Posts Tagged ‘success’
Why Visibility Is Overrated
“TRY OUR TAPAS” screamed the sandwich board on the pavement outside the empty restaurant as the customers spilled out onto the pavement waiting for tables at the cafe next door. True story. One of my clients recently did a marketing audit and found that a third of his business came from repeat clients, another third…
Read MoreThe Trouble With Marketing And The Opportunity For The Future
I met with a prospective client recently who had acted on conflicting advice about marketing tactics from a couple of different sources and failed to get the results he’d hoped for. “The trouble with marketers is that each one tries to sell you on their solution.” he said. “The SEO guy will tell you that…
Read MoreThe Characteristics Of Great Brand Stories
Great brand stories….. Are rooted in truth. Created with intention. Have a bigger purpose beyond a single bottom line. Add intangible value to something that was once a commodity. Take time. Make the customer the hero. Change how people feel about a product or service. Start with the customer’s story. Don’t matter to everyone. Appeal…
Read MoreWho Is This Marketing For?
Before holding the meeting. Before working on the strategy. Before choosing the medium. Before building the website. Before writing a single word of copy. Ask yourself, “Who is this marketing for?” If the answer is, “It’s for our shareholders, the board, my boss, or so we can feel safe doing what we’ve always done.”—go back…
Read MoreHow To Begin Developing A Product Story
While the guy shopping at the hardware store might think he’s comparing the features and benefits of the latest drills what he’s actually doing is imagining all of those shelves beautifully hung. We like to believe that our product story begins with the customer’s relationship to the product, when in actual fact what the customer…
Read MoreThe Purpose Of Collecting Data
Data collection shouldn’t simply be about looking for proof or testing your assumptions. Your questions are not always about collating the right answers, often they are about finding out who the right people are. The idea isn’t just to get the data, it’s to understand the people who want to be understood. That way you…
Read MoreValuable Things We Ignore In The Quest For Growth
One of the first words a baby learns to say is ‘more’. They learn very early on that this one word is the shortest route to getting what they want. Every three year old knows that two cupcakes are better than one. It’s no surprise then that this lesson stays with us through life and…
Read More3 Questions To Help Your Business Evolve With Your Customers
The sign next to the juice bar announces that waiting is over. “Don’t Line UP. Order on our app.” No interruption to your day required. Have you noticed how waiting has gone out of fashion and the slew of products, apps, services and shortcuts that have come to market which are designed to give us…
Read MoreTaking Your Place In The Difference Economy
Whole Foods launched it’s first national and TV marketing campaign in 35 years on the back of losing 30% of its value in just six months. The company has been losing market share to chains like Walmart who are now stocking once hard to find sustainable and organic produce and selling it cheaper. There are…
Read MoreGetting Your Message ‘Out There’
When I was fifteen it cost fifty pence to go a see U2 play live to a tiny audience in the function room of the Rathfarnham Inn. A group of girls from my school who were die hard fans and too young to get into a pub at night applied three layers of eyeliner, half…
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