Introverted individuals are analytical and observant. They take the time to think before they speak, and notice subtle details. They are have superior risk-awareness, and can create meaningful and close relationships with others.

The February 6, 2012, Time magazine article “The Upside of Being an Introvert — And Why Extroverts are Overrated”, describes the United States as the “land of the loud and home of the talkative.” Our culture values being bold, talkative, and action-oriented, but as the times change, so will our values.

Maybe they already have. According to Wharton Business psychologist Adam Grant, introverts have a style of leadership that works best with employees who are empowered and independent-minded. Extroverted leaders work better with people who take orders easily.

As business continues to move toward valuing creativity and innovation, introverted leaders may have several advantages. The Time article says introverts possess a better capacity for listening than most extroverts, and have a powerful ability to accurately assess risk and remain focused. These are valuable skills in a leader.

While introverts are more prone to anxiety and depression, they are also often highly creative and self-reflective. When introverts are empowered to play to their natural strengths, they can be successful in fields normally dominated by extroverts. Although most people lean toward the extrovert side of the spectrum, introverts have an important role to play in human history.

John Bradley Jackson
Entrepreneur, Professor, Author
Deja New Marketing
© Copyright 2012

Like it or not, before someone even reaches your home page, they have already made a judgment about you based on your domain name. Your domain name makes a first impression on business cards and promotional materials, well before someone types it into their internet browser. Your domain name is a subset of your URL, and is the most important part.

How do you guarantee you have an excellent domain name? For starters, make sure there are no misspellings. Try to get a domain name that ends in the most common suffix: “.com”. If your first choice for a domain name is taken, try different combination of phrases that relate to your business. Avoid dashes, special characters, and unusual spellings. If you are still unable to get a decent domain name with a .com ending, the suffix “.net” is an acceptable alternative. Make sure your intended domain name will not become easily confused with another website.

The best domain names are short and sweet. Do your best to keep your domain name to one to three words. Many people can lose patience with long and unwieldy domain names.

Short domain names are also memorable, which is critical to long-term success. If a customer can’t recall your domain name, you can bet they won’t visit your website. Keep your domain name easy to spell and easy to remember.

A great way to make your domain name successful is to make sure it is descriptive of your business. If someone is using an online search engine, they will type in what they are looking for. If your company offers this service/product, but does not include it in the domain name, your company may be overlooked.

If possible, have a unique domain name, rather than through another website. A unique domain name would be www.[yourname].com. A sub domain name would look like this: www.[othercompany].[yourname].com. In the murky world of the internet, trust is everything, and having a unique domain name makes you appear more trustworthy. As an added bonus, online search engines give preference to websites with unique domain names. Search engines also prefer domain names that contain words or phrases that people search for, rather than a jumble of abbreviations or nonsense words.

John Bradley Jackson
Entrepreneur, Professor, Author
Deja New Marketing
© Copyright 2012

Candy is popular worldwide. According to a new January 2012 report by Global Industry Analysis, the top four markets for candy are North America, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, and Eastern Europe. Corporations like Mars, Inc, Nestle, and Cadbury currently rule the industry, though they do face competition from regional companies with local favorites. Emerging markets like Eastern Europe provide huge opportunities for horizontal expansion in the candy industry.

Americans consume 2.8 billion pounds of chocolate each year, or over 11 pounds per person. Americans consume 2.8 billion pounds of chocolate each year, or over 11 pounds per person. Consumers spend more than $7 billion a year on chocolate. The U.S. produces more chocolate than any other country in the world but the Swiss consume the most, followed closely by the United Kingdom.

What candy is the most popular? It depends on who you ask. In 2009 a collaborative research study between Business Week and EuroMonitor revealed a list of the top-selling candy and gum brands in 25 countries. M&Ms are the top seller in the United States, for example. In the United Kingdom, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate bar is king. Hsu Fu Chi International, which makes assorted candies, is number one in China.

It may come as a surprise, but chewing gum is one of the top-selling non-chocolate candy items worldwide. In Brazil, the most popular “candy” is Trident gum. Russians prefer Orbit, by the way. Italy, Spain, France, and Mexico also have gum as number one on their lists.

