Acts Of Marketing

The tight-lipped cabin crew wearing crumpled uniforms pass out miniature bags of pretzels to the passengers—the only snack included in the ticket price of the five-hour flight. On the world’s largest airline everything that would make the journey more pleasant is extra. Profit margins trump empathy and generosity at every turn, and it shows—even in…

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The Purpose Of Design Features

In business, we use design to differentiate ourselves in a number of ways. Design features are primarily seen as a way to attract customers and to help them decide if our product is for them. In a digital world, design is one of the best tools we have to build trust with customers we many…

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The Power Of The Customer’s Story

Mike, the guy who sells bus tours in Times Square doesn’t do permission marketing. He has 60 seconds to find a way to engage his prospective customer—a wary visitor in a strange city who isn’t anticipating being interrupted. Mike is competing with dozens of other street vendors. He’s also got the giant flashing billboards and…

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It’s Not B2B, It’s Personal

One of the most confusing distinctions we’ve created in the business world is that between the business to customer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) consumer. It’s argued that because these two groups of customers are working towards different outcomes—efficiency vs. entertainment, expertise vs. enjoyment, that they also have different motivations. The B2B consumer is…

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Persuasion, Push And Pull

You’ve probably witnessed a mother trying to hurry her toddler along with a gentle sense of urgency. “Come on now Joe. Quickly.” she says. The toddler immediately senses what’s important to his mum, but not necessarily to him and begins to walk more slowly. Mum’s urgency escalates and eventually her coaxing turns into a desperate,…

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The Quiet Marketing Opportunity

It was 6am on a wet and windy Melbourne morning. The two tourists wandered out of their hotel on Exhibition Street, each armed with a giant red golf umbrella plastered with the hotel’s equally giant logo. At first glance, you might think how thoughtful it is that the hotel anticipates the traveller’s needs. How much…

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Changing People’s Minds

We spend a lot of time trying to convince people of our opinion at work, in business and in life. If only we could attract more customers. If only the customers we had could be persuaded to spend more. If only our colleagues could see the sense of doing it this way? If only the…

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The Most Underrated Sales Tactic In The World

The woman who was shopping for a travel wallet asked the assistant if there was anything available in the sale. “Not in store, but you could try our website. There could be something there,” she said. The customer explained that she was travelling tomorrow, and left the store disappointed and empty-handed, even though there were…

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Clever Vs. Consistent

The advert for cheap flights to L.A. simply read: Brad is single Los Angeles. From/one way, incl taxes. £169* It was clever of the marketing department to pick up on the news that’s top of mind and there’s no doubt the ad got plenty of attention in the moment. Maybe the airline even sold some…

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Surviving Peak Utility

When I was a child our family doctor operated a first come, first served, clinic without an appointment system. Some patients arrived three hours before the clinic was due to start to make sure they’d be seen first and a two-hour wait to see the doctor was not uncommon. “Evening folks.” Dr. Mac said, as…

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