Real Thinking

Look Into My Eyes and Make Me Buy You

2008-11-04T13:17:00Z

In a recent article on www.reportonbusiness.com entitled Brand Surgery, Ken Hunt discusses the methods market researchers are using to define consumer's emotional attachment to a product. Through a process that includes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), researchers are delving in to "neuromarketing" in an effort to determine what actually makes us pull out our wallet.

He points out that often surveys are misleading in that they depend upon the respondent's honest answers. And while individual's don't usually intend to misrepresent their opinions, they are in fact, coloring their responses due to any number of factors: a need to impress or a fleeting mood, for example. By using technology that measures involuntary physical reactions, researchers are able to obtain a truly unguarded emotional response.

It's these emotional attachments to products or companies that every business covets. Once in place, these relationships are very difficult to dislodge. Consider your own attachment to certain products and how you will do without, rather than use another kind.

Sounds a little scary doesn't it? For those of you of a certain age, you might recall the brain washing scares of the sixties marketing scene in which subliminal messaging was the latest bogeyman.

The point is that human behavior hasn't changed a bit in that humans are emotional beings who react emotionally to their surroundings. It's the marketer's job to influence our behavior and opinions and it's the buyers job to beware. Some things never change.

Right Click for Note Taking

2008-09-25T19:45:00Z

Successful market research today requires an higher degree of information organization acumen than it did in the past. In the old days, we used to go the library, get chummy with the research assistants, and take lots of notes. If we were smart, we organized those notes in categories and then gathered them all up to write our reports or papers. We had access to a pretty limited amount of information, even though it seemed like we cooled that seat in the library for days.

Today, the opportunity is that there is a great deal of information available on the internet. While I miss my friendly research librarian (and I still trot off to the library now and then for the ambiance and fellowship if nothing else), it's great to be able to access so much information and data through your desktop. The problem is, now we have A LOT MORE information that we need to store, sort, and access.

I've fooled around with a variety of research organizing methods, but generally ended up with a bunch of bookmarks I that didn't make sense, a list of notes cut out of articles, and some comments jotted in a notepad. Then, I discovered Google Notebook. Now, I right click in the page I'm reading and click on "Note this (Google Notebook)". Later, when I'm ready to review my notes, I click on the Notebook icon in the right hand corner of my browser frame and there's all my research. I can also write a brief description of my note so I know what the link was all about in the first place. The ability to add depth to your surfing is what pulls this away from simply bookmarking sites, since it adds intelligence and context to your research. Did I mention you can add labels as well?

I love easy and this is easy. Not a researcher? Try to collect articles you want to read later, websites you don't have time to look at, and anything else you find on the web that you want to capture and return to. Google Notebook - very cool.

The Forgotten Segment: Women in Business

2008-08-13T16:14:00Z

If you're in the small business card issuing business, you may be missing a cardholder segment that holds the promise of significant transaction activity - women.

Yes, it's that simple, the economic power of women represents over $1 trillion in commercial spending each year. Not only are more women starting businesses than ever before, women are often in positions of influence when it comes to purchasing decisions AND payment methods.

What are some of the guidelines to consider when marketing your card products to women? According to studies done by M2W, here's some information you might consider as you craft your marketing plan.

Over 91 percent of women feel that advertisers don't understand them, therefore, don't make assumptions about your female customers until you test those assumptions using tools like focus groups or advisory boards.
About 78 percent of women use the Internet for product information before making a purchase. When designing an internet marketing plan consider the fact that most women are serious multi-taskers and have multiple roles, therefore, the more information ties together product usefulness into those roles, the more attractive it is for women.
Pay attention to details. Women absorb detail about everything.
Be careful about coming across as patronizing in the use of graphics, color, and language.
Purchase a copy of Faith Popcorn's book "Evolution -- the Eight Truths of Marketing to Women", which continues to be a textbook on marketing strategies for this segment.

The lesson to be learned is that your marketing strategies for small business may be designed in such a way as to not appeal to or worse, turn off, this significant market segment. As you plan your next campaign, shine this light on it and see if you get a glow.

d.school thinking

2008-07-16T13:15:00Z

A recent issue of Fast Company magazine profiled the Stanford University's d.school whose guiding principle is that design thinking can be applied to all types of challenges. While many businesses claim that they operate in a "culture of innovation", how many of those have any of us actually worked in?

