Marketing Advice

We’re on our way to buy that forgotten pint of milk late one weekday evening when we spot a brand new restaurant. So, we stop to take a look at the menu in the window. Inside the place is deserted, apart from two smiling waitresses, stationed behind the double glass doors and one anxious owner…

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Message Received

How much time will you spend today trying to persuade the people you hope to serve? How much effort will you devote to understanding how your message was received? Your job is to do more than to ask for feedback—it’s to test for resonance. You must pay attention to both what your customers say and…

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Words And Deeds

When we moved to our neighbourhood, the independent organic grocer was a community hub. The sales staff knew locals by name. The fruit and vegetables were plentiful and fresh. And customers were offered food tastings every day. And then bit by bit things started to change. The owner opened a store in a neighbouring suburb,…

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If You Want To Be Noticed, Start Noticing

We’re always looking for ways to get our customers to notice us. We spend time thinking about what new marketing channels we could explore. We work on strategies to get us more exposure. We test tactics that might improve our reach. What would happen if we shifted some of our energy to noticing our customers?…

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What Stories Are You Forgetting To Tell?

Often our best stories are the ones that seem insignificant to us. We take the things we do well for granted. We forget that what’s simple to us might be insightful for others. We become accustomed to doing the work without celebrating or showing the results. And that’s a problem. If we don’t articulate and…

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Always, Sometimes, Never

Doing our best work requires us to pay attention to the things and people that energise us. One way to do this is to consider categorising potential opportunities, projects or clients into three buckets. Always, sometimes and never. The goal is to do more of the ‘always’ work, on the projects that both energise us…

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The Power Of A Shared Narrative

Many shoppers wandering the department store on Saturday are browsing. Some are buying. Most people the menswear assistant offers to help, decline. But one or two ask if a particular shirt or jumper is available in their size. The response depends. It depends on three things—the stock levels, the training the sales team received, and…

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