Nature or evolution tells us there are several simple ways of building up and diversifying your gene pool. Here are four principles that you can apply:

1. Cumulatively build on best you have one small step at a time. Make many small changes rather than one or a few big traumatic changes.

2. Nourish, train and develop genes you have to fully develop their potential.

3. Carefully, introduce new genes, new blood from outside. Out-breeding - a well-established practice in animal husbandry.

4. Learn from your and other people's mistakes and good fortunes. In nature, surprisingly, organisms only truly make transformations through rare errors occurring in gene replication - mutations. Most mutations are bad and cause diseases, but some are good and lie dormant for years until they are called in to play to help compete in environment.

The most important and key factor in transforming your organisation is outside influence - last two points above. So here are a few ideas to get you started:

a) Visit and learn from other companies, not just in your own industry.

b) Attend and network at external meetings and training courses.

c) Seek and action appropriate external help from respected knowledgeable industry experts.

d) Carefully hire people with different backgrounds and experience.

e) Lastly, but not least, involve your staff in all these actions; make most of their genes.

You need to become a genetic leader or manager to grow a resilient, sustainable and thriving business using nature's secrets! A Great Business. Start today, just do it one small step at a time!

If you’re a Generation X-er marketing to Baby Boomers, your taste will be different, but you’re not selling to you, you are selling to them.

YOUR WEBSITE AND COLLATERALS

“Collaterals” in marketing means your promotional materials – your website, brochures, flyers and things like that. You need to consider them always works in progress. Marketing changes even more rapidly these days, and particularly on Internet.

You should review your website at least every 6 months. We expect to see changes on a website. Very few of them are static. Changing look from time-to-time shows that you’re a “happening” place. This indicates, especially in area of services, that you’re keeping up with times – new information, new ways of addressing problems, new! Not old! The marketplace is changing, and consumers want you to be too.

WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING

You need to be constantly aware of what others are doing, about internet in general, but also about your competition. Peruse other websites continually. You’ll find new and better ways of saying things, new terms, new services, new programs, and you’ll also see their pricing. This is only way you can stay competitive. By looking at a cross-section, you’ll see what’s “in”. When you see something that’s jarring to you, you’ll know not to do that.

You can read rules for instance, about not having a long load time for your website, and consider yourself special, but first time you’re in a hurry and go to a website that takes “too long” to upload and you impatiently give up and go elsewhere, you will have learned most valuable lesson you can.

Or when you happen to be in a quiet office and go to a website and suddenly there’s music blaring out. Be a mindful consumer sometimes and see what it’s like from other side.

Next time you get irritated with someone’s website, stop and analyze why. Too many graphics? Font too small or too hard to read? Too busy? Unappealing colors?

If you sell services or products related to relationships and dating, check out all websites you can to get feel, look and terminology.

Do market research all time. It’s just a matter of paying attention to what you see, hear and feel. If you really get into it, you can become almost obnoxious about it. Conrad Hilton’s wife said she couldn’t stand to travel with him because he was always criticizing what he saw when they were in a hotel. It should be like that, where you have to remind yourself to turn this critical eye off, not on. There’s a lot to learn out there in a changing scene, and it takes constant attention.

©Susan Dunn, marketing coach, http://www.webstrategies.cc . Ebook writing and launch, web strategies, marketing and promotion, press releases, web design, article-writing and submission. Full-service, consultation and implementation, advice and resources. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for free ezine, put “checklist” for subject line.