Hilton Hotels, and Wrigleys USA, to develop, protect and achieve brand differentiation. Her particular interest is personal brand audits to assist executives realise their full potential.

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

Also see TheWrapDress.com.au

Grabbing opportunities with two hands

Posted on May 16, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

Last week, I was invited to join the ‘The Hidden Persuaders’ panel, a regular segment on 612 ABC’s Mornings with Steve Austin. This exciting opportunity didn’t happen by chance. Instead, it developed because I saw an opportunity and grabbed it.

A few weeks earlier, I contacted 612 ABC to tell them about the phenomenon of The Gig Economy. I had recently published a blog on this very topic and I believed it warranted continued discussion. (Steve already knew who I was because last year I called into his program to tell him my Obama story—my close encounters with the President during the G20 Brisbane Summit.)

The program producers ended up asking me if I would be interested in being a “brand” spokesperson. It seemed they often needed someone to comment on the topic or an expert for panel discussions. Of course I said yes, which led to being part of The Hidden Persuader’s panel.

There have been many times in my life when I have seen opportunities and grabbed them. Sometimes, it seems easier not to grab an opportunity, but when you do, magic things happen!

A great example is when I wrote to a well-known New York City-based business author to tell her how much I enjoyed her book. We connected and I continued to communicate with her after her second and third books were published. Then, I let her know I was visiting New York and she wanted to catch up. We had pizza and beer on a rooftop terrace and brunch at Sarabeth’s Tribeca. It was fabulous! And it happened because I took the opportunity to reach out and build a global relationship.

Without exception, each and every time I have seen an opportunity and grabbed it with both hands, I have met amazing people and had remarkable experiences.

What opportunities are you going to grab today?

Listen to the panel discussion for The Hidden Persuader’s panel (it starts @ 1:08:10).

*Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists and the founder brand management consultancy, Brand Audits. With more than 30 years’ professional experience, Christine has helped a diverse client base of local and international brands, including Gold Coast City Council, Hilton Hotels, and Wrigleys USA, to develop, protect and achieve brand differentiation. Her particular interest is personal brand audits to assist executives realise their full potential.

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

Photo credit: Christine Moody, The High Line, NYC 2015.

The gig economy

Posted on April 18, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

Business has changed so much since 1985, when I started my first company!

It isn’t just the technological advances which have dramatically changed how we do business. (My first piece of technology was an answering machine.) It is also the business models—subscription and online—and more recently, the emerging ‘gig economy’.

The gig economy is enormously appealing and exciting for many people. You get to choose: with whom you work, where you work, and when you work. It’s social, the hours are flexible and the pay is greatly appreciated. For many, it is a lifestyle choice. Need an example? Think of new businesses such as Uber and AirBnB.

…40% of the US workforce is now working in the gig economy, up from 31% in 2005.

According to an article in Forbes, Gig Economy: Better for boomers than millennials, the gig economy is growing at a rapid rate. For example, 40% of the US workforce is now working in the gig economy, up from 31% in 2005.

The gig economy or the ‘sharing economy’ is not just for millennials, however. It is also attractive to the baby boomers as a means to either top up their salary job or to boost their retirement savings.

According to the same Forbes article: “…Uber says more of its drivers are over 50 than under 30 and that about a quarter of its drivers are 50 and older. Last year, incidentally, Uber and AARP’s Life Reimagined teamed up to help Uber find more 50+ drivers.”

The gig economy is significantly affecting businesses’ brands. In this type of economy, brands rest in the hands of the users and the ‘freelancers’ who deliver the goods and services. With this in mind, businesses need to review their brand touch points at every stage of the journey as well as building a community of brand ambassadors (those who deliver the services). The way HR, training, and remuneration operate will also need to change so that they align with this not so new way of doing business.

What opportunities are there for your brand to embrace and grow in this gig economy?

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

Photo credit: Christine Moody @ Grand Central Station NYC 2015.

Innovation in 7 days & $0 cash

Posted on April 6, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

Everyone seems to be talking about ‘Innovation‘. Australia even has a policy—and dedicated website—around innovation and the ‘Ideas Boom‘.

Professional Australian organisations are also talking about innovation. For example the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) current edition of Company Director magazine features an article titled: ‘Embedding Innovation’.

If you have been in business for any length of time you know that innovation is not new, but it is crucial to business survival.

