Looking Forward to Hearing Bestseller Dan Heath at PMRG's Annual Conference on Monday

Marah Walsh

In the bestseller book “Made to Stick,” Dan and Chip Heath, discuss why some ideas thrive while others die.

Now in their new book, “Switch,” they discuss how the two parts of our mind, the rational part and the emotional part, make it hard to create lasting change in our companies, our communities, and ourselves.

Sometimes getting past an immense hurdle requires only a simple change, which in turn makes all the difference in our ability to maintain the change. And the result is often transformational, if the examples in the book are any indication. How many ways could your organization benefit from a retooling of “Business as usual?”

I will be attending the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group (PMRG) Annual Conference March 21-23 in Orlando. Dan Heath is the Monday Keynote Speaker, relating his research findings and ideas on change to our industry. I’ll be there looking to generate a few transformational ideas of our own during the talk. If you don’t see me there, make sure you stop by to say hello in the Media Lounge. Hope to see you at PMRG!

Learn more about the PMRG 2010 National Conference!
http://bit.ly/c8aTPP

Top Uses of Social Media for Business

Dan Limbach

You've all heard about Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and many other popular social media tools. But do you use it in your work? Here is a list of things social media does well for businesses.

Brand Stewardship – it’s not possible to control the conversation about your brand, but you can participate in the conversation. By being a good listener, responding with understanding, and providing helpful information, a company can build a stronger bond between the customer base and the brand. Knowing you are listening, you care, and you help solve problems goes a long way toward establishing fierce brand loyalty.

Customer Service – real-time customer feedback gives you a chance to provide immediate support if there is a customer concern. And if the issue affects many people, such as a bug in a software program or a dislike of a product package, social media really stands out because it can reach an entire community of followers instantly.

Recruiting – the inherent nature of social media makes it ideal for recruiting employees. It works best if you have a decent following (i.e. Twitter followers, Facebook friends/fans, YouTube subscribers, etc.). Recruiters will often say the best recruits are those not looking for a job. But through social networking, the perfect hire might be intrigued by a job that a friend passed along through social networking.