It is interesting to note that less than two percent of the fat and ten percent of the sugar in the American diet is supplied by candy. The main sources of sugar in the U.S. diet are sweetened beverages, baked goods and frozen desserts. Also, some candies, such as lollipops, candy canes and Gummy bears, do not contain fat or cholesterol, making them a healthier treat than many people realize. Gum drops, licorice twists and sour balls are also free of fat and cholesterol. What’s more, many of these candies are low in calories. A cup of candy corn, for example, has fewer calories than a cup of raisins.

Candy sales also increased during the Great Depression during the 1930s. Snickers and M&Ms were both introduced during that time. Candy was affordable at a time when people did not have a great deal of extra income. Today the brands are iconic. About 65% of American candies have been around for more than 50 years.

It is similar today. According to the Census Bureau, Americans consume around 25 pounds of candy per capita each year. The candy industry, like healthcare and cosmetics, is relatively recession-proof. Candy is an inexpensive route for self-indulgence, or a way to summon childhood nostalgia.

John Bradley Jackson
Entrepreneur, Professor, Author
Deja New Marketing
© Copyright 2012

No, this is not a blog about ancient dinosaur species or prokaryotic cells. It is about, however, the wonderful world of paraprosdokians. A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech where a sentence or phrase ends unexpectedly, often for comedic or ironic effect. The word comes from the Greek “para” (against) and “prosdokia” (expectation). Below is a sampling of paraprosdokians:

“I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not so sure.”

“I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.”

“If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.”

“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”

“Evening news is when they begin with ‘good evening’ and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.”

“Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.”

“A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.”

Paraprosdokians can be especially effective in advertising. Like a magic trick, it surprises and attracts customers. In the 1950s, Volkswagen Beetle turned the phrase “think big” on its head when they advertised its vehicle with the campaign “Think Small.”

Technology giant Apple Inc. has used many paraprosdokians in its advertising history. In a 1984 Newsweek ad, Apple Inc. advertised new spreadsheet software for Macintosh with the sentence, “Once you’ve answered your questions, question your answers.” In early 2009, the new Mac mini was marketed with the phrase “Small is huge.” When advertising the iPod shuffle in 2005, Apple used slogans like “Give chance a chance” and “Random is the new order”. In 2010, the iPhone 4 was advertised with the slogan, “This changes everything. Again.”

Advertisers use paraprosdokians because they are attention-grabbing, simple, and very effective. By creating a disconnect between the expected and final end of a slogan or phrase, it makes the advertising phrase incredibly memorable.

Hello I must be going.

John Bradley Jackson
Entrepreneur, Professor, Author
Deja New Marketing
© Copyright 2011

Like their name suggests, Millennials were born or coming of age right around the turn of the 21st century. They grew up with the Internet, and can rarely be seen without their cell phone. Millennials are self-confident, peer-oriented, and well-educated.

William Strauss and Neil Howe, leading experts in generational theory, published their highly influential work “Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069” in 1991. In this provocative book, Strauss and Howe argue that generations appear in cycles and that each generation has defining characteristics that are influenced by the events, leaders, and prevailing culture of the time period. Millennials are defined as those born after 1981 and before 2001.

While Generation X is associated with cynicism, disunity, and individualism, Millennials are positive and community-oriented. Millennials are technologically savvy and use the Internet more than any other age group. They are close with their parents and tend to be more socially liberal. They are ethnically diverse, charitable, and suffer high rates of unemployment in today’s economy.

In the workplace, the Millennials are just beginning to strut their stuff. Although they are team players by nature, Millennials often come off as entitled. They require regular feedback and offer their opinions without restraint. Millennials want to enjoy their work but also maintain a healthy home life. They multi-task effortlessly and are very comfortable with the Internet, social media, online networking, text messaging, blogging, and more.

Since the publication of this book, Strauss and Howe have gone on to highlight the rise of the Millennials, comparing them to the G.I. Generation. Also known as the Greatest Generation, members of this generation came of age during the Great Depression and fought in World War II. The G.I. Generation is known for being productive and selfless.

