MMA April 2015 Newsletter

MARYLAND

ISSUE 12/ APRIL 2015

MOTORCOACH ASSOCIATION

Work-Life

Balance is Dead The magnetism of a great

company culture

How to market your startup

with no budget

new

smartphone app

FMCSA ANNOUNCES NEW SMARTPHONE APP PROVIDING SAFETY DATA ON INTERSTATE COMMERCIAL TRUCK AND BUS COMPANIES/

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)....

HOW TO MARKET YOUR STARTUP WITH NO BUDGET/

Gaining early momentum is one of the best ways to mitigate the risk of your...

FMCSA ADJUSTS FINE SCHEDULE, INCREASES EFFECTIVE JUNE 2/

The penalty for a driver who violates an out-of-service order is about to get $1,000...

CHANGES AHEAD FOR ENTRY-LEVEL DRIVER TRAINING/

What’s more important for turning entry-level drivers into professional drivers: logging...

30 BAD MANAGEMENT BEHAVIORS/

We all need to occasionally gripe about our boss now and then. I’m sure it’s somewhere...

WORK-LIFE BALANCE IS DEAD/

Once upon a time, work took place outside of the home during designated hours....

EMAIL IS STILL RELEVANT! ARE YOU GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR EMAIL MARKETING?/

In an era of mobile this and social media that, it’s easy to think that email — the original online...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION URGES DRIVERS TO STAY ALERT WHILE DRIVING NEAR NATION’S HIGHWAY WORK ZONES/

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today...

FOUR WAYS TO BETTER MARKET YOUR BRAND TO MILLENNIAL CUSTOMERS/

With the millennial generation representing 25 per cent of the population and more than...

MILLENNIALS LEADING MULTIGENERATIONAL TRAVEL /

Millennial travelers are growing up, and they are taking their families with them....

HIRESIDE CHAT: THE MAGNETISM OF A GREAT COMPANY CULTURE/

Culture is the soul of your company; it’s intangible but not nebulous. In fact, it’s all around...

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From The President/ As the Maryland State Legislation session wraps-up we want you to continue to check the MMA website for a round up of bill’s that Mary Presley has continued to monitor and lobby on behalf of MMA. There were so many that it’s not possible to list them all here.

The Group Leader Travel Showcase was a huge success with over 440 group leaders - from senior centers, social clubs, and recreational associations - an opportunity to meet agents for destinations, hotels, and attractions. This year’s event featured 86 vendor tables representing 120 companies, from Cape Cod to Virginia Beach.

Eleven motorcoach operators brought their best group leader clients to Hunt Valley. Also attending were a number of individual tour operators from Maryland Delaware and Northern Virginia. “Marketplace benefits both motorcoach operators and our vendors,” says Al Spence, President of A.S. Midway Trailways and MMA. “Our group leaders had a great time and enjoyed the local sights. We thank everyone for making this event happen.”

“With the addition of lunch and afternoon familiarization tour, tour operators find it easier to both educate and entertain their group-leader clients. It helps book business for both the vendors and operators,” says Mary Presley, Executive Administrator, with MMA. “The group leaders attending MMA were very engaged.

They asked questions and wanted to know about new places to visit. And, unlike other state association marketplace’s more than 80% of the operators stopped by the booth

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during marketplace” said Joyce Baki, Tourism Specialist, Calvert County Department of Economic Development.

Plans are already underway for next year’s event but the dates have been tentatively set for March 30 & 31, 2016.

Location TBD, if you are interested in hosting the event please contact Mary Presley asap and she will be happy to send you the RFP. Continue to check out our website to catch up on all of the activities MMA has coming up for our members.

Al Spence, President MMA A & S Midway Trailways

Setra - a brand of Daimler AG

Don’t be fooled by its pretty face

Once again, Setra has raised the benchmark in the North American luxury motorcoach segment, with over 30 innovations in design, passenger and driver comfort, safety and environmental efficiencies. Daimler’s new, unique Front Collision Guard (FCG), for instance, is a passive safety system engineered to protect the driver and tour guide in the case of a frontal impact. Experience the all-new Setra TopClass S 417. From Daimler Buses North America, the worldwide leading manufacturer of buses and motorcoaches.

Motor Coach Industries 1700 East Golf Road, Suite 300 · Schaumburg, Illinois 60173 · Phone 866-624-2622 Distributor of EvoBus GmbH for Setra buses and Setra parts in the United States and Canada

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New Smartphone App

FMCSA Announces New Smartphone App Providing Safety Data on Interstate Commercial Truck and Bus Companies 6

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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced a new Smartphone app that will allow for more convenient access to currently available online safety performance information for interstate truck and bus companies. “By making currently available safety information on interstate truck and bus companies more easily accessible for both law enforcement personnel and the general public, we are providing greater transparency

while making our roadways safer for everyone. Safety is our highest priority, so we are committed to using every resource available at our finger tips to ensure the safety of travelers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Called “QCMobile,” (QC standing for “Query Central”), the new app is expected to be a particularly valuable tool for state and federal law

enforcement personnel, as well as insurers, brokers, freight-forwarders, and others interested in reviewing the USDOT registration and safety performance information of motor carriers.

“FMCSA will continue to use all the tools, resources, and partnerships available to further strengthen commercial vehicle safety across the country,” said FMCSA Acting

Administrator Scott Darling.

“Aggressive safety enforcement, research, and technology development and deployment, combined with strong stakeholder participation, will continue to be directed toward removing unsafe trucks and buses from our roadways and protecting every traveler from needless harm.”

