Are You Covering Up Your Bald Spot?

"I'm in business, I don't want to be transparent." A friend told me this recently while discussing business blogging. Truth is, unless your sales cycle is a one-time shot with no chance of return (or referrals), you will exhibit some transparency- it's human nature. The "you" comes out eventually -- and it's a good thing. People like doing business with people they know and like.

Your business may have the same demographic as it did 20 years ago - statistically. But has the personality of that demographic changed? Will your 25-40 year-old customer tomorrow respond to the same marketing tactics you used yesterday?

"You're covering your baldness, and at a certain point, you're going to look stupid." I love this quote from the article, "Is Mad. Ave. Ready To Go Naked?" in the current issue of Fast Company. The article focuses on the attempts of Naked Communication, a London-based consultancy to lead companies in their communication with customers - not at them. Their practices are outside the comfort zone of traditional ad agencies and marketers.

Here in Des Moines, Iowa, our government and business leaders are looking for ways to keep young professionals local. Two years ago, Des Moines was called "The Hippest City in USA." This year, Entrepreneur ranks Des Moines 36th in their Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs (Iowa ranked 50th as a state).

What's the solution? Give the customer a sense of ownership in your business - and deliver a sense of transparency. No need to go from one extreme (behind closed doors) to another (a glass house), but engage yourself with your customer. Look back twenty years ago. Are we still conducting business the same way? Change wasn't embraced then, either.