Archive for the ‘Thought Leadership’ Category
Marketing 101 – A look into the not so obvious
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Marketing is much more than just advertising; it is the sum total of all your communications with the marketplace. This includes your vendors, lender, investors as well as your customers and the community at large. It is what I call a “reluctant reality” that your marketing will be a bigger factor in your success than the quality of your offering.
By “reluctant reality”, I mean that most business owners would rather it not be so… but it is. We’ve all been brainwashed to believe in the old saw, “build a better mouse-trap and the world will beat a path to your door.” Trust me; it just isn’t so.
Savvy entrepreneurs know (even if they don’t like it) that a B product with A marketing will always beat the pants off an A product with B marketing. Obviously, the best combination is to couple an A product with A marketing – and that’s exactly what you should strive towards.
The first step in creating an A marketing plan is to differentiate yourself. This is the most important thing you can do. And, of course, you already know all the ways you are… but you’ve got to be different in the eyes of your customer. This is much more difficult thing to achieve. It is basic human nature to group things together as “alike” or “not alike”, with emphasis leaning strongly towards “alike”.
Why Small Businesses Shouldn’t Take Social Media for Granted
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This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum.
It seems like social media is everywhere these days. But the 2010 Business Monitor United States report — commissioned by UPS — shows that when it comes to small- and medium-sized businesses, social media is still a missed opportunity. A mere 24% of respondents said they’ve received sales leads from social media, with just 1% citing it as a factor for business growth.
The data would appear to indicate that in spite of all the positive press that social media gets, and all the use cases we’ve seen emerge over the past few years, small business owners are taking social media for granted. When done right, social media can be a valuable source for customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. Here a few reasons to help drive the value home.
Information is There for the Taking
Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to the web. Ignoring, avoiding or just not looking at what people are sharing online about your small business or your competitors is just plain lazy.
5 Tips for Better B2B Branding
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Think branding only falls in the B2C court? Think again.
In fact, three of the top 10 brands in 2009, as ranked by Interbrand, generate a sizable amount of revenue from their B2B customers: IBM, Microsoft and GE.
As a B2B marketer your brand is your most valuable asset.
B2B branding is less about cool, hip monikers (the Apples and Starbucks of the world) – and more about thought leadership.
Particularly in down economies, B2B prospects and customers conduct significant research leading up to purchases. That means you as a marketer have to educate them early on, and establish your brand as a trusted resource that gets their problems and has the solution.
To help your organization be seen as the thought leader it is, we’ve identified five B2B branding tips:
1. Consistently produce useful, innovative content
These days, every company is essentially a media company. So it’s easier than ever to provide relevant, informative content for customers and prospects.
From a company blog to Twitter to YouTube, there is no end to the content channels available. Provide the latest industry news and insight on trends through:
Why Marketing Is Like Making Martinis
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CMO Calculus
Why Marketing Is Like Making Martinis
Mike Linton, 04.28.09, 11:31 AM ET
Let’s say you own a bar with a good clientele that has remained loyal over the years because your barkeeps make excellent cocktails. Your bar’s reputation and its margins are based on your delicious mixed drinks. Up until now, that is, when sales are falling and the pressure is on for you to maintain profits.
For discussion purposes, let’s assume you’ve done everything you can with the lease and labor. What you have left is the drinks, and a martini could, metaphorically, be viewed as your marketing plan. How do you keep the brand moving forward in tough times and still make money?
Let’s take the cosmopolitan: four parts vodka, two parts cranberry juice, two parts Triple Sec, one part lime juice, a lime rind and a swizzle stick. These symbolize your marketing mix–with vodka as the basic, proven sales ingredient (say direct mail, Internet marketing), cranberry juice as your long-term branding and advertising efforts, triple sec as promotions, lime juice as PR and the lime rind and swizzle stick as experimental efforts (like mobile marketing). What should you do to keep serving martinis in a way that lets you make money today while keeping your clientele coming back for more?