Monday, July 6, 2009

The Corporate Mullet

Wow, the past couple weeks have just flown by, and I'm ready for another whirlwind tour. My good friend Duncan Alney (Firebelly Marketing) and I are speaking at the Realpage User Conference next Tuesday. The topic, "Building Your Online Corporate Mullet." Yes, you read that right, Corporate Mullet. It's an interesting metaphor for how to look at your business. Yes, there is a corporate image with clean logos, bullet points, copy, legal, etc., but there has always been a social aspect to business and now even more so with the online tools at our fingertips. After the presentation we'll share with everyone some highlights and our slides.

So, with the idea of the "Corporate Mullet" I ask the question, "Do you have a policy or a strategy?" I believe too many businesses are waiting around trying to develop a policy so that the business up front doesn't get associated with the party in the back. Why? Do we have a policy for how to talk with our customers face to face, or is it a strategy? How is using facebook, Twitter, blogging, or replying to ApartmentRatings.com reviews any different than emailing, talking on the phone, or meeting face to face? You do know that email is a form of social media, right? Social media, or whatever you want to call it, (as I agree with Gary Vaynerchuk it should just be called business) is what we do. We are social beings, especially in real estate. We interact, we discuss things, we debate, we sell, we give, we care, we use new communication tools, we do business. What's your strategy?

3 comments:

  1. Hey Mark, I really like the analogy. I've been putting my thoughts together for a post on the different ways I find a balance between personal and "business" interactions via social media, and I think the "corporate mullet" analogy fits nicely into that as well. It's important that we all maintain an overall professional demeanor, but it's equally important to show your "party" side every now and then - it helps give context to who you are as an overall human being, and imho, helps people better connect with you on multiple levels. It should be the same for businesses as well! I look forward to hearing how the talk goes, and checking out the slides when you're done. Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Matt- Thanks for stopping by to comment. There are a number of angles we have with the corporate mullet. This is Duncan's brainchild so I really can't take any credit, but we're rolling with it for this presentation and what we're putting together makes it fun. I think you make a great point in that we have to have both sides. You really can't just have one or the other. Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good Mod, please email me when it published

    ReplyDelete