Visible Vs. Memorable

When my friend Mark opened his bakery, he was faced with a marketing dilemma. Should he blow his marketing budget on a single print advert that would cost him several thousand dollars or should he invest that money in something else? The promise of brand validation and the creation of mass awareness made the print…

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Sell It Like You Made It

The days when you could go down to the Milofsky’s Hardware supplies, and come away with a couple of screws carefully wrapped in brown paper, which were perfect for the job, are long gone. The days when Mrs O’Hanlon didn’t mind taking this heavy glass jar, then that one, down from the shelves of her sweet…

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Marketing Efficacy And Expectations

When ‘meal replacement’ shakes first came to market they seemed like the answer to a dieter’s prayers. Replacing one or two regular meals with a calorie counted milkshake meant ingesting fewer calories, resulting in rapid weight loss. Meal replacements worked for some people for a little while. Those first few pounds often ‘fell off’. But…

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Being Seen And Heard

The numbers vary, but the trend is unmistakable. The average consumer is subjected to more marketing messages every day. In a world where it’s harder to get noticed marketers have responded by trying to be more visible. Being noticed is the goal of most marketing. The irony is five seconds in the spotlight doesn’t make…

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The Slow And Steady Advantage

The salespeople at our local gym usually interact with their customers once. A person who is motivated enough to book a gym tour, followed by the inevitable sales conversation is likely to join. The conversion rate is high. While designing the experience to optimise the quickest route to the sale works for the gym—it’s not…

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People Power

When a traveller books a $700 a night hotel room she assumes that she’ll have a five-star experience. She’s expecting more than a better bed, thicker carpets and fancier facilities. When a five-star hotel gets a one-star review, it’s an indication that something went badly wrong. Of course, guests and customers are disappointed for a…

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Making A Mark

Regular customers know when Effie has the day off from her job at the city centre convenience store. They sense her absence as soon as they walk in. The coffee machine hasn’t been cleaned. The shelves haven’t been restocked. The music isn’t playing. Customers aren’t stopping to chat. There’s a different energy about the place.…

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Forget Which Way The Wind Is Blowing

When the disco diner opened on a warm Summer night in a flurry of pink neon, accompanied by loud music and cheap booze, the owner felt reassured he’d found his tribe. But as the evenings grew shorter and the nights colder, his confidence began to waver. The evolving messaging on a pair of sandwich boards…

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Skill Vs. Talent

The dentist looks inside the patient’s mouth. She completes her examination, makes an assessment and proposes treatment. The proposed treatment considers only two things. What’s going on inside the patient’s mouth and his ability to pay. The dentist knows she can fix the problem. She wants to do a good job. This is the work…

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Better Bridges

The design and layout of a department store are deliberate. The sum of a thousand decisions, choices made to optimise the customer experience and maximise profit. Cosmetics on the ground floor, furniture on the top. The fewer people shopping for big-ticket items invest time ascending six floors. You could argue that the customers who go…

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