Innovation is difficult for structured organizations to accomplish in that structure itself works against the innovator's success. Well-intentioned perhaps, but often ending up in the cheerleading/eye rolling category of work experiences. The reason for this could be that innovation can't dictate the rules of the game. Businesses still have to be run with order and consistency or they will die. Just consider the dot com bust of the 1990's and you'll see what I mean.

What's intriguing about the d.school's theory is that innovative or design thinking is used to allow business leaders to break free from their organization's political and social boundaries in order to solve strategic or organizational problems. In other words, it's a means of re-training the mind to come at challenges using techniques normally associated with the creative process.

So, if you're in the midst of trying to figure out why ________________ (fill in the blank) isn't working, it may be worthwhile to check it out at d.school.

Building a Debt Brotherhood

2008-07-01T16:46:31Z

The news continues to be grim for credit card issuers. According to the latest Fitch credit card data, card issuers are facing some of the biggest losses they've experienced in the past five years. That means that there are a lot of anxious debtors our there wondering how they are going to make their credit card payments. Which made me wonder - how are the issuers reacting?

So, I traveled to a few major issuers websites to see if they are reaching out to credit card debtors who are struggling and where's what I found (note: I was not able to log in as a debtor to any site other than Citi, where I am a card holder, so there may be additional information available to cardholders that I could not access):

WaMu - hard hit by the credit slump, they are actively offering help to consumers with their mortgage debt. No mention of similar opportunities for credit cards.
Citi - a link for "Handling Hard Time" can be found on their cardholder servicing site. It does not address the current environment, but does offer a variety of suggestions for different personal circumstances.
Chase - offers a credit resource center which includes information on understanding your credit score and the like.
Discover - a "Paydown Planner" is provided where consumers can input "what if" scenarios to determine debt repayment time periods.

Not to be exclusive, I also checked two of the largest credit unions in the U.S.:

Pentagon FCU - home page contains a disclaimer that they do not participate in subprime lending, followed by a resource center on their credit card page which offers information on credit scores and debt management.
Navy FCU - also makes a "no subprime" disclaimer and offers information on understanding your credit score.

Now, why should an issuer actively reach out to consumers who have not contacted them about impending delinquency? Because as delinquencies and charge offs rise, so will servicing costs and loan loss reserves. Because what goes down is interest income (one can charge higher rates, but if no one's paying them?), securitization asset quality, and available lending pools.

Financial institutions are not well known for their brotherhood outside of fraud and regulatory protectionism, but doesn't it seem like the time is right to get in front of this growing problem? Waiting too long to deal with the mortgage meltdown left many good lending institutions holding the bag and Uncle Sam pointing the finger the wrong way. How about credit card issuers sitting down to discuss this problem from an industry perspective and addressing it in tandem?

I have to wonder where we would be if, as mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures rose, the lenders decided that rather than treat the problem as business as usual - only MUCH bigger - they created the means to boost consumer's ability to stay in their homes and pay a mortgage.

If a $1.00 of charged off debit is worth pennies, how much more revenue can be made from $.80 of good debt? Idealistic - maybe, impractical - maybe, worth trying - priceless.

After All, It's Just a Slogan

2008-06-25T18:15:00Z

Eric Dash, writing in the NY Times today discussed how Citigroup is quietly backing off their slogan, "A Deal is a Deal" , which pledged to consumers that the issuing giant would no longer reserve the right to increase fees at any time for any reason. Announced by top Citigroup executives last year, one could almost see John Wayne reaching out his hand to consumers and looking them straight in the eye. Some members of Congress even went gaga over these heroic efforts to play it straight with the American public - back slapping all the way around.

What! Consumers didn't flock to Citi and apply for their "honest" credit card!? Apparently not, since "A Deal is a Deal" is now the same only different. But not really, because after all dear reader- it's a slogan. A slogan is a marketing device and most American consumers are savvy enough to figure that out. Add our ability to shop around for the best credit card deals to the rest of the public who couldn't tell you how much they pay in interest on their cards locked in a room with their statement and their accountant, and mix in a recession to get instant new slogan.

Maybe it should be something like "I'd Deal Me.".

Or, perhaps credit card lenders should look ahead and work on creating products that have real, sustainable market value. The kind of products that consumers will use again and again because they are fairly priced and make their lives easier.

How about that for a slogan?

