Posts Tagged ‘authenticity’
What We Value And Reward Defines Us
Brian has a tough gig. He works at a call centre for an Internet service provider. You can probably imagine what his day looks like. When we spoke I could hear background noise that sounded like hundreds of other people in a tiny space doing exactly what Brian was trying to do—close the sale. Brian…
Read MoreThe Difference Between A Pitch And A Brand Story
A pitch is what you tell the world about you. It’s presented as the polished version of your story. The one you hope people will grasp and believe within a few short minutes as they reach for their wallets. Your pitch and your story are two very different things. So how is a brand storytelling…
Read MoreWhat’s Your Email Marketing Strategy?
Digital is fast and cheap. Now we can save a dollar or two on stamps that are no longer needed, plus the time and energy spent licking them and stuffing envelopes. We don’t even need to walk to the post box to mail our messages. Because it’s easy to reach anyone with an email address…
Read MoreThe Meaningful Advantage
The newspaper delivery van still drives up our street at 4am on Saturday morning. You can hear the rolled, plastic wrapped weekend edition thud onto the neighbour’s lawn as the driver takes aim from the window. And even at 4am you can’t help wondering if this service will be meaningful to enough people to last…
Read MoreCustomer Service Vs. Customer Empowerment
In a world of abundant choices the work of our businesses has to go beyond ‘helpful acts’ and minimum requirements. Understanding the distinction is our new advantage. Customer service vs. customer empowerment is the difference between…. Delivering what’s expected and going the extra mile. Profits first, people second. Products that work and things that change…
Read MoreWhen Did Marketing Become About Telling?
In the village marketing was always about showing. Quality was demonstrated and trust was earned. As we outgrew the village and our small circles of trust and influence marketing became about telling. Loyalty was bought and exposure was paid for. But our digital connectedness is taking us back. Back to a world where people can…
Read MoreThe Myth Of Differentiation
If we did a blind taste test on Starbucks coffee would the result tell us that Starbucks sells the best coffee in the world? Probably not, but the facts don’t stop Starbucks succeeding. In theory differentiation is the way we create a tangible advantage. A method for giving people something to measure and a reason…
Read MoreHow Deep Does Your Story Go?
It seems like a step in the right direction when the giant multinational supermarket starts selling organic vegetables. But the story begins to unravel when the organic broccoli comes shirk-wrapped in cling film, on a polystyrene tray. The customer who the story is aimed at, feels the disconnect between what’s on the surface and the…
Read MoreSorry: Easy To Say, Not So Easy To Do
The assistant serving at the counter apologised for the long wait, then for not having received the order and finally for having no change. The cycle continued with every customer she served. There was a sorry for the wrong order given and one for the fact that the croissants hadn’t arrived that morning. And with…
Read MoreThe Value Of Connection In A Low Touch World
What matters in a world where….we can tell a device to order the shopping, place our coffee order without speaking, have a conversation involving thumbs and zero eye contact and before we know it, get to our destination in a driverless car? What’s scarce today will be even more scarce tomorrow. And that’s our opportunity.…
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