Law enforcement commercial motor www.greenazine.com

officers and vehicle safety 7

inspectors use customized software at the roadside to log-into national safety databases to obtain highly detailed safety information on all interstate truck and bus companies.

The new QCMobile app, which requires no log-in, immediately reveals whether the federal operating status of the carrier is authorized while helping to expedite an “inspect/pass” decision by a certified commercial vehicle safety inspector.

QCMobile retrieves data from a number of FMCSA sources and provides a clear summary of the results.

Law enforcement officers and safety inspectors then have the option of retrieving more detailed information on carriers covering their seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) that are a part of FMCSA’s cornerstone safety program, Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA).

FMCSA is proactively working to implement the provisions of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), as well as advancing core safety initiatives including the CSA program.

CSA is designed to further reduce the number and severity of crashes involving large trucks and buses by providing law enforcement personnel, motor carriers, and professional truck and bus drivers with detailed information outlining areas of potential safety concern, while also triggering processes to implement corrective action.

The free QCMobile app is available for both Apple and Android devices. Visit the iTunes App Store or Google Play to download QCMobile.

Called “QCMobile,” (QC standing for “Query Central”), the new app is expected to be a particularly valuable tool for state and federal law enforcement personnel, as well as insurers, brokers, freight-forwarders, and others interested in reviewing the USDOT registration and safety performance information of motor carriers.

Getting started guide Download the getting started PDF

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How to Market Your Startup

How to market your st 10 www.greenazine.com

tartup with no budget www.greenazine.com

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Gaining early momentum is one of the best ways to mitigate the risk of your startup going under before it even gets off the ground. Of course, you must begin with a good product or service, but marketing well can make or break your company.

Good marketing tends to take money, which isn’t in abundant supply for most new companies.

Luckily, there are some ways you can market your new startup for little or no cash at all -- and they go beyond just email blasting the press.

“Marketing without a budget forces people to put more thought into strategy because you make up for a limited budget by working smart or working hard,” said Matt Lim, marketing strategist for Procurify. “When you have limited resources, it encourages creativity.”

Here are some ways you can market on a shoestring budget.

1. Talk to people This is the simplest way to market your business, but it is often overlooked or done poorly.

Attending startup events, hackathons, and local tech group meetings are great ways to build relationships with people who could potentially become and advocate for your product or service.

This is where having a properly refined pitch comes in handy. Be sure to explain the benefits of your product, but be honest and make sure people understand the story. Above all, keep it simple.

“Remember that word of mouth is still hot,” said K. Alexander Ashe, founder of Spendology. “Have a message that can survive ‘the telephone game.’”

Don’t overlook opportunities, regardless of how small they may seem. Sometimes, even the most unassuming conversations can impact your business. David Eberli, co-founder of smart-me. com, said that every time you meet someone, you should tell him or her who you are and what you’re doing, and hand them a business card.

“That’s the way I have found our biggest customer,”

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Eberli said. “By drinking a beer and talking to the stranger next to me.”

2. Generate content A good way to draw people to your company is by generating useful content about the space your product operates in. Phil Sanderson, a venture capitalist at IDG Ventures, recommends starting

a company blog and posting often. UpOut, a company Sanderson funds, has a blog that provides information to underground events in New York and San Francisco.

“Their blog has a steady stream of articles about weird news, local interest stories, and city-specific cultural events and causes,” Sanderson said. “It’s also nicely designed. UpOut launched the blog

only a few months ago, and already they’re seeing one million visitors per month.”

If your company operates in a specific niche space, try creating and posting how-to videos or webinars. Use tools like Skype and Google+ to chat with potential customers and answer questions about your product and the market.

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You should be researching online communities to identify secondary places where your content would be a good fit. Maybe there is an industry blog where you could write a guest post, or a Facebook or LinkedIn group you could contribute to. Also, don’t forget to post in popular sites like Reddit, and use the proper sub to get your information to the right audience.

3. Don’t forget the fundamentals When marketing your startup, there are a few foundational tools that could be helpful -- the first of which is email marketing. Roger Huang, head of marketing at Flatbook, uses email services such as MailChimp to remind customers to apply to his company’s subletting program.

“We have gotten a lot of applications just by gently reminding people when our deadlines are via a mass email to our list,” Huang said.

If your company operates as a B2B entity, you always have the old standby of cold-calling potential clients.

Take some time with your co-founders and mentors to develop a list of potential clients and go to work. Here, a proper call script will be essential to your success.

Also, look for ways to get your startup featured as a the new must-use product or service. If you are marketing a physical product, try pitching to a cool hunting site such as Uncrate or Outblush. If you have built a mobile app, Sanderson recommends going after a featured list in the Apple App Store.

Gaining early momentum is one of the best ways to mitigate the risk of your startup going under before it even gets off the ground. Of course, you must begin with a good product or service, but marketing well can make or break your company.

4. Think outside the box

“Apple’s marketing makes its decision independently much like a restaurant review -- they cannot be influenced,” Sanderson said. “However, you can get to know them, understand their criteria (such as apps that show off the capabilities of Apple) and follow their advice.”

Almost every startup will eventually need to raise money, and how you go about it depends on a variety of factors. However, if it would be a good fit, consider crowdfunding. Eberli and his team recently ran a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Sanderson also recommends building in viral features to your product, such as messaging that encourages users to tell their friends or post to social media. Gamification and contests are good ways to accomplish this, as is the promise of free upgrades with compliance.

