Are you afraid to mention a competitor in your customer-facing materials?
This used to be considered a major marketing Faux pas. In today’s climate, though, customers who are talking about you are probably also talking (and hearing and reading) about your closest competition. It’s too easy.
So why pretend you’re the only one doing what you do, or making [...]
One of the best books on telling a good marketing story is Seth Godin’s All Marketers Are Liars. Upshot: If a company’s messaging doesn’t match its product or customer experience, there’s confusion, distrust and lost opportunities for repeat business.
Which leads me to Mission Statements, those historical bedrocks of company stories and marketplace positioning. When authentic, they are powerful because [...]
Monday meetings are as certain as the sun in the sky. Here’s a challenge for the upcoming week. Try to end them early. Run them so they don’t just fill allotted time. Run them so they value everyone’s time.
Most meetings booked through Microsoft Outlook are for 1 hour. If you carve 10 minutes off each, imagine [...]
In the rush to make the next big thing, are you trying to predict the future — or adding a new twist? The guys who wrote this program made something new out of something that has been around for decades, winning 600,000 fans, lots of money and the ire of big corporations.
The state of Idaho is taking something ancient and making it part [...]
Do you know people who crank out great ideas?
I’ve met a few. Artists. Writers. Business leaders. Coaches. Mentors. I admire each for their ability to see things where others don’t.
Turning on your own idea machine takes practice. At least once a week, try something totally new outside of your routine. Listen closely to people who [...]
Marketing blogs tackle words, images and ideas (this blog included). Their stock in trade might be brand analysis, PR dissection, or community commentary.
What gets lost is human nature. And by that I mean how marketers (you) move forward with the tools available. The most important marketing tool you have is you.
So be decisive.
If you’re part of a corporate marketing team, it’s imperative. If you’re managing a marketing agency, [...]
sim·ple /ˈsɪmpəl/ - [sim-puhl] adjective, -pler, -plest, noun –adjective
1. easy to understand, deal with, use, etc.: a simple matter; simple tools
I don’t write code. But I do appreciate simple software (and tech support). Yesterday Microsoft made good on the Word 2007 bug fix. A support staffer accessed my desktop (slightly chilling) and healed a corrupt file. It got me thinking [...]
This talk at TED just posted is worth the 20-minute investment of time. As we move more toward work produced through ”collective actions” otherwise known as work by groups, Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs shares: “Every desktop is now a printing press, a broadcasting station, a community or a marketplace.”
Rheingold predicts a day when the majority of us will be holding, carrying or [...]
Once upon a time, all you needed was a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers to block the sun and look cool. Audrey Hepburn wore them in the 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Cary Grant wore an early version of Wayfarers in North by Northwest. Others photographed in the iconic sunglasses include Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, James [...]
Chris Anderson, author of the The Long Tail, has a new mantra: Free
The word grabs your attention, but can it hold it? I applauded Radiohead last winter when fans could download the band’s new album for nothing, or name their own price. I love Gmail and WordPress as much as any freeloader. And the New [...]
