We are very honored to announce that City of Ridgeland recently asked us to come up with a design for their fleet of new police cruisers.

We all know of the bell curve. Most of us learned about it in the context of school where it is often applied to normalize grades.

The Bell Curve of Performance

The idea of the bell curve illustrates the notion that there are a few that always succeed no matter the circumstances and a few that do not succeed no matter the circumstances. In terms of performance, this occurs without adjusting scores. There are always outliers on the over-achiever (over-performance) and the under-achiever (under-performance) sides. The school and classroom may be poorly run, the teacher may not be organized, but over-achieving students, regardless of the situation, will succeed. Likewise, there are those on the other end of the bell curve who, in spite of an excellent educational environment and in spite of having excellent mentoring and teaching, just will not make it.

Common Practice

Unfortunately, what feels like the right thing to do sometimes is not. This is the case for people trying to maximize performance. Take teaching. Where does the teacher feel time is best spent. With the overachievers? The underachievers? Or the average audience in the middle?

It is not uncommon for us to want to help the helpless, or to help those exhibiting greatness succeed! We love to participate in stories of exception, rather than those of normality.

The Heartfelt Pitfall

When we focus on the exceptionally successful or the exceptionally challenged, we often do very little in terms of impact. The teachers who spend extra time with over- and underachievers have much less effect on their classroom as a whole because the under achievers and over achievers will perform very much the same with or without the attention.

The fact of the matter is that attention spent on those in the middle can and will reap the greatest rewards. The large population in the middle are on the fence of succeeding to a greater degree. They often just need a push and some dedication. They have the greatest potential for improvement and there are more people in this category — a win-win. Teachers focusing on this group can change the performance of the classroom as a whole from the average “C” to an average of a “B”.

If you are responsible for teaching or having an impact on a population, the hard truth is that your efforts are best spent in areas where you can sway performance most effectively, and that is on the middle of the curve, the average audience with the less exceptional story, where the rewards are obvious and bountiful.

The power of the Bell Curve.

Universal Law

The bell curve applies to circumstances of performance all around us. Education, sports, the workplace. Even in personal practices involving skill acquisition, personal achievement, and relationship, the same rules apply. As you come to understand the implications of this philosophy, you come to realize the power of strategically putting these laws into place to see real impact in everything you do.

A Newly Recognized Marketing Truth

Awareness is an amazing state. Once you recognize the truth of the bell curve and are able to apply it, you begin to exercise the power of its philosophy. And, it is simple.

Plain Business English

In your particular line of business, you will typically have those that will always buy from you and those who will not, and finally a lot of “maybes.” Somewhere on the top of the bell curve hill of maybes lies the fence. On one side you have the “probablies,” and on the other the “probably nots.” If you are thinking clearly, your job is to move the fence so that you have a lot more probablies and a lot fewer probably nots. This is how you can best impact sales. Just as the teachers have little impact on the guaranteed successes, you will have less impact on the guaranteed yeses.

If you are advertising, doing public relations, or other marketing related tasks, imagine the bell curve and how it fits your target population. If you have a message going out to help position a product then appeal to the maybe audience and move the fence line. If you are a politician, the base you should be appealing to is not the base of guaranteed votes, it is the base of maybes. The conversion of maybes to probablies is what wins elections.

Move the fence. Add to the probablies. Have real impact. Be an effective teacher, marketer, manager, and person. Apply the bell curve and reap the rewards of efficiency and achievement. Move the needle by providing the biggest bang for every ounce of effort. You will greatly accelerate your place in the world.
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Author Bryan Carter is President of thinkWEBSTORE.com, a company known for online marketing, advertising and social media including website design, facebook integration, advertising, messaging and delivery strategies.  They have become a one-stop shop for many businesses in Jackson, Ridgeland, Flowood and Madison.  thinkWEBSTORE is located in Ridgeland, Mississippi on Lake Harbour Drive next to Primos Cafe and can be contacted at (601)856-2000 or online at www.thinkWEBSTORE.com, where you can see many work examples.

Social Media Marketing has hit mainstream.  And, while MySpace has been thrown under the bus, Facebook and Twitter are thriving.  How well?  Well rumors of Google’s interest in Twitter are all the rage and if Google’s track record of picking winning online strategies is any indication then don’t expect this wave to end anytime soon.

Not only has social media technology hit mainstream, yes, even grandparents are checking out Facebook and blogs to see the latest pictures and videos of their grand kids, businesses have seen this as an opportunity to market their products and services.

Social Media Marketing using applications like Facebook and Twitter are allowing businesses to market to their customers in real and near real time on their terms, and the public is responding.  This new form of communication is opt in.  People choose to receive messages and updates from their fellow Facebook and Twitter users.  These days that group is not just friends and family, it includes celebrities, media outlets and yes, businesses.

Businesses benefit from getting a dedicated audience, ready to hear what they have to say.  To marketers, this is pure gold.  However, businesses beware.  If you do not use this medium correctly you can do more harm than good.  While social channels provide unprecidented access to potential customers, the social market is a fickle one.  And, if you come across poorly, you cannot only be dropped, you can become blacklisted by your customer base.

It is important that ANY messages you send out to your social network not be seen as SPAM, mundane or worthless.  Anything you send must have value.  The way to determine that value is by first having an in-depth understanding of your audience.  By effectively predicting what your audience deems worthwhile, you can have a significant impact on your customer relations and your sales in an almost real-time and fluid way that cannot be rivaled by any other form of media.  The loyalty you can instill in your customer community and your ability to attract them to your offerings may surprise you.