There are many examples of successful companies with a history of innovating. Star-brands such as Apple and Nike have strategic plans around innovation because they understand it is central to their brand differentiation and survival in a highly competitive and fast-changing market. Unlike the current hype around innovation in Australia, organisations like Apple and Nike, Just Do It! They embed the processes in the organisation and make it part of the brand’s DNA and therefore their strategy.

If you have been in business for any length of time you know that innovation is not new, but it is crucial to business survival.

It’s no accident that organisations with innovative policies are more successful or that innovation is part of their way of doing business. In my experience, embedding innovation needs to start with the CEO and Board. They need to understand what innovation is and how to apply it in the commercial sense.

“We need to identify what we mean by innovation because most people seem to think that it is about product or service innovation. Increasingly, innovation is moving to various forms of intangibles—and not just patents, copyright and trademarks. A new business model, for example, is extraordinarily innovative. Going digital is innovative. So the first thing to look at is what is meant my innovation and extending this Board’s horizon,” says Neville Christie, CEO New Enterprise Services (as quoted in the AICD article referred to earlier).

We need to identify what we mean by innovation because most people seem to think that it is about product or service innovation.

I have been going to countless private, public, and education forums, seminars and workshops around innovation. I am noticing one thing: we are hearing about innovation, we are reading about innovation, but what are we doing about innovation? It feels like everyone in Australia is talking about innovation, but very few people are doing something. I want to see some action and some results.

Innovation to me means new ideas and new ways of doing old things. It is about connecting the dots. I reckon that coming up with ideas is the easy bit. The hard bit is executing it! We aren’t seeing a lot of this, and I wonder if we are all a little bit scared?

Any innovative idea is scary because you have to put yourself ‘out there’ and talk to people who may not ‘get it’. You have to address your fear of failure. I know I am onto a new idea when I get the blank ‘eye glaze’ from people when I am in the early stages of development. For me, this is a litmus test for innovation. If someone gets your idea and you don’t have to explain it much, then it is too safe and not innovative.

To progress an innovative idea, you need to translate it into a prototype quickly. This ‘proof of concept’ stage is scary, but its important so that you can ‘show and tell’ and get valuable feedback.

Fast track innovation with an inexpensive prototyping kit

I developed a quick ‘idea to prototype’ strategy after a trip to Stanford University’s d.School. In July 2011, I returned from their one-week intensive at Executive Education ‘Design Thinking’ Bootcamp. I realised I had to prove that the process we were immersed in actually worked in practice. So on the way home from the airport, I dropped into an office supply shop to collect items for a prototyping kit.

What I selected for my kit looked more like items you would purchase for a kids party. (In fact, I was asked at the checkout if I was having a kids’ party!)

My kit included brightly coloured pipe cleaners, post-it notes, pens, pencils, paper, cardboard and ice block sticks—just like the stuff you see at kindergartens! The idea is to use these inexpensive items to create a rough prototype that you can see and touch. It helps to explain your idea to others and test the idea with your users, iterate, and then test again. It is an important step in the ‘design thinking’ process because it enables you to quickly create inexpensive prototypes before you develop the final designs, create detailed drawings, and order samples etc.

I gave myself seven days to complete my prototype with no significant expenditure. The result was an idea for ‘Poppy Cakes—A Party in a Box’, which went on to win Business Review Weekly’s ‘Best Creative Business Idea’.

My innovative idea took less than one week and no money to create—except for stocking my prototyping kit, which I could continue to use to brainstorm a range of new ideas.

The idea behind it was an observation—via social media and talking with customers—that a cake may be central to a celebration, but it is stressful organising the party and gathering the other items such as cups, plates, serviettes, tablecloth, and candles. ‘Party in a Box’ arrives at your door with the cake and everything you need. An added bonus is that it is 100% recyclable, which means rubbish can go back in the box and into the recycle bin at the end of the party.

I would love to hear what processes your organisation uses for developing new ideas and stories of successful innovative ideas that have been created and launched!

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

Photo credit: Poppy Cakes ombre-layered cake.

Never forget to ask your friends for help

Posted on April 1, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

2015 Telstra Business Woman of the Year Award recipient, Dr Catherine Ball captivated the audience at a recent Women in Finance event. As the keynote speaker, Catherine told us about her personal struggles and how, with ‘a little help from her friends’, she got to where she is today.