Millennials, Strauss and Howe argue, have some of the same hallmarks of the Greatest Generation. Millennials are more likely to volunteer and give to charity than generations before them. They are optimistic and civic-minded. Like the G.I. Generation, Millennials are coming of age in a very turbulent and confusing time. The average Millennial’s identity has been shaped by the meteoric rise of the Internet, the war on terror, rapidly increasing globalization, and now a global financial crisis.

In 1936, Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke about his own generation. It could easily be applied to today’s Millennials:

“There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation has a rendezvous with destiny.”

John Bradley Jackson
Entrepreneur, Professor, Author
Deja New Marketing
© Copyright 2011

“Nothing can be done with solitude.” – Pablo Picasso

Each of the previous quotes embodies the philosophies of extraversion and introversion, respectively. You have probably heard the terms “extravert” and “introvert” and have perhaps even labeled yourself as one or the other. Each have their merits and their drawbacks.

Nevertheless, in the business world, extroverts rule. Outgoing, talkative people tend to get most of the attention, opportunities, and promotions because they put themselves out there socially in the workplace. Jack Welch, the former chairmen of General Electric, warns that introverted individuals can often be overlooked in the process.

But let’s get some background on this.

Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist, first popularized the terms extraversion and introversion. Like their prefix suggest, extraverts seek out external stimuli and draw their energy from social interaction with others. Outgoing by nature, extraverts tend to feel anxious or bored when left alone. They love mingling, meeting new people, and attending social events like office parties. They are movers and shakers. Some famous extraverts are Oprah Winfrey, Alexander the Great, Eddie Murphy, James Bond, and most politicians.

If the thought of rubbing elbows with a roomful of strangers doesn’t tickle your fancy, you may be an introvert. Introverts, compared to extraverts, are less sociable by nature and tend to recharge their emotional batteries by spending time alone. Though introverts often enjoy companionship or small groups of close friends, they usually seek out solitary activities that allow them to expand and develop their rich inner world. Famous introverts include Albert Einstein, Johnny Carson, Isaac Newton, Bruce Wayne, and Mr. Spock.

Most people fall somewhere in between extreme extraversion and introversion. A mostly introverted individual can still have moments of extraverted behavior and enjoy social interaction. Likewise, a mostly extroverted person can still enjoy some alone time and doesn’t necessarily need to party every night. Nevertheless, most of us intuitively know which category we’d put ourselves in.
While both types have admirable qualities and real strengths, the business world is biased toward extraverts. Gregarious, talkative individuals simply stand a better of chance of getting those extra minutes of face time with the boss, for example. Extraverts are often assertive, social, and have superior verbal skills – all of which translate to success in a large corporate work environment. An extravert is the classic “people person” and these natural proclivities are welcomed and encouraged in most workplaces.

If you know you are already an extravert, you are in the majority. Most people are extraverted, which may explain why our world seems to be designed for extraverts. As an extravert, make sure to watch out for these common pitfalls: speaking before thinking, being perceived as too hostile or aggressive, and jumping into activities or tasks without a plan of action.

If you are an introvert, never fear. While you may have to work a little harder at speaking up and making your opinions known, especially if you want to succeed in the business world, you still have a lot going for you. Introverts are often creative thinkers and value depth in conversations and relationships. If an introvert can take the initiative and speak up, these traits can be used to his or her advantage in the workplace. Many introverts are successful in business because they are able to balance their natural introversion with a concerted effort to connect with people and make things happen.

John Bradley Jackson
Entrepreneur, Professor, Author
Deja New Marketing
© Copyright 2011

But never fear: Most people feel as confused and annoyed as you when it comes to Facebook’s privacy controls. A November 2011 study from Posterous, conducted by Harris Interactive, shows the majority of Facebook users are not completely comfortable with Facebook’s privacy controls. On top of that, most also feel that personal posts, like family photos, are meant to kept relatively private.

Yet once Facebook update its privacy controls, often in the name of giving consumers increased control over their account, a user will undoubtedly have to delve deep into the dark recesses of his or her account to manually set the desired level of privacy. Otherwise, a user risks leaving Facebook’s default settings, which in the past have often erred on the side of sharing posts and photos that may be appropriate for your best friend to view, but not necessarily your boss’s cousin’s mom.

