In business, we chase all kinds of things:
- a higher share price
- more profits
- the latest trend
- the newest technology
- the freshest management fad
- the budget
- new employees
- details… always chasing down the details, the loose ends, the missing facts
- competition
These are all worthy objects of our attention as managers. But, of course, they’re not [...]
I did a little project for my church recently. I think it’s applicable to business, as well.
The goal is to grow the parish (customers) by 10%, or about 40 families. So here’s my thinking:
- get awareness of 1000 families
- get ‘trial’ by 20% (200) over the course of the year
- get ‘conversion’ by 20% of [...]
My first job was at P&G. We learned all about features and benefits. Real left-brained stuff. It’s interesting to me that P&G continues to zero in on key features, and then add some ‘romance’. Gain laundry detergent, for instance.
People love Gain because it makes your clothes smell so good. But you don’t know about this [...]
I had the good fortune to hear Seth Godin (www.sethgodin.com) speak yesterday at the PMA’s annual conference in Chicago. Seth is an inspirational genius. This is how he presents – big pictures, big ideas, big battle cries!
My favorite quote from him was for us all to go forth and “solve interesting problems”. I love this [...]
The conventional marketing process used to be:
1. state the marketing problem/opportunity
2. come up with a solution
3. express it creatively
This was a very efficient approach, linear, and there were no wrong answers
(some answers were better than others, for sure)… This approach gets us coupons and discounts and such…. Hit or miss… Churn… Typical…. Expected…. But also [...]
Marketing is not an ad
Marketing is not an app
Marketing is not a friend
Marketing is not a coupon
Marketing is not 140 characters
Marketing is not a video gone viral
Marketing used to be something you did to your product
Marketing is not something you do to your product
Marketing is a service you do for your customers
Marketing engages
Marketing embraces
Marketing informs
Marketing [...]