I have heard Catherine speak many times—even the day before this event. This presentation was different. It was so engaging and it got me thinking: we all need a little help from our friends, whether it’sto realise our personal or business challenges.

For Catherine, it was the friend who gave her a couch to sleep on or the friend who encouraged her to pursue her dreams, even when she felt like giving up. Sometimes, it was as simple as phoning someone when she needed help.

Throughout my career, I have had a lot of help from my friends. I have benefitted from having friends who are trusted advisors and who have given me the guidance that I needed. I’ve always known I wasn’t alone. Some people know they have helped me, but others don’t.

Seeking ‘a little help from friends’ is what every person and every business needs. However, in business, I think we sometimes forget to seek out—and accept—help from our friends.

Seeking ‘a little help from friends’ is what every person and every business needs.

Friends are trusted advisors. Whether they are on the inside or outside of your business, they will be there for you and help your organisation’s brand. They are the ones who stick with you through thick and thin. They are not afraid to tell you what they think—even if it risks the friendship.

Having experienced first-hand the importance of the right advice and guidance from ‘friends’, I knew I needed to give back a ‘little help’ to other designers. So I launched Designer Law School.

Designer Law School is an online education program, which highlights the basics of the law as it affects designers.It’s also a forum where designers can feel like they are talking to a friend who ‘gets it’ and sees all problems visually. Hopefully, designers will feel they are not struggling by themselves.

The initiative will benefit both designers and businesses working with designers. It will help businesses understand the value designers can add to a brand. Businesses need to know both the rewards and the risks of working with designers: they need to have the systems and processes in place to protect one of their most valuable assets—their brand’s identity. And they need to realise that designers are friends who are passionate about helping organisations leverage their strengths and communicate with clients and customers. (Designers are great at immersing themselves in a client’s business and walking through the products and services.)

In both our business and personal lives, true friends who will help are few and far between. They are gems that we need to look after.

*Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists and the founder brand management consultancy, Brand Audits. With more than 30 years’ professional experience, Christine has helped a diverse client base of local and international brands, including Gold Coast City Council, Hilton Hotels, and Wrigleys USA, to develop, protect and achieve brand differentiation. Her particular interest is personal brand audits to assist executives realise their full potential.

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

Photo credit: Brunch at Sarabeth’s NYC, which was organised by Author and Speaker, Dorie Clark (By Christine Moody, NYC, 2015).

Going Viral: Social Media, IP, and Branding

Posted on March 17, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

The rise of social media is making it more difficult to understand and protect your organisation’s intellectual property (IP) and brand reputation. However, in this new digital world, your brand is more important and valuable than ever before.

Some of the more intangible IP aspects of your organisation are associated with its brand, the brand experience and logo design. These include patents, trademarks, copyright, business methodologies, good will and brand recognition. This is important IP that can add immense value to your business. According to a recent report by Fortune Magazine, organisations need to pay attention to their intangible assets, with the value of the intangible assets in S&P top 500 companies rising from 17% of total assets in 1975 to 84% in 2015!

In the article,‘Defence Strategy’ (published in the latest edition of the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Company Director), Domini Stuart says this issue will be particularly important with the Federal Government’s $1 billion dollar innovation initiative. He says: “the board must understand how IP can create value.”

Stuart goes on to say that: “Directors should be aware of which components, systems, or processes set them apart from their competitors and drive the value of the company.”

So just how do you understand your brand and protect it today’s digital world?

1) Stand out in the crowd—define your brand

Differentiating your organisation begins with your brand. Many people make the mistake of thinking that their brand starts with a beautifully designed logo and website, but it doesn’t.

Your brand starts with your unique story. Why are you in business? What problem is your organisation solving? This is your organisation’s ‘WHY’ and it forms your organisation’s brand story.

The brand story is central to all your organisation’s decisions. It informs which clients you target, retail locations, products and services as well as staff. It is also used to inform our differentiated brand ecosystem—everything that your organisation ‘says’ and ‘does’.

The tools you use to communicate your brand, such as Facebook, will evolve and change over time, but your brand story never changes. It remains unique to your organisation.

2) Develop a brand strategy for your brand online

Organisations need to make their brand highly visible online. Unfortunately, the increasing number of social media platforms and the hype around them has created confusion. As a result, many organisations are forfeiting their brand strategy.

Your brand strategy is the ‘glue’ that holds the brand ecosystem together. And understanding how to use social media platforms to tell your brand story is crucial.

