Articles
What Does Tomorrow’s Publisher Look Like?
In an interview on NPR, the discussion was about the role of the publisher in tomorrow’s business market. Are they needed? Is it ok for them to just hand pick already successful authors? –were some of the questions they were addressing.Having self-published all of my books, this is a conversation that I am regularly involved in and my opinion often surprises the people I am speaking with. It’s often assumed that because I self-published my books, that I am against publishers or think that they w…
It’s All About the Women! Ultimate Decision-Makers
Sorry men, I guess we don’t need you anymore!Have you noticed lately that a vast majority of studies are coming out with the conclusion that “women are the ultimate decision-maker” for pretty much everything? In fact, I can’t think of any new study that has reached a different conclusion. Do you know of any?
Women in today’s market are king and men are often presented as incompetent or unable to make decisions. I find these results interesting and find myself questioning them.
Are decisions reall…
Revealing the Truth About Word of Mouth
Word of Mouth is the best marketing a company can do. DUH! Even a caveman knows that! But what the caveman (and some businesses) may not know or get, is that you can say and encourage word of mouth all you want—it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen or happen the way that you want it to! A company needs to give customers a reason to talk about them. And there are only two reasons that a customer talks about a company, a product, or a service.
They did something different or unexpected—in a good way…
You Don’t Create Marketing Results
There is a myth out there—that you as a company or a marketing department create marketing results. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s simply not true.
I wrote a post a while back about the emerging trend of redefining CMO from “Chief Marketing Officer” to “Chief Metric Officer”. In that post I also addressed how the tenure of the majority of CMOs is around 18 months. The reason for this is many companies, boards and stakeholders are under the misconception that CMOs get burned out so t…
I wrote a post a while back about the emerging trend of redefining CMO from “Chief Marketing Officer” to “Chief Metric Officer”. In that post I also addressed how the tenure of the majority of CMOs is around 18 months. The reason for this is many companies, boards and stakeholders are under the misconception that CMOs get burned out so t…
How to Gather Actual Marketing Data
It’s no secret that you need to track your marketing efforts—how else are you going to know what works and what doesn’t!
But there is a trick to tracking your marketing that many companies either forget or don’t know about. The trick is in tracking multiple sources. When a prospect reaches out to you, make sure you are asking specific questions like:
But there is a trick to tracking your marketing that many companies either forget or don’t know about. The trick is in tracking multiple sources. When a prospect reaches out to you, make sure you are asking specific questions like:
- How did you first hear about our company?
- How have you recently heard about us?
Has Branding Really Changed?
There has been a lot of talk about ‘new marketing’ or ‘branding’ or 'marketing for tomorrow' with the growing hold that social media takes every day. But I challenge you; have the rules of branding really changed? Or is it simply the tactics to achieve the goal that has changed?
The ultimate goal of branding is to create a consistent desired feeling or thought in the client or prospect’s mind when your company or product name is mentioned or visible.In yester-year, that was achieved mainly by …
Bulls Eye: Striking Gold in Marketing
Imagine sitting in a bar and someone comes up and offers you a bottomless box of darts. No matter how many you take out and throw, there will always be more in the box. Sounds great right? Think of the scores you will be able to achieve with an endless source of darts. There is just one catch: to use the darts in the box, you must be blindfolded.OK Let’s assume that the box is marketing and the darts are all the different marketing tactics—specific actions or ideas. I bet some of you are thinkin…
Is it Possible to Run a Business & Volunteer in the Community?
Getting involved in your local community and leverage the benefits are not as straightforward as you may think. Here are a few things to think about when making community outreach apart of your company.
- To have the best and most productive employees, work needs to be about more than just work. It is no secret that work and personal lives blend. What can be a secret is leveraging it. Employees like to feel that they personally make a difference, because of this when introducing a community out…
The Employer Branding Secret
The essence of Employer Branding is about organizational authenticity, isn't it? But coming up with a really strong and differentiating Employer Brand seems to be easier said than done. It’s also usually filled with a lot of buzz words.The more social and transparent that we become, the harder it is for companies to “say this” and “do that”. Accountability now comes from all angles—those who have financial power, those with political power, those with social power, and those that will have the p…
My #SeaGiveCamp Experience 2012
The other weekend I participated in Seattle GiveCamp held at Microsoft. This was my second year participating and yet again, I loved it! It is about 56 hours straight of helping non-profits solve one particular challenge that they have related to technology or online marketing.This year, I had the opportunity to work with three non-profits: Hearing Speech and Deafness Center (HSDC), Friends of Eastside Seniors, and Plumbers without Borders.