Posts Tagged ‘entrepreneurship’
Why The Realistic Marketer Wins
Marketing shoulders heavy burden in any business regardless of size. We expect our marketing efforts to make more customers aware of our brand and to grab their attention. Not only that, we want our marketing to create trust, differentiate our products, communicate value and change people’s minds. Marketing must also convince strangers to choose us…
Read MoreYou Know More Than You Think
We could be forgiven for thinking that facts and figures communicate the whole truth and hold the keys to unlocking the value in every future opportunity. New digital tools and technologies not only give us more information about the world around us and the people in it but also help us to know more about…
Read MoreWhere Will Your Next Big Idea Come From?
A few weeks before Hillary Clinton was defeated in the US presidental election I met a guy selling hats emblazoned with both candidates’ names outside the Rockerfeller Center in New York. ‘There will be a big upset in this election. Trump hats are selling like hotcakes,’ he said. It was hard to believe. Just the…
Read MoreWhy How We Buy Matters
Forty years ago when Mr Ryan the greengrocer was thinking about his marketing strategy he didn’t have as much to consider as we do today. His customers were locals. They arrived on foot, only bought what they could carry and shopped every day. It was important to have fresh produce, a ready smile and time…
Read MoreThe Patient Marketer
The couple are examining winter jackets on a rail in the department store when the sales assistant makes a beeline for them. ‘What size are we looking for?’ he says, helpfully. They explain that they’re just looking, but he continues to follow them around offering assistance. So they excuse themselves and leave. Marketing works best…
Read MoreWho Do Good Ideas Come From?
Everyone knows a good idea is a shortcut to success, profits and growth. Bad ideas lose. Good ideas win. This is why we are obsessed as a culture about where good ideas come from and how to have more of them. As we go in pursuit of a breakthrough idea we turn our gaze outward…
Read MoreThe Benefits Of Adopting An Ostrich Mindset
Think about how many hours you’ve wasted this year worrying about how well your competitors are doing. The meetings where you focused on how to get ahead. The private angst when your numbers wobbled and theirs stayed steady. Can you name one time when your business gained an advantage by obsessing about the competition? There’s…
Read MoreProblem Solving 2.0
Think of any one of the myriad of challenges you might face this week. Deliveries are taking longer than expected. There’s a rise in customers complaints. The new product isn’t selling as well as you’d hoped. Your team isn’t gelling. The solution to almost every problem usually begins with the same question. How can we…
Read MoreThe Value Of Fixing The Root Of The Problem
The first step to fixing any problem is to acknowledge there is one. If you find yourself starting every email with ‘sorry’, question why you’re constantly doing that. If the software doesn’t work the first time, every time, dig deeper before you need to use it again. If your projects always run over budget look…
Read MoreWhy Meaning Is A Competitive Advantage
The day after she turned fourteen, my mum (number ten in a family of eleven), woke early to catch the bus that would take her to work at her first full-time job in a sweet factory. I don’t remember her telling me about how she got the job. It’s likely it happened through word of…
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