Living Outside a Material World - Credit Cards Released from Plastic Confines?

2008-06-17T20:53:00Z

An article in the UK's Banking Times cites Apacs (UK Payments Association) who predicts that consumers are getting closer to being able to use their cell phones as a displacement to credit cards. The hold up has been securing the transactions, but technology like Near Field Communication (NFC) holds the promise of delivering fast, reliable, and safe mobile purchase transactions.

Once this hurdle is overcome, it may provide the final push to removing multiple plastic cards from consumers wallet and realizing payments in the virtual world. For example, both Visa and MasterCard are supporting delinked accounts which are identified at the cardholder, not the product level. In addition, the major U.S. issuers are consolidating their bases and there may be further consolidation looming, as consumer credit continues to soften. In addition, two of the major issuers in the U.S., Bank of America and Chase, both own significant merchant acquiring businesses; giving them control over both ends of a transaction.

All this adds up to the possibility of consumers having one "payment identification" account which is then linked to a number of different types of payment methods. One could select credit, debit, or prepaid for example at the POS by using the same primary account. The card becomes superfluous to the payment transaction, which can take place in the real or virtual world including using a mobile phone.

One can argue that this is quite a leap, from mobile phone payments to multi-tender accounts, but the promise of a true virtual wallet has been on the horizon for quite some time. It could be that consumer acceptance and technology are maturing to the point of making this a reality.

It's Time the Networks Listened Up.

2008-06-12T19:40:00Z

Sen. Dick Durbin, (D-Ill) introduced the following legislation today regarding interchange rates:

“Under Durbin’s bill, retailers would be able to engage in collective negotiations with the providers of any electronic payment system with significant market power (i.e., 20% or more of the credit and debit card market) over the fees and terms for access to that system. If the retailers and providers do not reach a voluntary agreement on fees and terms, the matter would be brought before a panel of three expert judges appointed by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission.

These judges would investigate the fees, terms, and overall market conditions for electronic payment systems. The judges would then order a mandatory settlement conference, and if the settlement conference failed to result in an agreement between the retailers and providers, the judges would conduct a hearing where each side would present their final offer of fees and terms. The judges would then select the offer that most closely represented the fees and terms that would be negotiated in a fair and competitive market. The judges’ decision would govern access to the electronic payment system for a period of 3 years, but could be superseded at any time by a voluntary agreement concluded between retailers and providers.” (http://durbin.senate.gov)

As I’m reading this, I’m imagining the scene in front of the judges’ panel, as merchants and networks duke it out in open court. Notwithstanding whether this is or is not a good idea, the fact is that it represents the opening salvo in a regulatory battle that may change the face of interchange in the U.S. for many years to come.

Particularly if a Democrat takes the helm this November and the free market free-for-all gets stomped on, it seems more likely that relief is on the way, but at what cost? Even though the issuers are being dragged through the mud as one big, predatory-lending group, the fact remains that interchange has been an effective, if flawed, funding mechanism for both sides of the transaction.

We need to be cautious about throwing the baby out with the bath water, but it is certainly time for the major networks to step up to the plate with more than just additional layers of pricing. It’s time for interchange to begin the migration to a value-based system. Waiting too long to react and hoping it’ll all go away, may not work out very well as more legislators jump on the wagon in a political and economic environment seeking scapegoats.

Real Process for Real Projects

2008-06-06T13:57:00Z

An article in the New York Times today took a look at the fact and fiction surrounding the proper foods to eat before, during and after an athletic event for optimal performance. The prevailing wisdom is that there is a specific methodology to the types and quantities of food and supplements which will enhance endurance and support the body's recovery.

The author interviewed a researcher and physician in Canada and his associate, both of whom are or have been competitive athletes. Their dietary regime consists of drinking water and eating fruit. They believe that unless you are working out at very high intensity twice a day, eating and drinking real food works just fine.

This concept got me thinking about project management and the industry that's grown up around it. Does how we do something matter as much as what we do? Or, has the industry created the promise and expectation that project's are better because of it?

It's been my experience that the very best and most successful projects are those that have a good strong leader in charge, clear expectations, and enough team players to overcome the naysayers. Then, just get out of their way. Now, this is not to say that a project doesn't require documentation, process, and communication points. But, case in points, one of the very best project leaders I ever knew used a pencil and a pad of paper.

