Posts Tagged ‘competition’
What Problem Are You Solving?
Every venture capitalist will tell you that the best startup pitches focus more on the problem than on the solution. A potential investor may give you just a single sentence to make them understand why your idea will succeed in a world where most people have what they need. And yet, as business owners we…
Read MoreThe Brand Sweet Spot
Every time I upgrade my phone the guys at Virgin try to convince me that there are much better options than the iPhone. When they ask me why I prefer the iPhone I never have a definitive answer. It’s not always easy to put that kind of value into words. Think about your favourite brands,…
Read MoreThe Most Dangerous Thing About Your Competition
….is your obsession with them. Yes, we live in a giant digital goldfish bowl. This makes it possible to get stuck watching and worrying about what our competitors are doing. Almost every move they make, every accolade, acquisition and award is there for the world to see. It’s far more productive and more profitable to…
Read MoreWas Everything Okay?
The table was clean. The waitress arrived to take coffee orders within a couple of minutes. We tried to ignore the peeling corners of the laminated menu. The food and the coffee were fine. The waitress polite in a ‘going through the motions’ kind of way. Her parting question as we paid the bill….. “Was…
Read MoreWhy We Advertise
Ad spending is set to increase this year. And yet, some of the smartest and fastest growing companies on the planet elect to grow their businesses through word of mouth, by delighting their customers. So, why do we still buy banner ads? Is it because……? 1. Our products and services don’t create difference for our…
Read MoreValue Is A Story We Want To Believe
If you’ve ever doubted that we are, as Jill Bolte Taylor says, “feeling creatures who think” just stop in the salt section of your local supermarket. Salt is as close to free as any product can get. You can buy a kilo for a dollar, or a Pink Himalayan variety for sixty times that price.…
Read MoreHope Is Not A Marketing Strategy
There’s a tiny market in Potts Point every Sunday. Each week the stallholders show up and hope. They hope that someone who might be their customer will show up too. The stallholders sell things that a passer-by might want, usually things that they could get somewhere else if they weren’t going to buy it on…
Read MoreHow To Be The Best In The World
LEGO® bricks are the best in the world. Competitors have tried to copy them over the years, but nothing comes close to a real LEGO® brick. So what’s the secret? To make a product that good you’ve got to continually obsess about design and production lines and quality control. But what makes LEGO® the best…
Read MoreThe Question Your Competitors Forgot To Ask
The foundation of many businesses is a simple what. What do we serve and sell, for how much, at what profit margin? Getting stuck in ‘the what’ puts you squarely in the commodities business. If the value you create is purely tangible then you’re not giving people a reason to care about your brand, or…
Read MoreThe 11 Whys Of Product Development
In my work with companies, entrepreneurs and businesses of all stripes, here’s what I’ve found. We mostly get stuck not because we don’t know the right answer, but because we haven’t begun to ask the right questions. Here’s a handy list of questions to ask before you bring your product, service or idea to market.…
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