So what can you do? If you’re going to be on Facebook (or on any kind of social networking site), it is in your best interest to take the time and update your privacy settings manually. Don’t assume that your photos and posts are private until you have specifically selected the options that give you the level of privacy you want. Facebook now allows users to create filters that give only certain individuals access to particular kinds of posts. In effect, this helps limit the access other individuals (who perhaps you are not as close with) have to your personal photos and posts.

Facebook has increasingly come under fire for its confusing and sometimes misleading privacy controls. While they have taken steps to respond to this criticism and have allowed users to tailor their privacy controls to a much greater extent than before, the amount of time and patience required to manually update these controls can be just as frustrating. If Facebook is to continue as the behemoth of social media as it currently is, it will need to evolve and become more responsive to its users, who are currently becoming more sophisticated, and developing higher expectations, than ever before.

John Bradley Jackson
Entrepreneur, Professor, Author
Deja New Marketing
© Copyright 2011

Pricing may be the most important decision that the entrepreneur makes. Often this decision is rushed and done by the seat of the pants. Most entrepreneurs think pricing is easy.

Many small businesses use mark-up pricing. Mark-up pricing uses some multiple of cost such as three or four times the “estimated cost”. The entrepreneur says, “If it costs a dollar to make the widget, I need to sell it for three or four dollars. Hey baby, we are living large!” Whoops! Look back a few words and you will see the word “estimated”; most entrepreneurs don’t know what their actual costs truly are. Often they under price their products since cost accounting at small firms is only the sum of direct materials and direct labor, if that.

Competitive pricing is even more scientific. Simply, you price your product or service to be just below competition or to match a competitor’s price. Why? Is the competitor down the street a pricing genius to be reckoned with? I think not. I guess this approach presumes that the competitor is the price leader and has educated all customers to this price. My guess is that the competitor may have used a crystal ball or had his cousin Vinny price his product. Fallible? You bet. This pricing method is used at large and small firms.

At a start up, first-time customers may deserve special pricing to compensate them for the risk of doing business with the new enterprise. So quote them two prices: charter or founder prices for today and a standard price or list price for a year from now, which they will ultimately have to pay. A weakness of this method is that once you give a price to a customer, it is very hard to raise prices after that. This approach is best used at the earliest introduction of a product or service for a start-up while you don’t have many customers. Be careful.

“Perceived value-based” pricing is pricing for a product or service at a level that reflects the potential savings, the highest satisfaction level, or the maximum use that a client will receive from the purchase and the use of the product or service. Overall, price is set at the highest level that your target market is willing to pay, given these benefits. This type of pricing reflects a sustainable competitive advantage where there is little or no competition. This is niche market heaven. However, be sure that your competitive advantage is real and defensible, or you have got trouble on the way. How much is too much to charge, when utilizing perceived value based pricing? Look for tearstains on the checks you receive from customers. If it hurts them to write you a check, then you are charging too much. If that is the case, you won’t keep them as customers for long.

“Skimming” refers to pricing a new product at a high level while you can. This is a market where a competitive advantage may not be sustainable. Most often, this is used in a market that is big enough to attract new competition. This happens a great deal in technology when an innovative product first captures the customer’s attention. One reason to set an initial high price is to establish the new product as a prestige or a high quality product; by beginning with a high price, you also have room to move down in price with the anticipated entrance of competition. This is not the pricing strategy for a niche player since a niche-pricing strategy is based on a sustainable competitive advantage and a partnership with the customer. An example of skimming would be the DVR (digital video recorder) product called TiVo, which has revolutionized watching television. Early on, this was a product for the early adopters and TiVo products commanded a premium price. Competition entered the market and prices softened. Soon all satellite receivers will have DVR features. Game over.