Consider trying a small experiment in your shop. Pick a project that has a relatively short duration and clear the deck. Take out the single purpose tools and leave only a framework in place - requirements document, project timelines, milestones, and escalation procedure for example. Then see if it works. Better yet, try it and let me know if it works. Real process for real projects - think about it.

Chase Takes Control

2008-06-02T14:10:00Z

The announcement that JPMorganChase is bringing their merchant network in-house underlines the increased value of owning both the issuer and merchant side of a payment transaction. As the spread between issuer income and merchant expense becomes narrower, strategies like those announced by Chase this week and previously, by Bank of America, mean that these giants will have the control and muscle to come out ahead when the smoke clears in the payments market.

The ability to own both sides of the payments equation is an important step in one's ability to maintain control in a quickly transitioning market. Consider the dynamics taking place in the U.S.: Non-cash/check payment transactions have breached the trillion dollar wall and will continue to go higher. Some regulatory oversight of merchant interchange fees is likely and issuers can expect new controls on pricing and fees.

The value of a payments processing network is clearly seen in the valuation of both MasterCard and Visa's companies. The movement of payment transactions through these networks is on a sustained upward trajectory; representing billions of dollars of processing fees which will not be impacted by any change in the interchange fee structure. Chase, like Bank of America, wants sole control over those fees and sole control over those relationships.

However, with MasterCard and Visa now competitors in the network market, former partners like Chase have recognized that without this ownership, they will be subject to the vagaries of changing market dynamics. The investment they have made in their issuer portfolios will be stepped on by the regulatory storm troopers as sentiment grows for consumer pricing and interchange fee relief.

This translates into the narrowing of the gap between issuer income and merchant fees in the current interchange structure. Therefore, owning both sides of the relationship will be a key factor in long term profitability and strategic product enhancements that will be required in a new payments environment.

First Data/InComm Deja Vu?

2008-05-15T14:33:00Z

First Data created its empire in large part by being all things to all people; issuing and acquiring, card production, transaction processing, and POS solution provider. At the heart of the company was the First Data network and the enormous distribution channel they've built amongst merchants of all sizes.

Now that the major U.S. issuers have headed off in new directions and the credit card market softens even further in the face of unstable economic times, the value of holding both ends of a credit-based transaction has been diminished.

The recent announcement of First Data's acquisition of InComm should ring some familiar bells as the company searches for ways to leverage their assets in a market that continues to post double digit growth figures. In the past few years, First Data has moved aggressively to build a world-wide merchant processing base through a number of strategic global acquisitions. It makes sense that now they will turn their attention to opening those distribution channels through prepaid card products where once again, they hold all the major strings.

The beauty of the prepaid card is that it is in essence, a blank piece of paper. An issuer can define the account to be open, closed, constricted or general purpose. If this same flexibility can be offered to the merchant in such as way as to allow them to migrate accounts from closed to open, for example, then both the cardholder and merchant receive more value. And in the middle of it all is First Data. It's a strategy that worked very well in the past. I would expect to see more acquisitions like this in the future.

The Nothingness of Productivity

2008-05-13T16:04:00Z

Working hard doesn't always mean working smart and sometimes the best strategy to get something done is to leave it alone.

One of Buddha's precepts is to embrace all aspects of life rather than pit one against the other. Take for example, productivity. I spoke with a colleague this past week who was clearly exhausted. Traveling for weeks at a time, stretched out over a job that years ago would have been done by two or three people, it made me consider that her productive output had tipped and was heading downhill fast. She was put in a position where she was actually fighting her own job. In that situation, eventually, something's going to give and it won't be a billion dollar company that collapses.

Reflect on times in your own life when you were most productive and you'll soon realize it was the times when you were in the zone. All cylinders pumping in concert combined with a razor sharp focus on the work at hand. Sweet feeling and one that hard to come by in a lot of companies where less (employees) is more.

So, in honor of springtime, the time of year when we yearn to be outside - our creativity is at its peak - and we long to stop and smell the roses, I offer up a great post on staying focused (http://zenhabits.net/2008/05/16-ways-to-keep-a-razor-sharp-focus-at-work/#more-696).

My simple advice to being truly productive is to build in time to leave it alone. Learn to walk away, allow your mind to clear, and give that "real thinking" of yours some space to move around in.

