Posts Tagged ‘marketing’
Thinking About Marketing As A Strategy For Growth Not Just Sales
Mostly we market to sell more. The restaurant owner who tells his staff to remember to ‘push drinks and bottled water’ is marketing for increased sales today. The alternative is to be the marketer who bakes growth into his business by delighting customers, giving them a story they want to tell (and a way to…
Read MoreAre You Smarter Than Your Customers?
How do you feel when you click on a banner ad? Do you remember what you said under your breath the last time you accidentally did that? And how do you feel when your local politician cold calls using a recorded message at 7.30pm the night before an election, asking for your vote? (I really…
Read MoreHow To Disrupt The Market
Do you remember the days when printed news was so valued that there were two editions of the daily newspaper? People waited at the local shops for evening editions to arrive at 4pm and paperboys weaved between cars which were stopped at a red light during rush hour where drivers also waited with exact change…
Read MoreThe Entrepreneurial Paradox
By definition entrepreneurs undertake to build whatever they are building at considerable risk to themselves. They do what humans are not naturally evolved to do, which is break free from the pack to try something different—something that might not work and may leave them exposed and on the edge, away from the apparent safety and…
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 MoreHow Should The Shift To Mobile Affect Your Marketing?
As the tag team of baristas was making my coffee one morning, I noticed the girl with the milk jug take her phone from her apron pocket and begin scrolling through her Facebook feed while she waited for her partner to pull the shot. More proof if I needed it that our mobile devices are…
Read MoreWinning In The Difference Economy
I’m not sure what department stores look like on a Tuesday afternoon in your neighbourhood, but in mine they are like ghost towns. Whole floors full of stock that changes with the seasons waiting to be bought by someone (they don’t know who), who happens to stop by. We all know the stories of the…
Read MoreWe Need To Stop Telling Customers What We Do
I’m driving along behind the white Ezy Tiles van, when we stop at a red light and I get close enough to read their sales pitch, which is an image and a single line. The picture is of three guys wearing dust masks that look like something you’d see in a documentary about chemical warfare.…
Read MoreThe Truth About Starbucks And The $4 Coffee
Before Starbucks you could buy your morning coffee for a dollar or two. So how was it possible for Starbucks to more than double the price of coffee overnight? The truth is that Starbucks didn’t actually invent the $4 coffee—they created the $2 experience. $2 felt like a bargain for the feeling of belonging in…
Read MoreThere’s More Than One Way To Buy A Lemon
The middle-aged couple at the garden centre stood with furrowed brows as the sales assistant explained the difference between the varieties of lemon tree. They took a step back and almost looked alarmed when he explained how one particular variety would bear a lot of fruit, but could become tall, straggly and unmanageable. Huge smiles…
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