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FMCSA

FMCSA adjusts fine schedule, increases effective June 2 16 www.greenazine.com

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The penalty for a driver who violates an out-of-service order is about to get $1,000 more expensive, and that’s just one example of a new civil penalty schedule for violations of federal trucking regulations.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Friday published the adjusted schedule in the Federal Register. The inflation-based increases are the first since 2007 for many of the violations, and some have not been changed since 2003, the notice says.

Other changes to the civil penalties were mandated by Congress in MAP-21, the federal highway spending package passed in 2012.

The changes take effect June 2.

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In passing the law requiring the inflation adjustments, Congress said that increasing penalties over time will deter violations. Therefore, according to the notice, “FMCSA infers that there may be some safety benefits that occur,” although this “deterrence effect … cannot be reliably quantified.”

And because FMCSA determined the adjustments fall within the agency’s “ministerial” duties, a public comment period prior to implementation is “unnecessary,” the notice says.

A table of the changes is below, or the official notice chart, complete with legal citations, is here.

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Driver Training

Changes Ahead for Entry-Level Driver Training What’s more important for turning entry-level drivers into professional drivers: logging hours behind the wheel or performance-based training?

This issue was one of several discussed at a recent two-day Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

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committee meeting to set entrylevel driver standards. The scope of the Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee (ELDTAC) is to help FMCSA establish “the training regulations to address knowledge and skills for motor vehicle operation, specific requirements for hazmat and passenger endorsements, create

a certificate system for meeting requirements, and require training providers to demonstrate that their training meets uniform standards.’

In a straw vote, attendees rejected standards based solely on the number of hours spent practicing in the driver’s seat. The consensus

favored a mix of demonstrative skills as well as hours behind the wheel but the exact amount of each is still under discussion.

“There needs to be hours based and competency-based standards,” says Marlene Dakita, Certification Coordinator at The Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI) who attended the meeting. PTDI’s own standards updated in 2011 state: ‘The curriculum combines competency- (proficiency-) based training and a minimum of hoursbased training necessary to achieve industry standards. Lessons involve classroom/lab instruction and practical application behind the wheel, on the range, and on the highway.’…. She added: “They [the updaters] specifically tried to move standards towards the proficiency/ competency.”

Along with establishing the best hours/competency mix for entry level drivers the committee is also considering at what point after a CDL has lapsed would a driver again be considered to be at the entry level. A maximum of six months appeared to be a time at which a driver would not be subject to entry level requirements although a refresher course might be appropriate, according to some attendees.

Also under discussion was a rule that would create a national registry of driver training programs. These programs would have to comply with new rules and FMCSA would only accept graduation certificates from schools on the accepted list.

“We’re hoping that any new rules would go along the line of what PTDI does already,” says Dakita, who adds that the biggest challenge is how to handle small carriers that might have

their own training curriculum or someone teaching a friend or relative how to drive a truck.

According to MAP-21, the current highway funding law, owneroperators are permitted to train drivers, however, Scott Grenerth OOIDA Director of Regulatory Affairs suggested that a registry of programs and trainers be established which would help FMCSA to weed out substandard performers.

For the committee’s recommendations to be accepted by the Office of Management and

Budget it must pass a cost-benefit analysis test proving that the safety benefits of entry-level training rules are cost effective. In other words, that they are worth the money and time spent on implementation and operation.

The next meetings be held April 2324, and May 14-15 and 28-29, 2015.

The meetings are open to the public.

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Bad Management Behaviors

30 Bad Management Behavi 22 www.greenazine.com

iors:

We all need to occasionally gripe about our boss now and then. I’m sure it’s somewhere on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. And managers, you’re kidding yourself if you don’t think you are the subject of your employee’s dinner time conversation now and then. Accept it, it’s comes with the job.

Most managers are decent, hardworking human beings that do their best with the best of intentions. But no manager is perfect, and sometimes stress brings out the worst of behaviors.

Over the years, I’ve collected the following list of things that managers do to annoy their employees.

In fact, I’m sure I’ve done each one of these as a manager, so to all of my former and current employees, please accept my apologies! Hopefully I’ve haven’t done more than a few on the same day. (-: Managers, do an honest self-assessment – or better yet, get some candid feedback – and if you are doing any of these things, make a resolution to STOP doing it!

1. Not being responsive to questions or requests. When an employee asks a question or makes a request, don’t ignore it until they have to ask again. Be responsive – yes, no, maybe, or give let them know when you will have an answer for them.

2. Forgetting what you have asked them to do. Yes, we all forget now and then, I know I sure do. However, when you do, it tells your employee what you asked them to do may not really be that important.

3. Assigning the same task to different employees. This could be forgetfulness, or it could be setting employees up intentionally to compete. Both are annoying.

4. Not setting an example (do as I say, not as I do). Leaders need to be role models, not hypocrites.

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5. Taking Special privileges. For example, flying first or business class and having your team fly coach. There is a great leadership tradition in the military – officers eat last! It’s a good standard for corporate managers to keep in mind.

6. Coasting. Some managers get complacent, even lazy, yet expect their employees to pick up the slack. If you are going to retire, don’t do it on the job.

7. Not pitching in in a crisis. All hands on deck means ALL hands, including the manager. No employees, shouldn’t being doing the work of their employees on a regular basis, but they sure appreciate when a manager pitches in and gets their hands dirty when needed.

8. Overpromising and under delivering. This is another symptom of the Type A, visionary manager 24 www.greenazine.com

who comes up with lots of big ideas, but rarely follows through with any of them. After a while, they lose credibility and trust.

9. Not listening/multitasking. Employees know when a manager isn’t paying attention, and it’s more than annoying, its disrespectful.