The Next Big Brand

2008-04-18T13:38:00Z

Consider this, you are interested in purchasing a new exterior hard drive for your computer. You know nothing about them. What is more important to you - the brand or the reputation?

Try this, you would like to purchase something from Company A, but you frequently see their products in close-out stores. Would you still purchase the item? What if you saw excellent recommendations on an industry website about that product? Would you feel better about the quality of the item?

In other words, is the idea of a "brand" beginning to be superimposed by what people say about a company or its product. Is reputation the new brand?

Consumers are actively encouraged to voice their opinions on products and services today. This happens in personal blogs, industry sites, and user groups. These consumer experience postings directly affect a companies market position and in fact, I would argue that a good or bad recommendation can trump a brand any day of the week.

The combination of complex product functionality, large numbers of product choices, marketing skepticism, and lack of trust in corporate veracity creates an environment where consumers will believe what they read on an Internet blog before they will a company's claims. Organizations that want to grab more market share may be well served to nurture a user community that actively promotes their product in their daily communications. Just consider the success of Apple and the focus they have always placed on their user experience.

The degradation of brand is a function of an increasingly skeptical, sophisticated, and informed consumer. The importance of information in the form of opinion, may be the next phase of the branding experience.

The Best Meeting Feedback

2008-04-03T00:37:00Z

This post is designed to allow readers of my white paper, "The Best Meeting I've Ever Been To" to post comments and feedback.

If you're interested in receiving a copy of the white paper and joining the discussion, just send me an email (patricia@phewittconsulting.com) or click over to the Contact page of My Website to enter your contact information and "The Best Meeting Ever" in the Subject or Comment line and I'll get one out to you right away.

After you've read it, come back and post a comment. Thanks!

The Matrix as an Organization

2008-03-31T19:17:00Z

Recently I was reading some very interesting posts on the changes that may be on the horizon for our organizational structures, so here's my thoughts on the subject. . .

I am of the opinion that in this century we are going to see the emergence of the matrix as a viable organizational model.

In the model, large companies will exist as a matrix of smaller companies; selected for their specific core competency and/or economic value. These smaller companies will be independent and in many cases, non-exclusive of the larger organization.

This structure will allow global organizations to maintain a core infrastructure and brand ownership, but provide a reactive outer shell that will provide on demand expertise and access to competitive pricing structures.

The emergence of the matrix will occur due to three main factors:

1. Global organizations will not support the variable cost of maintaining a stable workforce and deliver the profitability expected by the market. Nor will they be able to maintain a disclipined operational infrastructure and still be able to react quickly to a market's innovations.

2. The small business innovation and services sector will continue to grow with the seeding of seasoned and experienced resources being pushed or jumping out of large organizations.

3. The technology of communications has matured to the point of making this model possible in its ability to support a virtual.

Your thoughts?

ATM's Need A New Dress

2008-03-26T15:31:00Z

In a recent article on ATMMarketplace.com, Travis Kurcher takes a look at the impact of interchange fees on ATM usage at the POS. It wasn't until I reached the end of the article that someone got to the real problem when Harry Popiel of Rock Mountain ATM Sales stated the obvious when he said, “The ATM industry is a very challenged industry right now and they have to look to other ways to use the real estate that they have. . .".

The issue ATM's are struggling with is that fact that they are weighted down with legacy processing systems which makes it extremely difficult to be nimble. That makes the market ripe for disruptive technologies, such as products like Select-A-Branch. Their are one example of companies that are taking ATM's into the digital age through the use of virtual technologies.

If I'm in my local store or restaurant or coffee shop and can access an ATM to check my balance, pay my utility bill or transfer money, then I'm using that machine. And if I'm a financial institution, I can reach out to consumers with relevant information about my products and services who I might otherwise not be able to reach, I'm using that machine. Finally, If I'm the merchant, and can keep consumers in my store longer and create new revenue streams, I'm using that machine.

Talking about cash-driven interchange strategies is really missing the point. We have gone over the tipping point and are in a virtual payment world. Legacy systems are falling and new ones will rise up to take their place which will act to create value streams that break off at simple cash transactions and into new opportunities that are all about how we access and use money.

Convergence Happens

2008-03-19T17:10:00Z

I'm not sure what this has to do with business except to point out that sometimes its the completely unexpected, unrelated functions that come together to create something. . . ?

What you're going to see is a performance by the Finnish rock band, The Leningrad Cowboys, joined by the Red Army Choir in their very own rendition of Sweet Home Alabama.

