So Here’s Your Challenge

Look around, and you see others enjoying great vacations, fancy cars, and the fruits of their professional success. Especially when you don’t have these things, it is easy to lose your confidence, which makes these (and other goals) even less attainable.  

Looking to grow your organization?  If so, a key question is this:  Where are all of the “new” zip codes?  The ones that live in different sectors and geographies?  The ones who come from different cultural backgrounds and different generations? The first-time bums in seats? One thing is for sure: these completely new prospects are not in one place: your social network.  

Are you an information thief? Have you ever plagiarized, pilfered, or “borrowed” someone else’s knowledge or reputation? And has someone ever done this to you? Thanks to Google, we have the entire internet in front of us; it is too easy to use others’ information without their knowledge or permission — even if it is free. Depending on how (and what) you share, you’re either seen as in-the-know… or...

After a seminar I recently delivered, I was approached by two undergraduate business students and asked if I could give them some advice.

How many useless meetings have you attended? And how many have you been in charge of? Whether the meeting is a team status review, sales pitch, in-person or via Zoom, following a structured approach can make an appreciable difference.

At one time, a marketer needed only consider a few communications channels: Print, TV, Packaging, and the speaking points within a salesperson’s sales pitch. Today, all bets are off: Traditional channels still exist, but have been eclipsed by the website, marketing automation emails, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and 100s of other Social Media sites. These newer channels...

What can the world of manufacturing teach us about Social Media, Marketing, and Stakeholder Engagement? On the face of it, not much, but look more closely, and there are two concepts that are surprisingly relevant: Continuous Improvement, and Just-in-Time.  

Doesn’t it feel good when someone recognizes the great work that you do each day? And conversely, doesn’t it feel awful when your faults are publicly exposed? Too often, we jump on the “fault” bandwagon, and don’t give credit to others for the great things that they do.

It is tough saying “No” when someone asks for your help or your commitment. We don’t want to let down our colleagues, friends, or family. We don’t want them to think we lack the capability. And we want to develop the reputation as someone who always steps up to the plate.

Consider these Podcasts: there hundreds of them, and they certainly don’t “sell” anything. Each provides a small nugget of information, and tie it to an immediate action. These non-salesy Podcasts, like the vast majority of blogs, are designed to credentialize expertise and build trust, slowly over time.  

Are you really satisfied with the response rate of your newsletter registration form on your website? Do you think that, just maybe, your list could be bigger? Instead of thinking of the sign-up form as a sign-up form, think of it as a transaction...

What is the difference between a successful marketing campaign and an unsuccessful one? Yes, ROI is certainly the standard answer, but it is also completely insufficient...

In an army, every person has a role. The foot soldier is on the front line. The general sets the strategy. But how does the general know what’s happening, beyond the front lines? And similarly, how do senior managers understand the impact — and the opportunity — of the newest digital almost-trend or platform? Hint: Rangers and Scouts...  

Many organizations struggle with setting up a digital response strategy. How do you trust front line staff to answer properly, if they don’t know the policies? How do you have a consistent response, no matter who responds, or when? How do you provide these responses, whether the channel is the website chat, email, social media, mobile, or phone? And how do you minimize service costs, while maintai...

Wikipedia defines consumerization as the reorientation of product and service designs to focus on (and market to) the end user as an individual consumer, verses an earlier era of organization-oriented offerings. It speaks to growing markets by looking for a completely different category of buyer, who may also be an influencer for the organizational purchase...  

While it may have been quite some time since your student days, there is a concept — the Long Game — that is more relevant as your career progresses. While instant gratification is satisfying, longer-term fundamental advancement often takes much longer. Said another way, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will be your success...

In grade one, we were told no cheating. In grade six or seven, we learned about plagiarism. By high school, we learned about citations, attribution, and the importance of quoting the source. But in today’s digital world, have these rules changed? Sadly, maybe, the answer is yes.

If you are old enough to remember Black and White televisions, then you’re old enough to remember how revolutionary color television was. If not, perhaps you remember how the microwave oven changed how the world cooked? Or what it was like without the internet, let alone Facebook, YouTube, or Google...

What determines the confidence in your brand? Yes, the visual identity and what people see. And yes, the experience and interaction people have, both online and in the real world. And yes, the social media (and traditional media) buzz — both positive and negative. But is there another factor, hidden from most marketers, that can have a critical impact?

One of the major downsides of technology is the addictive nature of it: even when we are on vacation, we feel the need to post photos, check others’ Facebook walls, watch TikTok videos, see who has viewed our LinkedIn profiles, and Tweet about what is important to us.   Here’s the question: do we do better when we are not always on?  

What’s your reaction when you read a company newsletter, instruction manual, or other corporate communication? Do you think it is plastic, anti-septic, and homogenized? If so, you’re like most people — they see corporate-speak as fake, and they can sniff it a mile away.  

At any point in your life, have you ever found yourself backed into a corner, uncertain how you were going to proceed?

The Trust Curve is one of the most important Marketing 2.0 concepts around. It states that as trust builds over time, the relationship strengthens and the target person (prospective client, prospective member, prospective employee, etc.) moves through the stages of awareness, preference, trial, and commitment. Key marketing question: What happens after Commitment?

Very often marketers look to the logo, web, advertising campaigns, and earned media to execute a brand strategy. But how might they look internally to do the same? Or rather, where might they look internally to do the same?  

Many people are not really comfortable developing new business relationships — or personal ones, for that matter. Yet this skill — networking — is critical to business success whether you do it within your organization, or amongst your peers in a trade association or professional group. It increases your value, and can open the door to any number of new opportunities. Unfortunately, many see netwo...