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Introworks Named Minnesota Business’ 100 Best Workplaces

introworks — Mon, 07 May 2012 08:00:33 +0000

MINNETONKA, Minn. – It’s a fundamental right of all Americans – the pursuit of happiness. That pursuit extends to the workplace for the creative staff of brand strategists at Introworks, a renowned marketing communications agency in the Twin Cities.

The agency was named one of Minnesota Business’ 100 Best Companies to Work For. The award recognizes businesses that are setting the standard of excellence in work culture and environment, company leadership and employee happiness.

“After 22 years in this business, it’s incredible to look forward to going to work, knowing you’ll be surrounded by people who push you to be your creative best, give you the resources to learn new skills and help you deliver success to clients – all while finding ways to make you laugh and think,” says Mark Juckel, a senior graphic designer who’s been with Introworks for 10 years. “It’s a culture and environment that’s hard to beat.”

Led by cofounders Bob Freytag and Mike McMillan, the Introworks team specializes in launching products and services for high tech, medical device and financial services companies. With expertise in branding and marketing communications, the team has strategically guided hundreds of launches for clients ranging from startups to global corporations, all seeking an unfair advantage in the marketplace.

The agency’s driving force is its mission to share, along with clients, in the joy of a historic launch.

“Joy is when a client tells us she received more than 100 qualified leads from an email campaign we designed,” says Freytag, the agency’s president. “Joy is when we work with a client for 10 years, helping that company differentiate itself in a saturated market and grow its way to acquisition. For us, launch is life.”

Freytag and McMillan, both graduates of Minnetonka High School and Iowa State University, began their partnership doing ads.

“We literally worked 100 hour weeks, taking any work we could get, holed up in our makeshift office, living off Mountain Dew, fast food and pizza delivery,” Freytag recalls, chuckling. “We first knew we had created something special when we got our first $10,000 check. We used that money to buy more powerful computers.”

The business duo no longer subsists off of fast food and sugary, caffeinated soda – opting for black coffee and deli salads instead – but continues to invest in the company and employees. Earlier this year, the partners recognized the team’s contributions by taking them on vacation in Mexico for the firm’s 20th anniversary.

“We are very fortunate to have such a strong team,” says McMillan, the firm’s chief creative officer. “Their creativity and dedication makes Introworks what it is today.”

To learn more about Introworks, contact:

Andrea Hazard
Account Director
Ahazard@introworks.net
952.288.2732

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Be meaningfully different.

introworks — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:50:24 +0000

In this commoditized world, companies must differentiate how they communicate what they offer or change the offering altogether to win. Differentiate communications: Use your unique voice, simplify complex subject matter, find a relevant standard of identity or even create a new category. Change the game: Deliver, from the outset, a distinct unfair advantage competitors can’t easily replicate.

Further Thoughts:

The remarkable 10%. No matter what you are introducing, there is someone who’s gone before you, opened the doors, set the strategies and provided the mental framework for you to leverage. That’s important because people must associate your offering with a standard of identity. So, for 90% of your strategy, it’s perfectly fine to follow. In fact, it’s preferable. The other 10% is your opportunity to do the opposite—to be remarkably, outrageously unique.

Find your voice. How you communicate your message is just as important as the message itself. One of the most overlooked aspects of differentiated communication is voice. Your attitude, your tone and the language you use can be a real differentiator—and a unifying force in your marketing communications. How you say what you say can make all the difference in the world.

Technology ≠ Innovation. It’s one thing to differentiate how you communicate and engage your audiences, quite another to change the game. Today, “innovation” has become an imperative strategy on the minds and in the boardrooms of most organizations. Still, so many companies equate innovation with technology alone. According to a 2006 MIT Sloan Management Review article, “The 12 Different Ways for Companies to Innovate,” there are actually 12 different aspects that a company can look at when trying to innovate. Consider the 12 dimensions and look closely at how each one could apply to differentiating your company, product or service.

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Target the right audience.

introworks — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:39:45 +0000

There’s a reason complex sales are named as such. Different people with different roles and motivations (emotional variables) get to weigh in. It’s critical to understand all who are involved in the process, and how their roles relate to one another. Research, observe. Then prioritize. Put the right person at the center of your bulls-eye and engage them accordingly.

Getting to Target:

Camp out. When conducting customer research, be sure to observe your customers and prospects in their natural surroundings. Better yet, get immersed. Be them for a week. Ethno-graphic research or “camping out” is valuable in unearthing the underlying decision-critical motivations, insights and ideas.

Bottom’s up? It’s popular practice to make a list of all of your audiences, then generate key messages, support messages, benefits, etc. for each—only then derive a positioning (umbrella message) that works for all. We call that bottom’s up—and it normally yields non-differentiated, non-relevant positioning. Vanilla. You don’t have 11 equally-weighted audiences nor should you have 11 different positionings. Prioritize, then focus on the needs of the core as the foundation of positioning.

Take closer aim. 100 is better than 1000 is better than 10,000. Don’t aim at the masses. Target people who are most likely to be passionate about what you have to offer and let them spread the word.

Perceptions are facts. It doesn’t matter what you think your customers think. What they believe about you and what you sell is fact. Most organizations would agree with the importance of understanding market perceptions. Make sure you’re listening. Those are the facts on which to base decisions.

Company behavior. Companies behave differently depending on what stage of the corporate lifecycle they’re in. Understanding how companies think and run at infancy, go-go, adolescence, prime, etc. can make a real difference in who you engage and how. For more on company behavior and corporate lifecycles, visit adizes.com.

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The Right Aim: Understand Motivations

introworks — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:47:02 +0000

1 of 6 | Six Key Factors for a Successful Launch

The truth is, the reason someone buys your product or service is usually not why you (logically) think they would. That’s because human beings are emotional creatures—and they buy that way—even in B2B. It’s important to really, truly understand your audience. Get beyond logic to motivations, aspirations, emotional needs, beliefs and behaviors. From product concept through launch, it can make all the difference.

Further Thoughts:

It’s a three-brainer. In his book Emotionomics: Leveraging Emotions for Business Success, Dan Hill explains how human beings actually have three brains: the sensory, the emotional and the rational. In terms of evolution, the sensory brain is the oldest, followed by the emotional brain. The rational brain is a more recent development. According to Hill, the emotional brain sends ten times the information to the rational brain than the rational brain sends to the emotional brain—a “trade imbalance” that results in the emotions having 10 times more influence in decision-making. It’s no wonder, then, that people feel before they think and that 95% of all decisions are made intuitively—with the gut—and then justified rationally.

Emotion = Motivation = Action. According to Jack Trout and Al Ries, “The value of a position is that it gives people a reason to buy: in a word, it is motivating. It provides instant recognition of the brand and instantly communicates the benefits of the brand. The best positions are those that have a powerful right brain component—establishing a link between the brand and emotional need.”

Ten emotional needs. Neuroscientists have gained tremendous understanding of how the human mind works over the past decade with specific illumination on how decisions are made. The breakthrough discovery is that emotions are the key to what motivates people. So, what the heck are emotional needs? Behaviorists have identified ten of them, expressed as feelings:

A sense of status within a social grouping
Meaning and purpose
Part of a wider community
Friendship and intimacy
Privacy
Attention (to give and receive it)
Security
Competence and achievement
Emotionally connected to others
Sense of autonomy and control

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It’s a matter of trust

Bob Freytag — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:35:27 +0000

People say, “People buy from people they like.” This is only partially true, people really buy from people they trust. In today’s world you can’t afford to give your friend the business if she can’t deliver. The stakes are too high and if you recommend her, your reputation (trust) is on the line as well. Trust and credibility go hand-in-hand. So, focus on gaining trust and hope you’re liked meanwhile. After all, it’s as simple as this: If you tell someone you’ll do something, do it. Period.

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Efficiency feels better.

introworks — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:27:30 +0000

Here’s an argument for fine-tuning your multitasking. A car achieves better MPGs (and thus better fuel economy) when it can go from A to B with less stops, i.e. city versus highway driving. Multitasking is no different. When you take a project—or even part of one—from A to B with less stops along the way efficiency increases. Jumping from one task to the next adds reintegration lag time as you get back up to speed with where you left off.

Do you want to increase efficiency in your daily workflow? Focus on driving a task from A to B with as few starting and stopping points along the way. Break a task down into smaller tasks if need be to avoid unexpected stops. Work smart and economically, you’ll feel better at the end of the day.

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Skipped Launch Step

Mike McMillan — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:02:48 +0000

The vast majority of products fail. There are myriad reasons for this, not the least is that getting from Napkin to Purchase is a complex, synchronized effort involving hundreds of people and thousands of decisions. In B2B, we contend marketing is too often seen as the “promotional” afterthought, rather than a driver and accurate representative of customer need, which should drive the effort throughout.

Therefore, the following quote should appear — as it does to us — as staggering endorsement of that thought:

“ Teams should perform a market opportunity assessment BEFORE building a prototype. This sounds obvious, but many teams omit this step. Cooper’s industry studies show that inadequate market assessment is one of the reasons why new products fail; only 25% of the teams he studied performed this step.”

Launch Your New Products/Services Better, Faster.
Gary S. Lynn and Ali E. Akgun

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Only is Lonely

Mike McMillan — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:57:40 +0000

Do you have an offering that could use an “only?” It’s lonely. Any time you can find an opportunity to attach “the only” to your product, service or business, you should. It’s powerful. It’s rare. In this me-too world of super clutter, there simply aren’t too many authentic only’s around anymore. “The only company that combines experienced consultants with an open architecture.” “The only mechanical valve without recessed pivots.” “The only firm that’s won the BIG AWARD three times.” “The only blog entry we’ve written about only.” You get the idea: If you have an only or two in your arsenal, use them. If not, think hard about how to create one. Only is lonely — and it’s waiting for your product, service and business.

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‘How’ has become ‘What’. Why?

Mike McMillan — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:02:48 +0000

“We’re in the ___ business. ”If you filled the blank with something like “information technology” or “manufacturing medical devices,” you may well need to push your definition closer to these: “enabling access to the new frontier” or “growing medical practices.” The world has become so cluttered, competitive and commoditized, it may be necessary to elevate the business definition. Consider elevating the “what” to the “how”. What? The “what” you do is defined by customer benefit (resolve complex problems than enable progress), the “how” is what may have formerly defined the “what” (landscape architecture and consulting).

Self-identifying with a standard, nondifferentiated category is becoming unproductive. Elevate. If it causes you to add a few customer-care nuances, deliver all-new products, divest in noncore offerings or remodel your organization — fantastic — but please ask the question.

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Tiers for Fears

introworks — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:05:31 +0000

Everybody wants to rule the [digital] world. And since it’s likely that you don’t have the next viral hit stashed away on your thumb drive to take you from zero to hero in an instant this may involve a plan. Plans require budgets. Budgets cause fear—as in how the heck can we accomplish this (the amazing new website) with that (enter number with minimal trailing zeros here)?

It’s worthless to identify a scope problem without providing a scope solution. And sometimes this means thinking in tiers—providing a staircase of solutions that move you from point A, where you are today, closer to point B, that amazing new website, for example. One of the greatest assets of digital is iteration—the ability to tweak, update, modify and repeat. In this regard, point B can be floating. Today B might be that your website generates awareness (which is still success), tomorrow it might be full integration with your CRM, and in a month it could be providing round-the-clock support, nurturing and campaign integration.

Manage expectations, celebrate along the way and know that most lasting digital successes aren’t completed in a day. Here are some steps to consider when defining tiers to eliminate the fear that a great project will never get its moment on the launchpad.

Clearly define point A (the current state)
Separate needs from wants, then prioritize the needs, manage expectations
Define where one tier ends and another begins, determine budget, timing and requirements for each, what does point B look like at the end of each tier
Establish and build on a foundation that will support the needs today, and the wants tomorrow
Launch in stages, work hard to make each stage complete and a success, solve problems in new ways, and make time to celebrate and reflect on the progress
Keep the wants close, you may find creative ways to include some of them along the way
Continue the process until you’ve satisfied all of the needs and wants possible
Make sure point B remains successful with iteration—tweak, update, modify, repeat

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