Social media is just another communication tool and it needs to be considered in the bigger picture rather than as a separate ‘thing’. It is no different from the other communication tools your organisation uses.

Your brand strategy is the ‘glue’ that holds the brand ecosystem together. And understanding how to use social media platforms to tell your brand story is crucial.

What is important is how you interpret the brand across all the social media platforms. You need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each platform and then use them to tell your brand story consistently. That is, understand the difference between Facebook and LinkedIn and how to use both effectively inline with your brand story.

To leverage your brand in the social media space, the starting point is to create a framework for social media that includes the ‘WHY’, the brand strategy, and three key messages for that organisation, along with the types of stories that support your brand story.

Whatever you do and whatever platform is used you have to tell an authentic story and give your clients and potential clients, information that is useful versus just selling them something!

3) Make sure your staff know your brand

The best brand strategy will fall apart unless your staff: ‘get it’. Your team is your best brand advocate (or the worst if they don’t know what it is). I regularly conduct brand audits for clients and often find that most of the staff doesn’t know the company history or what the company’s brand stands for. Don’t fall into this trap. Make sure your brand strategy is included as an important part of staff orientation and that there is ongoing internal communications training.

4) Legally protect your brand online—trade mark and copyright issues

Organisations need to consider online as part of the brand ecosystem—online (website and social media) + offline (brochures, retail fit out, uniforms).

Working with clients, I frequently discover their valuable brand IP is not protected, particularly logos and brand names. Often clients are reluctant to seek a trade mark registration because of time or cost or both. They just want to get on with business!

I advise clients to protect their brand IP as soon as possible. It can get harder to do this as the company grows and can be a nightmare if company is being sold! Another great risk organisations take in not protecting their brand identity is that someone else registers the rights.

Tips for protecting your brand identity

Prior to trade mark registration check availability of the website name by checking both domain registration (I suggest registering both .com + .au) and ASIC business name registration.

Before choosing an entity name, check in with an IP lawyer to find out the likelihood of the name being successfully registered.

Work with an IP lawyer to check potential trademark registration issues prior to commencing any brand identity, logo or artwork design. (I like to work with an IP lawyer in the early stages that is, when I am preparing the brief for the brand’s identity. I get an understanding of the type of business now and what where it hopes to be in the future so all IP classes can be considered.)

Conduct regular brand audits to reveal new IP and check previously registered IP.

Have a process in place to ensure that any new brand elements (such as product names) are checked and registered.

Have processes and policies in place to ensure that all materials used are within the rights usage—while this was important for offline materials in the past this is more important than ever before in the online world!

5) Maintain the visual integrity of your brand

The way your brand looks online is important. You run the risk of degrading your brand visually if employees reproduce the brand identity logo themselves or authorise an external supplier to do so.

Overcome this risk by documenting everything into a set of brand guidelines and communicate the guidelines throughout the organisation. This ensures the logo, colours and fonts are used in the way for which they were designed. It also helps to audit your brand and ensures brand guidelines are regularly updated and distributed.

Both your Board and CEO need to be educated on the importance of the brand guidelines so that they “talk the talk and walk the walk” as brand ambassadors.

6) Using freebies online? Check you will still own the copyright

There has been a rapid growth of online materials and ‘free’ templates to use for promotional campaigns and other brand building initiatives. There are also many popular online tools to use for creating websites, including WordPress. (WordPress is one of the most popular online, open source website creation tools because it is easy to use and you don’t have to be a coder!) However, with any of these great tools, you need to check the fine print as you may not own the content you are uploading.

Note: This article is a condensed version of a presentation I gave as part of Legalwise’s Intellectual Property Law Roundup.

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

Photo credit: Shoe drawing from MOMA exhibition—Andy Warhol: Campbell’s Soup Cans and Other Works, 1953-1967 (By Christine Moody, NYC 2015).

Identifying your brand reputation risks and opportunities—With a focus on social media

Posted on March 10, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

Protecting and building your organisation’s brand reputation is straight forward, once you know how. This week, I presented on this topic at the Institute of Internal Auditors’ South Pacific and Asia Conference (SOPAC) 2016 and I’m sharing with you the same tips I gave at the conference.

1) Create a brand story and platform—it will determine your organisation’s client experience, from brand identity to marketing, IP and reputational risk

Before you can protect and build your brand, you need to first articulate your brand by developing a brand story.