;

The Revolution is Upon Us.

2008-03-17T20:17:00Z

The opportunity to jump into the non-cash payments market has never been greater. As the reality of a cashless society begins to take shape, the traditional rules of the game no longer apply. At the heart of that tradition is the interchange system now under fire from all sides.

No longer the secret realm of smoke-filled rooms, interchange structures are being dragged out into the light of day and not a moment too soon. I wouldn't be surprised if even the term "interchange" is quietly buried under the stigma of a once proud system gone bad and a new lexicon takes its place.

One could argue that merchants have received great benefit from the interchange system. Where else canthey have their receivables funded for 2-3%? However, we live in a time of consumer participation and they are clearly tired of being shut out of the discussion. It's hard to say if any action by Visa or MasterCard would have forestalled the governments nose from poking into their business, but the signs were clearly there. Merchant participation in the interchange system may provide the impetus to finally create a system that takes into consideration risk, reward, and market value into its pricing structure.

Another motivating factor for our legacy processing networks is the stabilization of virtual networks, mobile networks, and PC-based applications that leverage the internet for direct processing. Both merchants and consumers are growing more comfortable in this new world. This is not to say that Visa and MasterCard will find themselves obsolete, but as the market for these products moves into its consolidation phase, larger and larger players will have the muscle to take bigger bites out of their territory.

Now that the time is at hand where both organizations will be squarely in the public eye, more focus will be put on their ability to grow and adapt to dynamic market pressures. For example, are we far away from having a single account that will give us access to multiple payment purses? Already a reality in the healthcare world, discussed as a possible role for our cell phones, can legacy systems continue to dominate in a world where my payment can be affected via a text message?

The revolution has begun and now it will be up to all the players to make certain they're not put in a position where regulation trumps innovation.

Measuring True Loss

2008-03-10T13:34:00Z

Speaking with a senior manager of a very large utility years ago, they said to me "We don't know how much money we're losing".

Translation: We don't know how many customer's we're losing. Today, most company's would agree that measuring attrition should be a core performance measurement. According to a recent Maritz study, a typical bank losses over $6 million of bottom line profit due to customer attrition.

But that's not all the bad news, the rest of the story is that for each customer your lose, you have to gain two new ones to keep pace. And that doesn't account for the disparity in spending. If you lose a large customer, how many smaller ones do you need to sign up to equal their revenue?

If you're one of the companies who takes a hard look at client losses, then go onto your next blog. If not, then here's a few ideas to consider:

1. If a customer has to contact you to close their account, ask them why and be specific. Take as much time with your exit script as your welcome one.
2. Empower your contact staff to save that customer. I can't count the number of times I've contacted a company to close my account and the service staff takes my request and says thank you!
3. Regularly review these exit interviews and better yet, have an outside company review them and send suggestions back to you. This takes the emotion out of it.
4. Make customer retention part of your strategic planning every year. Set a goal, keep metrics, and review results.

If you have a business where you can't interview exiting customers:

1. Talk to your buyers and ask them if they've purchased from you before, why they purchase from you, and have they recommended you?
2. Secret shop your own business. Call customer service, make a return, have a complaint and see what happens. Would you return to your own business?

Just like the cost of fixing something twice goes up geometrically from fixing it once, losing a customer is the same principle. Get creative in the way you look at your company and don't make assumptions about how good you are. Not everyone may agree with you.

What's Your Internal Brand?

2008-03-05T14:12:00Z

There's a lot of truth in the old adage, "can't see the forest for the trees". I recall some years ago I had a real issue with juggling client support across clients that ranged from start-up to Fortune 100 companies. Everyone was in a big pile and our servicing staff were struggling.

I finally realized what I needed to do was "hang off the side", meaning that I had to push out from how we thought of ourselves, which was client support, and come back to it with a whole new profile.

Therefore, the key to the solution was not a change in the way we supported our clients, it was the creation of an identity for that support. Once the identity was in place, the organization fell in behind it. It worked very well and had the added benefit of allowing new identities to be created as new client segments were developed.

So, I encourage you to hang off the side. Look up, down, around - think about how you think about your organization. What words to you use? What terms do you use? What's your internal brand?

Here's a link that might help you spend a few minutes seeing a simple piece of paper in a whole new way. http://www.petercallesen.com/index/index2.html