10. Insensitively to signs of overwork. The manager that keeps piling it on, oblivious to the telltale warning signs that an employee is on overload and about to hit the breaking point.

11. Fighting with and badmouthing your peers or boss. Employees want their managers to have positive, collaborative relationships with their manager and peers. If they don’t, it’s the employees who end up suffering the consequences of a lack of resources and cooperation from their other departments.

12. A lack of understanding or appreciation for the work. A often heard employee complaint: “My boss doesn’t have a clue what I do or how hard I work!”

13. Taking credit, not giving credit. A surefire way to destroy trust and loyalty. Inexcusable, just horrible boss behavior!

14. Holding back, not sharing critical info. Knowledge is power!

15. Micromanaging. Ah, the number one thing a manager can do to annoy employees!See 20 Clues That You Might be a Micromanager: Take the Quiz to Find Out. 16. Not addressing performance problems. No one appreciates seeing their coworkers get away with murder.See How to Deal With a Lazy Employee.

17. Playing favorites. It’s hard to be perceived as treating everyone fairly. One way to make it harder is to think you can be friends with your employees.

Many managers think they can – it usually backfires.

18. Sending emails, texts, or making phone calls on weekends and evenings (and expecting an immediate answer). Employees need their own personal time, let them have it.

19. Being cheap. Managers often have to tighten the belt, but there is a big difference between frugal and cheap. Frugal is staying at a less expensive motel.

Cheap is making employees room together.

20. Indecisiveness. Not making a decision, or taking forever to make a decision. Either way, the manager becomes a bottleneck.

21. Waffling. Similar to indecisiveness, but it’s like trying to please everyone and flip flopping back and forth.

22. Loose lips. Betraying confidences. Another way to erode trust.

23. Being moody, emotionally volatile and unpredictable. I once knew a manager that everyone always checked with his secretary to find out what kind of mood he was in for the day. She even developed a handy early warning system.

24. Won’t ever admit a mistake. The manager who is quick to blame others, point fingers, with no humility.

Most managers are decent, hardworking human beings that do their best with the best of intentions.

But no manager is perfect, and sometimes stress brings out the worst of behaviors.

25. My way or the highway. The manager who insists on doing everyone the “right” way – when it’s really their way.

26. Not open to new ideas. The manager who is quick to shoot down new ideas, instead of being open to possibilities.

27. It’s all about me. The manager with a big ego, with little interest in their employee’s world.

28. Not being available. The manager who is impossible to reach, always busy, and doesn’t take the time to have regular one on one meetings.

29. Abusing your power. Being a bully, in often is subtle ways, like making your employee wear funny hats.

30. Being a buzzkill. When an employee shares good news or an accomplishment with the manager, and the manager points out that the glass is only half full.

30. Being a know-it-all. The manager that always has to “one up” the employee to show them how smart they are. “Yes, that’s a good idea, and here’s how to make it even better!”

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Work Life Balance

Work-Life Balance is Dead 26 www.greenazine.com

Instead of endorsing the work-life balance myth, organizations are far better off empowering employees to integrate work and life, in ways that position them to succeed at both.

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Once upon a time, work took place outside of the home during designated hours. Today, that world is a fairy tale. If you checked your work email this past weekend, you’re likely aware that at most companies there is an unspoken expectation that employees tend to emails at all hours.

It would be easy to blame heartless managers or shortsighted CEOs for the collapsing boundaries between work and life. But the causes of this cultural shift are far more complex. As Americans, we pride ourselves on hard work and self-sacrifice. As human beings, we thrive on feeling needed. Neurologically, certain elements of work can be addictive. Studies have found that satisfying curiosity about a novel event—say, a new and unread email sitting in your inbox—releases dopamine in the brain, which conditions us to check again and again.

Despite the monumental shift in the accessibility of work, organizations continue to offer employees the same advice they did before the invention of the BlackBerry: Seek work/life balance.

The idea holds inherent appeal. Too bad it’s a myth.

For many of us, compartmentalizing our work and personal life is simply not possible, and not just because of the ubiquity of email. In a growing number of companies, work now involves collaborating with colleagues in different time zones, making the start and end of the workday a moving target.

And even within organizations with more traditional hours, let’s face it—standout employees are always working, even when they’re not attending conference calls or corresponding over email. They’re continuously plotting ahead and thinking up new ideas while showering, driving their kids to gymnastics, or drifting off to sleep.

(link is external), I have repeatedly encountered a striking gap between the latest science and the realities of the modern workplace.

Take, for example, the degree of control employees at your company possess over when and where they work. We tend to assume that granting workers too much leeway will lead to reduced effort; that employees will take advantage unless they are closely supervised.

Yet studies have repeatedly found that the opposite is true. Providing employees with more control over their schedule—to the extent that flexibility is possible— motivates them to work harder, produce higher-quality work, and develop greater loyalty for their company (link is external).

Why is this the case?

For one thing, placing employees in control of their schedules encourages them to work during hours when they are most effective, instead of requiring them to sit comatose in front of a computer because it’s not yet 5 p.m. Most adults function best in the first few hours after waking. Others are sharper in the afternoon.

Flexible work schedules allow employees in both camps to leverage their best hours instead of conforming to an artificial eight-hour “shift”—one that was originally designed to maximize the productivity of a factory, not human beings.

Studies also show that employees with flexible schedules work more intensely (link is external). It’s because as humans, we are motivated by a norm of reciprocity. When a manager grants us the freedom of a flexible schedule, we seek to “repay” that benefit by investing greater effort.