A brand story is a one-pager. It explains your brand and why it exists. It starts with articulating why you organisation is in business and its point of difference. It is not about defining your current products and services, but explaining the problem you are solving for you customer.

Protecting and building your organisation’s brand reputation is straight forward, once you know how.

The brand story forms your organisation’s brand platform, from which you develop the brand and marketing strategy. It also becomes the basis for everything the organisation says and does.

Organisations use their brand story to filter decision-making. From start-ups to multi-nationals, the brand story dictates all the facets of the business, from where you are going to be located to what products you make. The brand story also informs your external (marketing collateral, media, website, social media) and internal (staff, office) communications. It also helps the organisation to understand what social media platforms or sponsorship opportunities align with the brand.

2) Contemporary communication tools, such as social media, have exponentially increased reputational risk as well as increased the opportunities for brand differentiation

Social media is a valuable tool for speaking directly to your customers. Uniquely, social media also allows your customers to have a (public) conversation with you in real time. Used well, social media has the potential to increase your brand profile and drive revenue growth. However, the potential for brand damage is also very real.

To leverage social media and minimise the risk of brand damage, establish your brand story before developing a social media strategy.

a) Use social media channels aligned with your brand and customers
The brand story will help you decide which social media channels to use. This choice will be based on what you want to say and where your customer participates. For example, LinkedIn is considered a business tool. Facebook started out as social connector, but has grown in popularity for businesses with e-commerce platforms now linking to Facebook.

b) Plan your posts
Use your brand story to create your narrative, select your sources and the amount of times you post on social media.

c) Develop a policy for responding to negative comments
Knowing and understanding your brand also informs your organisation on how to respond to negative comments on social media. Your social media strategy should include a policy for how to respond to negative posts and the process.

Remember that how and when you respond to negative comments is potentially seen by a range of people—including your customers, suppliers and your competition. The most important thing is to respond to the comment, be accountable and offer to assist.

In my experience, the best thing to do is to provide a name and contact details (email or phone) for someone to deal with the problem off line. Taking the matter offline enables you to deal with it personally and hopefully win back the customer. The main thing to remember is that if you have stuffed up, own it, solve it and move on

d) Inform your audience (don’t sell)
Don’t sell through social media. Instead give great advice and teach your clients something. Become the expert!

I recommend organisations also use content for their social media posts from a range of platforms. Again, identify which sites align with your brand and include a defined set of sources your trust in the social media strategy, such as one of my favourites, the Harvard Business Review.

e) Keep your staff on board with the brand story
Don’t forget to extend the brand story and your social media strategy to your staff. Without a doubt, your employees also have their own private social media accounts. What they say about the organisation on their social media accounts can have significant ramifications.

Manage this by ensuring your staff understand your organisation’s social media policy and this is reflected in their contracts and more importantly in their post-employment obligations. Of course if you have a great working environment staff will be happy to talk about how much they love working there.

This issue is becoming more important as potential employees are finding out what the organisation is like before they even apply for a position. A bad review means that you could be missing out on attracting the right staff.

3) Establish a framework to monitor and manage your organisation’s brand to identify reputation risk and opportunities

Social media allows organisations to be transparent. It also offers new opportunities to innovate and to get closer to your customers that have never been so cost-effective and powerful. You need to both monitor and proactively manage your interaction with social media to maximise the opportunities and minimise the risk.

a) Manage your social media accounts with a dedicate staff resource
Dedicate an employee to monitoring your social media as well as posting consistent messages and managing the frequency of posts.

b) Review customer feedback
Social media gives you an opportunity to find out what others think of your organisation and the topics your customers engage. Reviewing what customers say allows you to improve products and services can or develop new ones.

c) Understand what your customer wants
Every organisation has many sources of customer data, but this is not much use if you do not use it. You still need to analyse that customer data.

Before you start to collect the data, you need to make sure you have a question you need answered. For example, how do our customers prefer to contact us (website versus Facebook)? Once you collect the data you need to have a portal to store all the data for analysis. The results of the analysis should be communicated throughout the organisation.

d) Conduct and annual audit
Technology will continue to transform how we do business. For this reason, it’s critical that you conduct an annual audit for both online (website and social media platforms) and offline (traditional brochures) communications to ensure it is still reflects the brand’s strategy.

e) Keep up personal contact
While social media allows you to stay closer to your customers than ever before, this needs to be overlaid with face-to-face interactions as well. For example, if you are a professional service provider you should still put time aside for regular informal coffee catch-ups with your customers. This can highlight issues before they become a problem—it also builds relationships with your customers.

