I learned a long time ago that a large part of serving as the marketing partner for companies is acting as a translator and cultural attaché. No, I’m not multilingual or an expert in etiquette, but so much of what we do involves bridging gaps between people. In fact, it’s rare to find a company or [...]
Have you ever wished you could take a surreptitious peek into your competitors’ operations or decision-making process? What if I told you, it may be easier than you think? I’m not suggesting you hire industrial spies to break into a competitor’s production facility or try to place a mole into their executive suite. The simple fact [...]
I’m always fascinated by company leaders who cannot grasp the value someone with a different perspective can bring to them. It reminds me of that homespun wisdom that it’s impossible to read the label from inside a jam jar. Put another way, unless a CEO or other company leader has managed to become 100 percent [...]
I was excited to open it. The website had been compelling, and the box was beautifully designed. The product was exactly as advertised. And then I saw the sheet. It was a simple slip of paper, containing the assembly instructions, apparently cranked out on the company’s photocopier. The text was skewed on the page, so whoever [...]
If there’s one common theme I’ve been hearing from company leaders during these strange economic times, it’s “we need more people.” And if there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s that those companies may need a more strategic approach to find them. You can see the evidence of the struggle to hire everywhere you look, from a [...]
The disagreement grew increasingly intense. His frustration was obvious as he angrily snapped, “I’m the customer! I’m always right!” I didn’t yell back. I simply resigned his business. “The customer is always right” is an outgrowth of the intense competition among early big-city retailers. 19th century titans like John Wanamaker and Marshall Field wisely emphasized customer [...]
We’ve all heard a photo is worth a thousand words, but if you’re in the business of making or selling products, you might be surprised to learn there’s a better alternative that’s worth infinitely more than those thousand words.Marketing and advertising efforts took a giant step forward when high-quality photography became available. Photos offered not only [...]
The marketing director worked hard on the new campaign and convinced the CFO to budget extra dollars for the launch. It was an exciting promotion with an impossible-to-ignore offer that was certain to boost sales to new highs. Only one problem: nobody told the sales team about it. So an hour after the email blast went [...]
You’re so excited about your new website. After weeks of work, it’s just about ready to launch and the developer needs the credentials for your hosting service. That’s when you remember Larry. Ah, Larry. When you launched the current version of your website four years ago, he was your technology Larry-of-all-trades, overseeing the network and helping [...]
I developed a better understanding of our company’s business model the morning our son and his three-week-old driver’s license crossed paths with another vehicle in a local roundabout. Our car didn’t look too good, but he was fine. The driver who hit him was also uninjured, and her car suffered the worst of the damage. Most [...]