While no marketing tool is a silver bullet, each has its place and Social Media Marketing has secured its place as a viable mainstream strategy.

Contact thinkWEBSTORE.com for more information on Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

thinkWEBSTORE.com is a Mississippi based company that specializes in website design, web technologies, logo design, business identity and marketing strategy. thinkWEBSTORE.com is co-located with Advanced Microsystems (www.advmicrosystems.com), a company specializing in computer repair, networking and network administration.

www.thinkwebstore.com
info@thinkwebstore.com
601-856-2000
655 Lake Harbour Drive
Ridgeland, MS 39157

Read more about Social Media Marketing, SEO and SEM at thinkWEBSTORE.com

So what is the hype with Google and other search engine searches.  Well, the truth of the matter is that it is anything but hype.  More and more people choose to search for business listings on their computers and phones using Google and other search engines rather than dragging out the phone book.  In fact, more and more, you find people who haven’t even cracked open their phone books for the first time.

What is the interest in Google?  Google makes it easy to look up just about any business by category or by name.  It is so much easier that people are putting their phone books to rest.

The bad news for businesses is not that people are migrating to searches rather than using the Yellow Pages, it is that people use them differently and that the way people use search engine results id much more competitive than the way they use the Yellow Pages.

When someone is looking for a listing in the Yellow Pages, say they are looking for pizza, they will look up the category and usually scan the entire column, maybe look for another category and maybe look at the ads on the pages before committing to a phone call.  That means that just being in the category may give you a fighting chance to attract some business.  When people search on the internet, on the other hand, they usually have thousands of results in their list.  Ironically, even with more results they tend to look at fewer.  Many people don’t even look past the first page of results if there is a listing there that satisfies their need.

What does this mean for businesses?  If people are choosing to use Google searches rather than the Yellow Pages and they are usually only at the first page of results, then you MUST be on the first page, which may only be 10 listings and perhaps a map with 10 listings (known as a ten pack).  And the only way to get listed in the top ten is usually, you guessed it, through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or if you are willing to pay more, through payed placement using Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

The good news is many businesses have already budgeted hundreds or thousands of dollars for this exact type of advertising through the Yellow Pages.  If you have been spending big money on the Yellow Pages, then you might want to consider redirecting some of those valuable marketing and advertising dollars.

Contact thinkWEBSTORE.com for more information on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

thinkWEBSTORE.com is a Mississippi based company that specializes in website design and web technology, logo and business identity design, marketing and business strategy. thinkWEBSTORE.com is co-located with Advanced Microsystems (www.advmicrosystems.com), who specializes in computer repair, networking and network administration.

www.thinkwebstore.com
info@thinkwebstore.com
601-856-2000
655 Lake Harbour Drive
Ridgeland, MS 39157

Read more about SEO and SEM at thinkWEBSTORE.com
>>SEO. What is it and do I need it?
>>Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing. Are they the same?
>>Search Engine Optimization vs. The Yellow Pages

There are ways to actively and passively use social apps to promote your business, but before you get too excited, take care.  Amateur use of these mediums often results in poor results.  In social marketing, it is critical that advertising is not seen as advertising.  If it is, 4 in 5 times you will lose.

Social marketing is about value.  What does that mean for your business?  How does it play with your website design, branding and web presence?  Come in for a consultation.  We will discuss what it means for your business specifically.  And, get ready, it turns out to be a lot of fun in addition to rewarding when you utilize social channels the right way.

For more information on Facebook, Twitter and other Social Marketing tools and strategies contact us directly or, if you are in the Jackson, Mississippi area, we encourage you to stop by for a tour of our facilities and a quick, obligation free conversation.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an internal practice involving physically tuning up your site (the public side and the code side) so that it is appealing to search engines.  Properly done, it can help you, immediately and over time, improve your ranking on the organic side of search results.  Evaluating your site and code and appropriately integrating the content that is greatly sought by searchers in combination with specific registrations can have a substantial impact on your search engine placement.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) takes on two fundamental forms, organic and paid.  Paid SEM is the practice of placing paid ads with search engines, which often appear to the right and above organic results.  There is certainly a science and art to this practice but that is the fundamental behind the practice.  Organic SEM strategies help to move a site up in the organic rankings.  In either case, SEO is a practical and critical first step to any search engine based optimization or placement strategy.

Contact thinkWEBSTORE.com for more information on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

thinkWEBSTORE.com is a Mississippi based company that specializes in website design and web technology, logo and business identity design, marketing and business strategy. thinkWEBSTORE.com is co-located with Advanced Microsystems (www.advmicrosystems.com), who specializes in computer repair, networking and network administration.

www.thinkwebstore.com
info@thinkwebstore.com
601-856-2000
655 Lake Harbour Drive
Ridgeland, MS 39157

Read more about SEO and SEM at thinkWEBSTORE.com
>>SEO. What is it and do I need it?
>>Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing. Are they the same?
>>Search Engine Optimization vs. The Yellow Pages

Our talents and services are much more extensive and include graphic design and illustration, logo design, business identity (logos, business cards, letterhead), ad design, brochure design, business and marketing consulting, remote data vaulting and security and more.

Stop by to see us and discuss our our complete line of service offerings, the problems we solve and the benefits that are in store.  Above all else, we make it easy.