As well as posting social media comments, you should also have regular internal meetings with your customer-facing staff to find out what is happening ‘on the shop floor’. They are the brand ambassadors in your company and have to be trained to keep their eyes and ears open to new opportunities and comments from customers.

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

Photo credit: Christine Moody, Chelsea Market W15th Street, NYC 2015.

Entrepreneurship: making your own magic in business

Posted on February 28, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

So, it’s 2016. A chance to renew and refocus. To reflect. To give thanks for what’s gone and what’s to come. To stop putting excuses in the way of your dreams because life’s like that. You’ve got to make your own magic. Emma Isaacs

This is a quote from Emma Isaacs, in the latest edition of Latte magazine. Emma is the Founder and Global CEO of Business Chicks. Her words struck a cord with me, particularly the last line, “You’ve got to make your own magic.”

To be a successful entrepreneur, there’s no doubt you need to be innovative. However, you also need to translate your innovative ideas into reality. Combining the two, well that’s making your own ‘magic’.

You have to do more than feel magic. You alone are responsible for making the magic. You can’t wait for the perfect time, you just do it. You make it a priority and spend time on it every single day. You stay focused. You create a purpose around your idea and a ‘why’ and make it happen.

It is a mindset. You have a business idea—whether it’s a new product or service or even improving a simple online form—and you set about changing it and making it better.

I’ve had several “you’ve got to make your own magic” times in my life; times when I’ve had to make a conscious choice to trust my instincts, harness my idea and turn into a business.

One was creating my company, The Wrap Dress. The concept for this business grew from need. I had a hectic international travel schedule and I often went straight to a meeting from the airport. I needed an outfit that looked great with sneakers on the flight and professional with heels at the other end of the trip. But couldn’t find what I needed.

So I made my first Wrap Dress. It was a versatile staple that I could dress up or down for any occasion. It allowed me to get out the door faster, and still look and feel as fresh and crisp from morning ‘til night. I chose an Italian stretch fabric that I later discovered was used in swimwear. As it turned out, the material perfectly suited the everyday/everywhere/everybody style of garment.

I loved my dress and so did my friends. First one friend wanted one. Then another. Then friends of friends. Then people I’d never met.

I launched the Wrap Dress online in 2014—quietly as a prototype with only one garment.

It was daunting and a risk because I don’t have a fashion, pattern making or professional sewing background. Instead I asked lots of questions and found skilled people to work with. I didn’t wait for the ‘right time’, I got stuck in and made my own magic!

How are you going to make your own magic?

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

Photo credit: Matt Palmer

Turning the bad into good: leveraging your strengths

Posted on February 17, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

Turning ‘bad stuff’ into ‘good stuff’ is a rewarding and empowering process (although it may not feel like it at the time). It’s also something we can all do if we have the right tools.

Remember the Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton 1996 classic ‘First Wives Club’? In the film, three women start a successful business to revenge the husbands who left them for younger women.

Like the First Wives Club, you can turn bad stuff into good stuff. However, first you need to take stock of what you have, identifying your unique skills and education. You can then use these skills to leverage yourself to greater success.

Step 1: Identify your strengths
To help understand your personal strengths, it’s useful to start with a ‘personal’ brand audit.

I have used this process on a couple of occasions—most recently for a major challenge I was facing. This challenge was bigger than anything I had ever faced before, but I still had a choice: how to respond and move forward.

Initially, my reaction was ‘normal’: I was really upset and then really angry. However, when I was ready to fight, I knew I needed to take my time and plan my response.

I used a personal audit to get myself in order. Even though I don’t advise a ‘Do It Yourself’ audit, I wanted to test my Brand Audits’ tools to see if they translated from the corporate to the personal realm.

The process worked really well and it gave me the outcome I was looking for: the framework to focus on my strengths, my ‘why’ and planning my ‘where to from here’.

I thought of myself as a brand and audited my brand in the context of my values and how these are reflected in tangibles of my brand, such as my LinkedIn profile.

Step 2: Identify the opportunities
The personal brand audit enabled me to identify many opportunities, with the three top projects giving me a clear purpose and direction.