Until we come to terms with the fact that separating work from home is a fantasy, we can’t begin to have an intelligent conversation about what it means to create thriving organizations. We can bemoan the blending of our professional and personal lives, or alternatively, we can look for innovative solutions.

Productivity aside, flexible working offers another crucial benefit -- it allows employees to resolve critical personal matters when needed, so that they can bring sharper focus and clarity to their work. No wonder workplace flexibility has been linked with a host of positive well-being outcomes, including higher job satisfaction, lower stress, and reduced work-family conflict (link is external).

For the past decade I have been studying the science of human motivation, paying particular attention to how people can work more effectively. Over the course of reviewing thousands of academic articles for my book

We live in a world in which it is acceptable for work to interrupt personal time. And yet we’re not as comfortable when personal time interrupts work.

Why?

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When organizations provide employees with a clear set of goals and entrust them to manage their time responsibly, making it acceptable for a worker to take an hour during the day to attend a yoga class, visit an elderly parent or welcome his or her child off the afternoon school bus, they generate commitment that ends up saving them money in the long term.

Just ask Patagonia, a successful outdoor clothing manufacturer. Employees at the company’s California headquarters are empowered to set their own hours, given access to an on-site daycare and invited to take regular breaks during the day for exercise. Company restrooms even include private showers, transforming the prospect of an afternoon jog from an aspiration fantasy into a practical option.

The result? Over the past five years, Patagonia’s profits have tripled, while employee turnover has dropped to a fraction of the industry average. As for employee satisfaction? In the words of Billy Smith, a 26-year-

old Patagonia product tester, “Landing this job was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I feel like I represent the brand as much as it represents me.”

Instead of endorsing the work-life balance myth, organizations are far better off empowering employees to integrate work and life, in ways that position them to succeed at both.

Ultimately, it is companies that are quickest to realize that it is in their financial interests to care for the entire employee—not just the sliver of them that sits in the office for 40 hours a week—that stand to gain the greatest benefits in the form of stronger loyalty, higher engagement, and top performance.

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Email is Still Relevant!

Email Is Still Relevant! Are You Getting the Most from Your Email Marketing?

In an era of mobile this and social media that, it’s easy to think that email — the original online marketing channel — is becoming ineffective.

But giving the inbox short shrift is short sighted. After all, approximately 182 billion emails are sent every day, according to The Radicati Group.

Clearly, your customers spend tons of time reading their email, so it only makes sense to put your message where their eyes already are.

That’s why, in a June 2014 poll by Internet Retailer, almost 40 percent of respondents said email marketing was their most important investment.

Even more compelling: 90 percent indicated that email produces “a positive return” on investment.

Here are some key considerations to help you get the most from effective small business email marketing: 1.

Know Why You’re Emailing: Retention, engagement and revenue generation are the three most popular reasons business owners use email marketing. “Pick the one or two things you want to focus on first,” says Christopher Lester (no relation to the author), vice president of sales for email marketing company

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Emma in Nashville, TN. “Instead of a monthly newsletter, spend time creating an incredible three-piece welcome series. Do email marketing, but do it right.”

2. Leverage Existing Relationships: Email marketing is most effective when you use it to stay engaged with customers and clients you already know who have opted in to receive emails, according to Robbin Block, creative marketing strategist with Block Media & Marketing in Seattle, WA. “That means they’re interested in hearing from you, no matter what the delivery mechanism,” says Block.

“Take the time to build a solid list.

There are many ways to do that: sign-ups, purchases, registrations, networking, phone calls, trade shows, etc. Otherwise, it’s spam.”

3. Make It Work on Mobile: Data from the Knotice Mobile Email Opens Report show that in 2013, 45 percent of emails were opened on a mobile device, usually a phone.

“Marketers that aren’t making sure their email sends are optimized for mobile are really missing out,” says Carrie Hill, co-founder of Ignitor Digital in Glenwood Springs, CO. “One study suggested that mobile

email will account for 15 to 70 percent of email opens, depending on your target audience, product and type of email. Email and mobile are a match made in heaven.”

4.

Personalize It: Use an email marketing service that enables you to add a person’s name to the message, because this kind of personalization makes it more effective. When recipients feel the message is targeted at them, “they’re more likely to

engage with the message and click through,” Hill says. Take it a step further by gathering information like birthdays and anniversaries, so you can reach out on those days with a special message. “This is a great way to remind your customers you care about them in their dayto-day lives,” she adds. “I have local REALTOR® clients who watch homesale transactions and try to gather email addresses of new homeowners via opt-in to market local home

improvement products and services to them.”

5. Make and Keep a Schedule: “The biggest mistakes small businesses make are not sticking to a consistent schedule and failing to measure the results of each campaign and apply those learnings to the next one,” says Abigail Stock, founder and chief digital strategist with New York City– based Little Digital Co. “An easy way to ensure you hit send on time —

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every time — is to create a content calendar and plan ahead for what you want to say to whom and when. A simple spreadsheet will do. If you have some extra time, get two or three emails done in advance and schedule them to go out ahead of time. That way, you don’t have the excuse of being too busy in the future.” Don’t forget to add time to review and analyze each email’s performance, too.

These small business email marketing tips apply whether you’re using email to send a newsletter, a welcome message or deals and surveys.

“Email marketing isn’t a silver bullet — no marketing channel is — but it is one of the best tools in your marketing toolbox,” Lester declares.

“I think we’re past the point of convincing people to try email marketing. It’s not even an option anymore. Everyone is being marketed to via email.”

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Use an email marketing service that enables you to add a person’s name to the message, because this kind of personalization makes it more effective.

