Posts Tagged ‘competition’
The Value Of Unknowns
Will the new product launch be successful? Is this really what customers want? Will the digital marketing initiative drive enough sales? Is this the right person to hire? Will the redesign improve engagement? Is the timing perfect? The truth is that we can’t know for sure. That doesn’t stop us trying to act as if…
Read MoreDoing The Maximum
Everywhere you look today you will see people doing the minimum. The cashier at the electrical store processing customers without acknowledgement. The doctor who casually flips through your notes without making eye contact. The lecturer using the ‘death by PowerPoint’ teaching method. We hardly ever experience someone doing the maximum (like the driver on the…
Read MoreWhat’s The End Game?
Before you pivot. Before you expand. Before you take on extra staff. Before you act on conventional wisdom. Before you panic about the numbers. Before you say ‘yes’ to something when you really mean ‘no’. Before you become someone you don’t recognise. Ask yourself, What was my original intention for this business? Now write those…
Read MoreDoing Is Underrated
The customer you could follow up with. The survey waiting to be sent. The product you could trial. The colleague yet to be contacted. The copy you could test. The important observation you might take action on. Each one is an opportunity to learn something that could change everything. The GoPro started as a camera…
Read MoreGood To Do Vs. Right To Do
The brand new billboard spanned the four lanes of the freeway that led to the airport. The location was obviously a strategic move, given that the company being advertised was in the travel business. The gorgeous image of a lone traveller in the wilderness had likely been painstakingly chosen by the marketing department in consultation…
Read MoreChanging Minds And The Decision Timeline
When was the last time you switched brands? The reality is we mostly make decisions on autopilot and we don’t often change our minds. When change happens it doesn’t happen in an instant—however hopeful we as marketers might be that it does. We know for example, that the transition to bottled water didn’t happen overnight…
Read MoreFirst Impressions Vs. Lasting Impact
“What’s that new cafe like?” asked a business colleague from out of town. His question got me thinking about how much a negative response from a single customer could cost a business. What’s the lasting impact of a one bad experience? We can invest time and energy and money into the things we believe will…
Read MoreThe New Rules Of Email Marketing
The old rules are broken. Familiar email marketing tactics might enable us to extract one more sale, but they are definitely not designed to respect our customers—the people who pay our bills, the same people we hope to matter to. They are busy and smart. We should treat them that way. THE NEW RULES OF…
Read MoreWho Is This Not For?
When we spend time thinking about growing our businesses we tend to focus on our ideal customers—the people we know we want to matter to. A great way to get really specific about who you are creating your products and services for is to think about who they are not for. The temptation in the…
Read MoreA New Book To Help You Create Ideas That Fly
I’ve spent the last two years writing, speaking and consulting about how to succeed by making your ideas resonate with the people you want to serve. My new book Meaningful: The Story Of Ideas That Fly is the culmination of that work. Our new digital landscape has spawned an entrepreneurial culture and the belief that…
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