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Tag Archives: Marketing and Advertising

Business Model Innovation Comes before Branding and Marketing

Do You Have a Business Model Strategy – or a Marketing Tap Dance? Recently I wrote about the necessity of working out branding strategy before starting a marketing program. But there’s another step that must come ahead of branding – defining a business model strategy. Client Kay Plantes is an authority on the topic. I just [...]
Posted in Marketing | Also tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Don’t Let Testimonials Dictate Your Marketing Strategy

Monkey See, Monkey Do Will Make a Monkey Out of You [/caption]The latest Robert Hruzek group project is What I Learned From Bloopers. Ah – finally a topic I can sink my teeth into. Here’s a major “oops” from my early days as a marketing manager, which proved to be a very expensive learning experience. [...]
Posted in Marketing | Also tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Effective b2b Marketing Follows Branding

[/caption] Why Marketing Strategy Must Grow Out of Branding Strategy My client Suzanne Tulien of The Brand Ascension Group and I violently agree about something – effective marketing comes after a firm establishes its brand identity. Suzanne talks about “Brand DNA”, which is a fabulous metaphor, because truly, the brand has to be in an organization’s [...]
Posted in Marketing | Also tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Sales Tip – When You Find a Winning Formula, Drive It into the Ground

Image via Wikipedia Mountaintop experiences are the theme of this month’s “What I Learned From …” project from Robert Hruzek. He says, “Ever been at the top of a mountain (or at least a very tall building), with what seems like the whole world at your feet? It’s an awesome feeling, ain’t it?”… Continue reading
Posted in Sales | Also tagged , , | 15 Comments

The Benefits of Talking about Features

Image by viZZZual.com via Flickr The Sales Power of Features Every sales and marketing specialist agrees, “Talk benefits, not features!” Yet there are ways of talking about features that can advance the sales effort. Let me give you a practical example of the power of features from my packaging sales and marketing Continue reading
Posted in Copywriting | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The Perfection of Marketing, by James Connor – A Book Review

Midsized companies have trouble “getting it” when it comes to marketing. Ownership and leadership tend to be sales oriented. Branding is unfocused. Marketing initiatives come and go like the wind because there is no long term plan in effect and no metrics established to monitor results. If you are a frustrated marketing manager in a [...]
Posted in Books | Also tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Is Your Company Ready for Social Media Marketing?

Image by ‘Pong via Flickr Liz Strauss featured the brilliant Terry Starbucker recently, who laid out a series of questions he asks potential clients when pitching social media – Are you ready to have public conversations? How pervasive are your Social Media users in your customer base? Continue reading
Posted in Social Media | Also tagged , , | 8 Comments

To Write Persuasively, Know Your Customer’s Mind

Many moons ago in a Xerox sales training class, I learned the difference between skeptical and indifferent customers. It’s a distinction that I’ve found imperative to keep in mind at all times when writing any sort of sales copy. A skeptical customer is one who recognizes a need for your product or service, but [...]
Posted in Copywriting | Also tagged , , , , | 8 Comments