When recipients feel the message is targeted at them, “they’re more likely to engage with the message and click through,” Hill says.

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Stay Alert

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRA DRIVERS TO STAY ALERT W NATION’S HIGHWAY WOR

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ANSPORTATION URGES WHILE DRIVING NEAR RK ZONES

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today kicked off National Work Zone Awareness Week as construction season approaches.

Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau joined state and federal officials at the Washington Boulevard Bridge over Columbia Pike in Arlington, Va., to urge drivers to stay alert when driving near highway workers. They were joined by workers and families affected by work zone crashes.

This year’s theme, “Expect the Unexpected,” emphasizes the need for drivers to constantly be prepared for changes such as reduced speed limits; narrowed, shifted or closed lanes; and people who may be working on or near the road. In 2013, the most recent year for which data are available, there were 579 fatalities in work zones, a small decrease from 617 fatalities the previous year.

“As the temperatures climb, thousands of highway workers nationwide are heading back to work to improve America’s roads,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary www.greenazine.com

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Anthony Foxx. “To keep them safe, we owe them our full attention when driving through work zones, so please avoid distractions like cellphones and obey posted speed limits.”

National Work Zone Awareness Week, sponsored by federal, state and local transportation officials at the beginning of construction season each spring, raises awareness of safety measures taken on roads all over the country. Typically, work zone crashes occur when drivers fail to obey posted speed limits, fail to adapt to changing road conditions, or use cellphones while driving.

FHWA works with state and local transportation officials to promote improvements in work zone planning and design, increased law enforcement near work zones, enhanced worker training and heightened awareness among drivers. Since 2005, FHWA has awarded nearly $33 million in grants to promote work zone safety training and the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse.

In 2013, speed was a factor in 23 percent of fatal work zone crashes. Two out of three victims in work zone crashes in 2013 were drivers and passengers of vehicles.

During the ceremony, Nadeau paid tribute to the 132 Virginia Department of Transportation employees who died in highway work zones since 1928.

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“When driving through work zones, be respectful of highway workers and their workplace by slowing down,” said Deputy Administrator Nadeau.

“Following the rules of the roadway makes it easier to expect the unexpected.”

Like the FHWA, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) works with other USDOT agencies to reduce work zone crashes through grants to states and research on driver behavior. FMCSA has made work zone safety a national priority in its commercial vehicle safety plans, and partners with the International Association of Chiefs of Police in its “Drive to Save Lives” campaign to encourage all law enforcement to stop trucks and buses when they are seen operating unsafely.

“In 2013, large trucks and buses were involved in 186 work zone crashes that resulted in fatalities,” said FMCSA Chief Counsel Scott Darling. “Tragedies like these can be avoided by paying attention, slowing down, carefully obeying signs and the direction of flagmen, maintaining a safe distance between vehicles, avoiding distractions and always keeping safety the number one priority.”

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In regards to the Motorcoach Marketing program, we love it. So far, we have made the 1000 postcards, and we did some full page handouts. We just got a stand up banner.

When I get some time, I’ll be making new rack cards for both offices. We made 500 church theme postcards and 500 in the safety theme.

We sent out the church cards through a local mailing company to every church within 50 miles. So far, we have had a great response and 4-5 people booked trips from it. I plan on using the safety ones soon by sending them to our new customers. All of our staff and drivers love the modern design and the finished products. Only one of my staff has watched the videos so far, but we will be working on that next month. So far I’m very happy with the service. It works well and looks great!

Chris Knittel

Owner/General Manager New Mexico Texas Coaches, LLC

We Help Operators Sell More Charters To More People.

Easier. Faster. Far More Effective.

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Market Your Brand

Four ways to better market your 40 www.greenazine.com

When you’re trying to reach this audience, it’s not enough to just have a great concept.

Even if your company or product fills a need or solves a problem for millennials, you need to deliver your message in a very clear and authentic way in order to be heard.

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With the millennial generation representing 25 per cent of the population and more than $200-billion in annual buying power in the U.S. alone, companies from every industry are vying for this generation’s attention. But with so many brands trying to break through and with millennials’ inboxes and news feeds cluttered with content, how do you rise above the noise and ensure your startup or brand isn’t overlooked?

When you’re trying to reach this audience, it’s not enough to just

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have a great concept. Even if your company or product fills a need or solves a problem for millennials, you need to deliver your message in a very clear and authentic way in order to be heard. This generation has grown up in an age of instant gratification, and they’re not willing to waste time or money unnecessarily.

I started my company Flashnotes. com while still a senior at Kent State University. As a millennial myself, I had unique insight into the demands of my peers and a clear understanding of how

to effectively communicate my mission. I saw an obvious need among my classmates for highquality study materials when they found themselves confused by a professor’s lecture or falling behind in a course. I used social media and guerrilla marketing to spread the word – literally travelling myself to local college campuses to hand out fliers – and now study materials are sold on Flashnotes.com at over 1,600 colleges and universities across the country.

My generation is always on the hunt for ways to make life efficient

millennial generation is constantly searching for relevant and quick ways to make life easier – not because they are lazy, but because they value their time. As important as the content of your message is, the actual delivery of the value you promised within your message is equally important.

Provide exclusivity. Millennials don’t mind being part of a large consumer base, but they value brands that are willing to listen on an individual level. For us, we pay particular attention to the individuals who provide the highest quality study materials.