For me, the top three were:

Complete my master’s research thesis
Improve my health and fitness
Write a book about my challenges!

Step 3: Develop your plan of attack
The personal brand audit gave me a plan of attack and allowed me to complete—or at least start—my three top projects.

This goes to show that if you are really focused on what you want and where you want to go, you can achieve things you never thought you could—no matter what your circumstances!

…if you are really focused on what you want and where you want to go, you can achieve things you never thought you could—no matter what your circumstances!

Step 4: Enjoy the results
The personal brand audit process enabled me to stop, breathe, reflect, and to look at the bigger picture before I dived into the next chapter of my life. The process pushed me forward and the results speak for themselves:

I completed my master’s research thesis after starting it six years ago. It really came down to locking myself away for two months. Each day I focused on what I could complete by breaking tasks down to bite-size actions. This structured process meant that I graduated in 2015!

I now focus on my health and fitness to align my mental strength with my physical strength. I joined a group fitness class with a trainer who links your goals to your exercise.This saw me completing in my first Tough Mudder, the hardest thing I have ever done physically or mentally! I also started ballet lessons at Queensland Ballet and Alvin Alley NYC (first time ever for both)!

My book titled—Designer Law School: Lessons from a Designer’s Life will be published at the end of 2016. I started writing about my challenges to help other Designers and this has been my most rewarding project to date! I set up a Facebook site (Designer Law School) and ran a prototype class to test the content and to receive immediate feedback on the topics! My aim is to help other Designers have basic legal knowledge—and therefore the confidence—to understand everything from contracts to supplier arrangements as they move through their careers.

Every ‘bad’ thing that has happened to me—without exception—I have been able to turn around and learn from, and then use the lessons to help others and myself.

So next time you have a challenge, thank the person or the situation because it gives you the gift of proving that you have the skills and the resilience to turn the bad stuff into good stuff, and move onwards and upwards!

If I can do it, you can too!

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

Photo credit: Christine Moody from the exhibition, China: Through the looking glass
(The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, July 2015)

How to get the best work from your Designers

Posted on February 2, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

How to get the best work from Designers? Step One: Back Off!

Earlier this week I shared The New York Times’ article, ‘How to Raise a Creative Child. Step One: Back Off’ on my social media sites. This article resonated with me because I see kids pushed to far towards maths and science to the detriment of creative pursuits but also because ‘Creativity’—is Design—is often under appreciated. While the article was clearly aimed at pushy parents it also contained many lessons for clients working with Designers. The reason I am writing this is not to criticise clients in any way, but to allow them to see ‘the other side’ and how they can achieve the best possible results for their businesses when working with Designers.

Creativity may be hard to nurture, but it’s easy to thwart.

One of the most standout comments from the article was, “Creativity may be hard to nurture, but it’s easy to thwart”. Clients may be unaware that they get the most value and the best outcomes when they treat Designers as the professionals they are, and leave Designers to do their job. Put aside the fact that most Designers are highly educated with broad, ‘real life’ experiences, clients are paying the Designer to bring in expertise that they do not possess. Clients therefore need to give Designers the freedom to do the job they are paying them to do.

Designer’s value add by immersing themselves in the business, thinking deeply about the problem outside of day-to-day operations, and creating original designs that communicates the business strategy. In a commercial world, working with professional Designers allow client’s businesses to achieve their objectives ie, to perhaps attract external funding (crowdsourcing or traditional banks); to assist in creating new markets; to allow them to stand out in a crowded marketplace; to attract the best staff and the best clients; and to create value in the business when it’s sold. If a Designer’s role is to simply to reproduce a more refined design of a client’s idea the client would be happy, but the clients are not getting the best possible outcome. Instead they are getting ‘paint by numbers’ and an under-utilised design resource.

Getting the best outcome is all about getting the brief right before commencing the project. The brief does not solve the problem but outlines what is known about the product or service at the time of writing. The best briefs are created together—with all stakeholders present—with the final outcome presented in the context of this brief. It’s about working together via work in progress meetings to see the development as the solution reveals itself and to gain an understanding of the thinking behind the design. It is not an aesthetic decision, but instead, a strategic decision. Design is a combination of creative freedom within the constraints of technical and budget reality overlaid with a strategic focus.

If there is one thing I know for sure, the more the clients leave the design to the Designers, the better the result. So remember—and I say this in the most respectful way…please clients, “Back Off”!

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinejanemoody