This Week In Market Research: 9/14/15 - 9/18/15

This week Fast Company wrote an article titled, 'How to (Gently) Crush Your Client's Dreams.' Interesting title right? The basis of this article centers on the scenario of a client having unrealistic goals and having to bring them to reality without losing them as a client. As Jennon Bell Hoffmann, a Chicago-based freelance writer and marketing consultant, explains, there are often times when a client's dream or goals are too unrealistic or far-reaching. In describing a case where a client wanted to be on the Today show, Hoffman says '' They were under the impression that getting something big like the Today show happens automatically if you get a marketing person.'" Obviously this is not the case in most cases, so how do you get your client to realize the lofty nature of a request like being on the Today show? According to this piece on Fast Company, one needs to first explain exactly what it is they do, and make sure the client understands their product entirely. From there, you can attempt to reshape the client's expectations by allowing them to see goals in a different light. The full article is very insightful and shares some deep aspects of working with clients.

It's the dilemma that all women undergo when they are expecting a child while also holding down a full time job; how can I move up if I go on maternity leave? Well, according to Ann Cairns of MasterCard, this doesn't have to be the case. This week Fast Company sat down with MasterCard's president of international markets, Ann Cairns to hear about her story and encouragement to other young women about how to be a professional and mom at the same time. Cairns' story begins when she was 37 working as the head of sales for Citibank. At this same time, Cairns found out she was pregnant and worried about a future of being on the road five days out of the week with a newborn back at the house. Luckily for Cairns, she was in for a surprise when, 12 weeks into her maternity leave, her boss offered her a promotion of considerable gain. Cairn explains that before worrying about maternity leave and one's career after, you should put things into perspective. 'In the context of what will amount to a 40-year career, those three and a half months are close to nothing.' She also discusses how having a supportive boss makes all the difference as you go through the whole process. Learn more about Cairn's advice to all young women on how to progress professionally with children at Fast Company's website.

If you have a passion, you can change the world. These are similar words to those spoken by Steve Jobs in 1997 after he returned to Apple as it was on the verge of bankruptcy. 'Apple is not about making boxes for people to get their jobs done, although we do that well. Apple is about something more. Its core value is that we believe that people with passion can change the world for the better.' An article released by Entrepreneur this week discusses how passion can drive business and markets. Halfway through the article the author states that most successful business individuals are passionate, 'but not necessarily about the product' itself. The author then brings up the example of Steve Jobs and how he wasn't necessarily passionate about computer hardware but rather, passionate about creating the tools that would aid people in being more creative. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was interviewed for this article as well and claims, ''Coffee is the product, but it's not the business we're in.'' In other words, the passion is for the concept of what Starbucks can be for people. Passion, therefore, acts as the driver of force in business and markets.

This week, Entrepreneur released an article detailing three simple ways a person or business can get more shares and likes on Facebook. It's evident from social media, especially Facebook, that likes and shares drive 'virality' and boost the search engine optimization of any entity. One of the strongest ways to achieve this, according to the article, is to make sure you aim your content strategy toward being accessible through mobile devices. 'More than 70 percent of Facebook traffic comes through mobile devices, which means you must optimize content for mobile in every possible way.' The second way discussed in the article is to only boost posts that receive earl engagement. In other words, your audience will be more likely to engage if they notice that other people they may or may not know have already liked/commented or shared. Lastly, the author states that in order to gather more Facebook likes and shares, one should ask the fundamental question of whether or not the post will pass the 'share test.' In this way, the author is simply trying the get you to think about whether or not the post has color, intrigue, surprise, or could strike the reader as different. Whatever it is that will get the reader to reverse the scrolling motion and take a second look is, in the end, what will give you more viewership and more visibility.

Nichole Dicharry, is a Digital Marketing Assistant at IIR USA, Marketing and Finance Divisions, who works on various aspects of the industry including social media, marketing analysis and media. She can be reached at Ndicharry@iirusa.com