These students are offered an opportunity to be a part of our “honour society,” to enhance their credibility among peers and ultimately increase sales of their notes and study guides. Providing “premier memberships” or other customer loyalty programs allows millennials to feel like a valued member of the brand, rather than just part of its target market.

and convenient, especially through technology. For those companies that are looking to successfully break through to this demographic, I’ve shared some additional advice to consider as you think about advertising and marketing tactics for the year ahead.

Offer and deliver relevant and clear value. When delivering your messaging to millennials, it’s vital that you not only show the value of your product or service, but you’re very descriptive and clear when explaining how your brand fills a void in their everyday life. The

Incorporate and highlight peer reviews. Millennials are often skeptics and do not necessarily trust a new company’s word. Before taking the “risk” of purchasing a product or service, this generation wants to hear the opinions of their peers. Reviews provide millennials the opportunity to know more about what they are purchasing prior to taking that risk themselves. For example, we allow buyers to grade their classmates’ study materials through a five-star rating system, as well as an option to leave more detailed comments.

Create authenticity via a social presence. It is no secret that millennials love social media.

Research from social-influence

marketing platform Crowdtap indicates that people ages 18 to 36 spend around 17.8 hours a day with different types of media – and 71 per cent say they engage in social media every day. Having an authentic voice via social platforms allows us to engage with consumers on a more humanized level. Social media is not only a great platform to share your brand voice, it also provides an outlet where millennials can come to ask their questions – and receive realtime responses. Consider these tips when developing your company’s forward-looking marketing strategy. Hopefully you’ll be able to effectively reach this savvy generation of consumers – whose buying power will only grow with time. I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

Mike Matousek is the founder of Boston-based Flashnotes.com, the student-to-student study materials marketplace. He founded the company while a senior at Kent State University in 2010 and later graduated with a degree in Finance and Entrepreneurship.

Mike recently raised Series B of funding for Flashnotes.com, which empowers smart students to make money from their own study material while helping other students study smarter to get better grades. Mike is passionate about the fact that 42 per cent of today’s college students don’t graduate and is on a mission to help more students succeed.

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Multigenerational Travel

Millennials leading multigenerational travel 44 www.greenazine.com

“There is no question millennials are driving multigenerational travel. By far, they prefer to spend money on experiences like travel far more than previous generations,” said Anna Blount, market research manager at MMGY Global.

The “MMGY Global 2015 portrait of American travelers” showed that millennials took an average of 2.6 trips with children in the past 12 months as opposed to 2.2 similar trips for Generation Xers and two trips for baby boomers.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts found the same. In a recent survey, the marketing collection showed an overwhelming percentage of millennials (91%) said a multigenerational trip is something they try to take every year.

Embassy Suites Hotels, which has long targeted the family market with its large suites and cooked-to-order free breakfasts, is upping the ante on marketing to capture that recent millennial-driven surge.

“We see all the trends increasing as younger people travel with their families more than their parents did. They want to provide their children with unique experiences and want them to have more than they had,” said John Rogers, global head for Embassy Suites. “With jobs and lives becoming more frenetic, time away from it all is becoming more and more important.”

According to recent Embassy Suites research, many families travel frequently, “but millennials show real wanderlust.” Nearly 40% of millennial parents travel and stay in a hotel three or more times per year with their children—a higher rate than Generation X and baby boomer parents.

The research also showed that a third of millennial parents bring family members other than their partner and/or a grandparent on vacation more frequently than Generation Xers or baby boomers.

And it’s not just millennials. Eight out of 10 parents overall, according to Embassy Suites, wish they could travel with their kids even more frequently.

Millennial travelers are growing up, and they are taking their families with them.

New research suggests the generational cohort, which thus far has been characterized as individuals seeking unique experiences on their own terms, is even more interested in traveling with family members than preceding generations.

To meet the demands of this growing segment, Embassy Suites has launched a series of initiatives: l # PrettyGreat Family Travel Hacks online community: This social media platform provides tips to make traveling with children easier and more successful.

There is a contest for the best tips with hotel stays as prizes.

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l Staff training: The brand is adding resources, such as how-to videos featuring team members, and encouraging team members to demonstrate best practices to inspire others. l Family-focused amenities: A variety of new family-focused amenities are being added. They range from cocktail napkins with family-friendly games, such as tic-tac-toe and Sudoku for the evening reception, to baby- and child-specific “Do Not Disturb” signs, to coloring books and crayons at check-in. A pilot program is planned to offer childcare amenities such as baby wash, wipes and other essentials at select properties this summer.

Rogers said the staff training would “let our people know how to make children feel special.”

“Travel with children can be stressful as parents worry about how children will behave or be perceived,” he said. “Our staff will have tricks up their sleeves like balloon animals, food, comic books and so forth. The fastest way to a parent’s heart is to know their kids are welcome. Within reason, we want to allow kids to be themselves.”

Variety and options Other brands are moving to meet changing tastes and travel patterns.

“We know from our research that millennials value experiences over ‘stuff.’ We also know that they prioritize their ‘couple time’ more than previous generations. So we know that our hotels must appeal to ‘family time’ and ‘couple time,’ which may happen in the same trip,” said Lauren Chewning, VP and global lead consumer insight for Marriott International. “Most of our resorts have kids’ clubs, many with substantial programming to give parents time on their own. Big resorts very often have two pools—one for families and one for couples.

