belief
106 posts
The Power Of What We Measure
It’s easier than ever before to create a set of metrics by which to monitor our progress and measure our success. Click-through rates, subscriber numbers, impressions and customer lifetime value are useful data points. What if we measured our success by the results we delivered for our customers? No
3 Questions To Help You Find Your Niche
Look in the jewellery shop windows in any western city and you’ll notice the same trends—rings, bracelets and necklaces designed to appeal to what most people like the look of. Jewellery designer Megan Auman found her niche by marrying her talents as a metalsmith and designer, to create pieces that
The Art Of Selling
Buying is defined as the acquisition of one thing in exchange for something else. Of course it goes beyond ownership or the trading of things. Buying is an exchange of trust and value—a belief in promises we expect will be kept. Selling is described as the transfer of goods or services in exchange f
Too Cheap To Be Good
When a friend was shopping around for a logo designer she got several recommendations and then asked for quotes. The range was extraordinary, but no more extraordinary than her reaction. The companies that quoted below what she felt was reasonable were immediately discounted and they lost her busine
The Importance Of The First Stroke
The coach leaned forward on her handle bars and across the bike path at the side of the lake. The four girls in the boat who had been training since sun up hung on her every word. “I want you to focus on the first stroke, nothing else. Just keep thinking I am going to…
Before And After
Before any business is done you and your potential customer each have a story playing in your head. There is the worldview you each have before the transaction takes place and the outcome you hope will eventuate afterwards. The outcome that you want and the one that the customer is hoping for may be
The 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…
A Category Of One
The sign was in the perfect spot—right next to the traffic lights at a notoriously slow moving T-junction, to maximise the number of people who would see it. The message was clear: “NEED A WEBSITE? 04040404040” What’s also clear is that the people who call are not likely to be the customers that the
We Don’t Buy Things
Once upon a time and not so long ago, almonds were a fatty, to-be-avoided snack. Today they are a protein-rich superfood. Almond sales in the US have increased 220% since 2005. When, and how exactly did almonds change? Of course almonds haven’t changed at all, what has changed is what we believe abo
Customer 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 f
Changing The Customer
The craft beer industry is flourishing, naturally that’s eating into the market share of the bigger brewers. Budweiser sales in the US have dropped by more than two thirds since 1988 and the company is losing mindshare and market share amongst 21-27 year olds. The solution seems to be to change what
Why People Buy And Why You Need To Know
We spend a great deal of our time and energy trying to convince people to choose us—often without giving enough consideration to why they might. It turns out that there are only three reasons people buy anything and every product or service falls somewhere on this buying hierarchy. 1. Utility If you
When 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
The 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 measu
The Most Important Marketing We Do
Do you remember that time when the popular kid pushed you back into line and told you to and wait to be picked, or the day when your teacher told you not to speak up? Will you ever forget the moment your boss told you that you should suck it up, or the night when…
My New Book—Marketing: A Love Story
My new book is here. You can buy it now on Amazon in paperback and in Kindle. I’ve wanted to find a way to juxtapose the concepts of marketing and love in a book for a long time. I like to think that even if you never opened the book, just owning it—seeing it on…
What if?
What if I don’t do what the bus driver says? What if sharing my dream makes people believe the impossible is possible? What if there were no buttons? What it we made the wallet disappear? What if the ‘one more thing’ changed everything? What if we taught our kids how to lose? What if this…
What Will Your Verse Be?
One of my heroes died yesterday. Maybe he was one of yours too? Robin Williams wasn’t the kind of hero you are reminded of every day. You might remember him as you’re riding the train home one night and you smile when you see the words ‘Carpe Diem’ etched into a teenager’s forearm. Or when…
Price Is Not Just A Strategy, It’s A Story
There was a palpable buzz when one of the most gifted leaders in retail, Ron Johnson—the guy who led the creation of the Apple Store experience, took on the role of CEO at the hundred-year-old company J.C. Penney. All eyes were on him. The business world wanted to know how he was going to transform…
Don’t Change Your Pitch, Understand Their Story
Back in the days of stay-at-home Mums and morning newspaper deliveries, a memorable tagline on the box (or a coveted toy inside), was enough of a sales pitch to sell us a ton of breakfast cereal. Frosted Flakes were Grrreat because Tony the Tiger said so. And if Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Micha
