Posts Tagged ‘intangible value’
21 Questions For Creators And Innovators
Ideas are easy and free, execution can be painful and costly. Not just because it requires time, effort and resources—but because we often don’t do enough groundwork to get clear about the impact we hope to create. While it’s important to plan for success and mitigate against failure, what’s equally worthwhile exploring is why the…
Read MoreYou Don’t Need To Compete When You Know Who You Are
Before globalisation, marketing, hair straighteners and the bullworker, our tribal ancestors and village businesses stood out by excelling at their craft. They became known for doing the thing other people in the village couldn’t or wouldn’t do. They were beloved for the way they went about their work. Not much has changed about how loyalty…
Read MoreCopy And Paste
If you can copy and paste the same rejection and send it to every candidate is it worth responding? If you can replicate your competitor’s innovations why bother to invest in your own ideas? If you can multitask while you’re on a call to a customer was the call worth making? If you can ignore…
Read MoreUnlikely
When you’re shopping at Uniqlo, it’s unlikely a sales assistant will ignore you. When you’re a visitor lost in Melbourne, it’s unlikely someone won’t stop to give you directions and a friendly smile. When you take a sip of Tea & Glory tea, it’s unlikely you’ll confuse it with a cup of Tetley. The best…
Read MoreOne Or All?
The blackboard on the pavement outside the florist reads; ‘Flowers for ALL.’ It’s a busy spot with plenty of foot traffic, behind a tram stop, a few doors down from the hospital. Maybe that’s why they’re marketing to everyone, instead of trying to resonate with someone. The marketing speaks to passers-by. But it doesn’t consider…
Read MoreKnowing What You Don’t Know
The most unhelpful assumption we make as marketers is that our customers know why they need our products or services. From there we think our job is to offer proof—to tell people why we are the best alternative. The first rule of innovation, sales and marketing is to understand the customer’s pain points (often before…
Read MorePerfect Ten
When we think of our work or products and services, we imagine the perfect ten version of them. The days without a wrinkle, when we are in the zone, and everything is running like clockwork. Striving for ten while knowing it’s rarely achievable is not easy. The ability to live that paradox is how we…
Read MoreThe Value Of An Internal Brand Narrative
In a commercial world, we use stories tactically to convince and convert prospective customers. We work hard to change minds and capture hearts, with persuasive words and evocative images in an attempt to make an emotional connection with the people we want to reach. The stories we tell our customers form our external narrative. We’re…
Read MoreThe Value Of Subtraction
The call centre operator’s power is limited. He can’t bypass the company’s systems and processes. He is employed to apply a band-aid to the wound—buying the company some time until someone in another department (who he has no direct access to) can solve the problem. He should be empowered to delight and when he’s not…
Read MoreMean It Like You Say It
The Sunday ice-cream scooper at the gelato place on Spring Street makes new customers sample every flavour before they buy anything. She knows her gelato inside and out. Her enthusiasm is infectious. She reels off the most popular flavours and tells stories about how pistachio lovers always return to pistachio having tried everything else because…
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