“We are flexible in that we allow our hotels to customize programming that is specific to their market and traveler base,” Chewning said. “For instance, at the Ritz-Carlton Naples we have a program called ‘Nature‘s Wonders,’ which allows children to explore the natural environment around the hotel and educates them on sea and wildlife via an eco-sanctuary with 11 aquariums. We also make

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The research also showed that a third of millennial parents bring family members other than their partner and/or a grandparent on vacation more frequently than Generation Xers or baby boomers. sure that hotels in all markets are prepared for family travel. For example, we have a program in place, ‘Tots Travel Too,’ across our select-service portfolio that provides an enhanced crib experience (decorative cover, bath toy and extra amenities). Our full-service hotels have something similar.”

Chewning and her team are investigating in-room entertainment options, including a pilot with streaming content provider Netflix. The goal is to make the in-room experience “as broadly appealing as possible.”

Meeting the needs of family travelers all comes down to variety and options, said Pat Engfer, area VP for eight Hyatt Hotels Corporation properties in Florida.

“We are making changes in food-and-beverage options to provide different experiences for everyone.

Today, there are 8-year-olds who love sushi, so we have to accommodate that,” Engfer said.

The company adapts time-tested amenities to make its guests happy, Engfer said. “For instance, we introduced a mermaid experience for kids in the pool where the girls learn how to swim in mermaid bottoms and the boys in shark fins.”

Hyatt resorts are playing host to other trends, Engfer said.

“We are seeing increases in shorter weekends because people can’t get away for longer. And we see a lot of add-on family trips after conferences,” she said. “We will even maintain the conference rate before or after the conference stay if it’s better for the guest.”

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Hireside Chat

Hireside chat: The magnetism company culture Culture is the soul of your company; it’s intangible but not nebulous. In fact, it’s all around you. While you can’t quantify culture like a headcount or swipe it like a touchscreen, you can feel it. It can be the difference between an open office space and

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rows of beige cubicles. It can be the sound of employees collaborating or heading to lunch together. It can be an animated GIF sent in a companywide email and the barrage of playful responses it generates. It can be giving employees the license to be

themselves.

Culture is much more than a place and its perks; it’s about creating an ethos that empowers, inspires, and, ultimately, attracts. And if you do it just right, you will be known for it.

m of a great Why does corporate culture matter?

There are two quantifiable reasons why you should care about culture at your company:

Employee attrition: You want to keep the great employees you have.

Employee attraction: You want to hire more performers like them.

Today, employers are facing a retention crisis due to a newly stimulated economy and a healthy boost in jobs creation. With unemployment low (5.5%) and opportunities high (there were 295,000 new jobs created in February), employers need to adjust to a candidate’s market, keeping in mind that even mild discontent may lead to avoidable turnover.

On top of managing retention, employers also have to consider the socialization of their employer brand. Sites like Glassdoor, Indeed and Linkedin raise the blinds on what it’s like to work at your company, so if it’s not great, it won’t take long for current employees to leave and potential employees to reconsider.

A cautionary tale about stagnant growth I have the opportunity to speak with many company leaders, founders and heads of talent. I often ask them, “What’s your biggest challenge as a leader?” In one particular conversation, the CEO of a small software company responded, “Attracting more performers to my team.”

He went on to explain that his small company struggled to grow — employee headcount had been fairly stagnant, and when they did hire, they were filling empty seats, not creating new ones. But what struck me most was his description of what he called a recent “mass exodus” of employees — some tenured, some at the executive level and some who’d only been on board for a few months.

The company had turned over nine

key employees in six months, and with fewer than 50 people, that was a significant percentage of the company’s headcount.

The one question every employer must ask Instead of focusing all your energy on hiring performers, you need to take an honest look at the company culture you’ve created. Do you think yours is the sort of company topperforming employees want to work for?

The truth is that top performers want a top-performing company. In the above scenario, it turns out the exiting employees widely regarded the company’s culture as subpar, if not completely oppressive — leadership micromanaged, employees were berated in meetings and there was a complete lack of trust and empowerment. In addition, no one ate lunch together, and when the executive team sent updates, very few people responded — two subtle yet telling characteristics of a weak or failing culture.

I asked the CEO to tell me about the company culture he’d built.

He described it as “laid-back, fun and rewarding,” citing perks like foosball and ping pong, unlimited snacks, company-sponsored happy hours and flexible work schedules.

He ended by saying he also felt he compensated employees quite well, often paying above market value to “ensure performers only.”

This is what I told this company chief: As CEOs, we need to hold the mirror up and really evaluate our role in establishing not just a thriving workplace, but a thriving company culture. Only then can we expect to attract and retain performers.

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There’s no such thing as a free lunch Keep this economic adage in mind when you’re assessing the perks, benefits and other alluring offerings you use to attract top performing employees: There’s more to work-life balance — and work-life happiness — than foosball and free snacks.

According to Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz, business journalists and coauthors of The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, “The key to creating a great workplace is not a prescriptive set of employee benefits, programs and practices, but the building of high-quality relationships in the workplace.”

Case in point: One employee from the aforementioned company revealed that she would rather take a pay cut than work within a culture of distrust. She later did.

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Free snacks will leave a bad taste in employees’ mouths if said workers are otherwise not feeling empowered, not recognized for their contributions to the company’s success or not treated with respect. Performers, after all, consider your company’s success their success, and thus make both a top priority.

The people-culture conundrum: Which came first?

Like the chicken and the egg, with people and corporate culture, it’s hard to tell which one begot the other.

The fact is, it’s irrelevant. People and culture are actually two components of one unending cycle: Culture will attract great people just as people will make a culture great. Phrased differently, corporate culture without people is pointless, just as people without culture are disjointed. It’s the play between the two that matters, not establishing precedence.

Instead of focusing all your energy on hiring performers, you need to take an honest look at the company culture you’ve created.

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