Strategy

Typically, I'm not one to let important things slide. And while I wish I could say that my reduction in blog posts was by design - a test of some sort - its not. That's not all that's lacking, either. I haven't dived thorough those great feeds in my reader in a good long while.  I'm still tweeting posts and articles about marketing, advertising, technology, and other material I think my followers might enjoy. But I'm not at the same level of 2-way communication (the word 'conversation' is starting...

Engage Customers Or Market To Them?  Decisions, Decisions Customer Engagement is an area of brand affinity that I'm passionate about.  I've always been a strong believer that only by tapping into the emotional needs of consumers will brands ever be able to design and deliver valuable products that serve their rational needs as well. This mindset goes way beyond performing in ways to achieve satisfied customers and much more to the heart of what my employer Ovation is doing now - encouraging brands...

Gotta Speak the Language Last week, I was in Des Moines, IA attending a marketing conference sponsored by the Iowa Banker's Association titled "Blue Ribbon Banking: Marketing for Success."   At Ovation, we're considering our sales strategy for the bank vertical and this local conference provided good timing. My banking experience is limited to the typical consumer relationship, so I thought it particularly important to visit with bank marketers in hopes to better understand their pain points. ...

Tell Me Something I Don't Know, Already. The sentiment on the street remains cautious, conservative, and even scrappy. Businesses everywhere are feeling the shock waves which still reverberate from the crumbling financial and real estate empire which began 18 months ago. There's no arguing that belts have been tightened, expense reports and expansion plans scrutinized, and sacrifices made in the interest of staying protected, controlling cash flow, and mitigating exposure/risk. As consumers,...

I May Not Get That, But I Sure Get This I'm not naturally gifted in math, which extends to include percentages, equations, and the like.  While I'm often challenged when faced with determining data and projections for specific scenarios, certainly the bigger concept is more easily computed by my brain. That is to say, what worked in the past (what got you here), won't ensure your future success (get you there). Your Father's Marketing Plan I'm still seeing some companies employ scattershot...

The plight of a salesperson is a tough one. There are physical barriers ranging from receptionists screening calls to Junk or Spam filters blocking emails, and direct mailings that are overlooked.  I don't purport to have deep insights on how to effectively penetrate the "no solicitations" bubble surrounding many purchase decision-makers, but I do believe that many messages and tactics are off target to say the best, and out of touch, to say the least. What Did You Just Say To Me? These are excerpts...

Not long ago, after much research and ideation, I developed a strategic planning process I'm pleased with.  It's a phased, sequenced approach that includes closed-loop feedback integrated into an iterative, evolving process.  Nothing Einstein-ish about it, but then if you've ever read any documentation on blue ocean vs. red ocean strategy, you'll know there are some brilliantly simple imperatives right in front of us which distinguish failure from great success. The part of the methodology that...

The Sky Is Falling Some feeds I've been reading lately has me catching up about big brands and the way they're reaching (or trying to reach) their consumers.  I might as well say it--it's the "Esc" button on my keyboard--but of course the state of our economy factors into some of the discussion.  The question being considered is how will budgetary belt-tightening induce companies to achieve objectives with less. What Do We Do Now? And I'm wondering if, when faced with the challenge to reach...

So it's the first day of a new month (I gotta ask, where did 2008 go?  I'm not ready for snow!  But that could be my reality in two short months.) and I decided to tackle my ever-present teetering pile of work-related reading material.  So there's no misapprehension - I love to read, and I love to learn, and I'm a speed reader - but the first two truths create a problem:  my eyes are bigger than there are hours in the day. Which is why I'm just now getting to the August edition of Multichannel...

How surprised would you be to learn that the largest circulated weekly print publication in the fastest growing county in the state of Florida is afraid of its own shadow? Let me put it another way. My step father-in-law is the editor of a 120-year-old newspaper named The DeFuniak Herald servicing Walton county, which includes Destin and a large hunk of other well-known tourist beach destinations in the panhandle of the state. Colloquially known as “lower Alabama,” this area has experienced...