6 Ways To Become Part Of Your Customer’s Story

Think about the rituals that punctuate your days. Freshly boiled water poured over scented tea, your morning workout, or favourite mug. The ten minutes you use to brainstorm ideas in Evernote, checking emails, or meeting colleagues at lunchtime, your ring tone, playlist, date night….each one adding another layer of meaning to your day, becoming part…

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A Better Business In 5 Minutes And 3 Easy Steps

I promised three steps and here they are: 1. Grab a drink, a blank sheet of paper and a pen. Switch off your phone and shut your laptop. 2. Now answer this question. “What will your customer say to her friend tomorrow to recommend you, or your products and services?” Don’t respond to anyone else’s…

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Tiny Markets Of Someone

Mr Ryan owned a corner shop in the tiny Dublin suburb where I grew up. It supported his family and employed his children while they studied for over 20 years. He didn’t seem to worry when yet another big supermarket opened close by. Sure, he knew some of his customers would go there for special…

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Rethinking The Great Email Smash And Grab

The world has conditioned us from toddlerhood to understand that ‘most’ is what matters. Even a two year old instinctively knows that having just one more chocolate chip cookie than his sister is a good thing. Life teaches you that the people with the most win and so the quest for more begins pretty early…

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Intangibles Have A Real World Value

Once upon a time earphones were ‘functional black’, until Apple changed everything by adding a layer of meaning to what was once a commodity worth nothing more than a few dollars. By making earphones ‘accessory white’ Apple gave iPod owners a way to be noticed and to belong. The most famous roof line in the…

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Thinking Beyond Customer Needs

The couple at the cafe order two teas and one cake with two forks. The story the woman has told herself is that they are sharing the cake she ordered. Halving the damage. The guy quietly sips his tea as she slices the cake into squares and begins eating the smaller pieces, picking around the…

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The New Marketing Mix : 4 Different Ps

The original Marketing Mix was introduced sixty five years ago. It was a framework for considering how to grow a business and gain market share. The mix consisted of four Ps, price, product, promotion, and place, a list of ingredients that every marketer must pay attention to in order to ensure that their product succeeded…

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What Are Your Metrics?

It’s easy to count Facebook likes and numbers of Twitter followers. And we’ve found ways to justify the ‘return on investment’ of a billboard that’s passed by 20,000 people every day. It’s easy to advocate for doing things that we can measure. A metric of any kind feels safe, and it’s got deniability built in.…

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The 20 Keys To A Brand Story

A brand story is more than a narrative. The story goes beyond the copy on a website, the text in a brochure, or the presentation used to pitch to investors. Your story isn’t just what you tell people. It’s what they believe about you based on the signals your brand sends. The story is a…

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The Opportunity Of The Disconnection Economy

If there’s one thing I really hate it’s queuing. You too? And we’re not alone. Innovators are spending their time working on projects to make frustrated one-click, 21st century humans worry less about the time they might be wasting, just waiting. There are red traffic lights with countdowns that encourage drivers to be more patient,…

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