“Penetration” pricing is a tactic where a provider sells below market price to break into a market or to take market share. This is what the Japanese semiconductor makers did in the 1980’s; buoyed by a lower cost of capital and a government-sponsored long-term objective, taking market share from the U.S. semiconductor firms was the worth the short- term losses. You may recall that the U.S. manufacturers called foul on this practice and referred to it as “dumping”. Japan emerged as a major player in the semiconductor memory chip business and pushed many U.S. suppliers out of the business. This is a very interesting tactic, but hardly a tool for entrepreneurs like you and me.

“Economic or mass market” pricing is used when margins are slim, volumes are high, and there are many competitors. The best example of this may be in the grocery business. Economic pricing is highly elastic with slight pricing variances creating major swings in demand. This type of pricing does apply to a niche market and is not for us to be bothered with in this book. Sorry Safeway.

The point to remember is that cost is to value as fish are to bicycles (i.e., there is no real relationship). As a niche player with a sustainable competitive advantage, you always want to price your product or solution using a perceived value pricing methodology. If you cannot price in this fashion you are not a niche marketer.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2011

“According to a study by Pew, 83 percent of American adults own cell phones and 73 percent of them send and receive text messages. Pew surveyed more than 2,200 people and asked those who text to cite their preferred way of being contacted on their cell phone. Almost a third –31 percent — prefer texting. And, 53 percent said they prefer a voice call while14 percent say it depends on the situation.”

The Pew study does not directly address the workplace, but the feedback that I get from sales representatives seems to confirm that this behavior carries over into the workplace. Increasingly, it is harder and harder to speak directly with customers. In the recent past, voice mail was deemed the culprit with customers screening calls and then returning the calls to the sales reps at their leisure. At least, that is how it seems.

Salespeople are left with the option of leaving a trail of voice mails (which seems rather desperate) or calling at different times during the day, such as early or late in the day, hoping that the customer might accidentally pick up the phone. Email is a viable option but it
Snail mail and faxing remain options but seemed to be rarely used by the “modern” salesperson.

Also, gone are the days of idle telephone banter between the customer and the rep. On the buyer’s side of the issue is the increased pressure to get more and more work done. They have little time to establish rapport with new sales reps and may not need the rep’s help as much as in the old days prior to the internet. With more and more information available on the web, buyers are more informed than ever. They need less help and less talk.

So, when you cannot reach your customer by land line or email or cell phone, try texting them. You might just get an answer back.

John Bradley Jackson
Entrepreneur, Professor, Author
Deja New Marketing
© Copyright 2011

Source: Read more about the Pew study at CNET.

In my opinion, blogs may be best suited for little ideas rather than big ideas. Increasingly, popular blogs are shorter and typically devoted to one idea or topic. Save the big ideas for your first novel. Instead, write about things that will be interesting or useful to your reader. As for the availability of topics, I keep a file folder on my PC desktop with saved articles, phrases, websites, and photos that strike me as interesting. When I see something that is interesting, I simply save it for later. When it is time for me to blog, I go back to the file and search for something that strikes my fancy. My current file folder has hundreds of potential blog topics. None of them have an expiration date and nor will they save the world. Yet, one of these saved ideas will be fodder for my next blog.

Time is in short supply for most of us. My suggestion is simple: set a goal to blog and schedule it. There are many schools of thought about how many blogs should be written to create a following, but if you only write one blog a week you will end up with 52 blogs a year. This blog volume will make you a certified blogger by most standards. Now that you have a goal of one blog per week, schedule it at a time when you will do your best work. That might be early in the morning or late at night or on a weekend. Allow up to one hour to research, write, edit, and post the blog. This one hour time constraint will cap your blog’s word length and that will be appreciated by most of your readers.

Finally, it may be difficult for me to convince you that writing is actually fun, but it does not need to be a grind. Of all the mediums for a writer, blogging may be the most forgiving. Bloggers are “allowed” to write conversationally and are even expected to do so. If you like footnotes, go buy a textbook. To be a conversational writer means that you write with short sentences, create bullets or lists when possible, and avoid the lawyer words. Visualize someone having a cup of coffee at Starbucks rather than making an important speech before a big crowd.

Blogging: go get started.

John Bradley Jackson
Entrepreneur, Professor, Author
Deja New Marketing
© Copyright 2011