Archive for March, 2015
Monday, March 30th, 2015
Marketers are understandably concerned about building and protecting strong brands. An Economist article from last year discusses the power of brands. “Brands account for more than 30% of the stock market value of companies in the S&P 500 index, reckons Millward Brown, a market-research company. Everyone knows that a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt costs more than a polo shirt; Coke without the logo is just cola.”
But, brand-building efforts are sometimes misguided– (more…)
Tags: Advertising, brand audit, brand building, Brand Management, brand measurement, Interbrand, Millward Brown
Posted in Competition, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Research | No Comments »
Saturday, March 21st, 2015
Rewards programs are a commonly used practice by certain types of businesses. Airlines offer frequent flyer miles, while Starbucks offers free coffee after a certain number of purchases. There are many other examples of these programs, but what does it take to really make these programs take off?
(more…)
Tags: content management, content marketing, Customer Communication, discounts, premiums, rewards programs
Posted in Content Marketing, Marketing Communication, Promotions | No Comments »
Thursday, March 19th, 2015
LinkedIn is my go-to social media tool, primarily because most of my work is in the B2B space, but also because of the real value the site provides business professionals, whether they are seeking jobs, doing business development or furthering their careers. (more…)
Tags: Business development, linkedin, Marketing, online marketing, social media marketing
Posted in Business Development, Career Advice, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 17th, 2015
Email marketing is a big deal these days. And, while traditional direct mail marketing still has a place, the ability to engage with online consumers on an ongoing basis, through permission marketing (when they opt in to receive your email messages) represents great value to your organization. If, that is, you can keep them engaged. (more…)
Tags: content management, content marketing, Direct Marketing, email marketing, marketing online, online marketing
Posted in Content Marketing, Marketing Communication | No Comments »
Thursday, March 5th, 2015
In a previous blog post, we discussed the difference between blue oceans and red oceans. As a very brief recap, red oceans are the “what is” of the industry; it’s what is being done. Blue oceans, by contrast, are an open frontier. They are the unknown. They are the space where companies create their own new markets.
The benefits of blue oceans are apparent. There’s no competition yet. You invented the market and are in many ways a monopolist. Given the benefits of blue oceans, every business would operate in them if they could; however, it’s not that easy. (more…)
Tags: blue ocean strategy, Harvard Business Review, Innovation, Marketing, red ocean traps, Renee Mauborgne, W. Chan Kim
Posted in Business Development, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 4th, 2015
It’s a constant challenge for many organizations: finding ways to ensure that their employees have the information they need not only to do their jobs, but to boost their engagement and loyalty and to serve as effective brand ambassadors. I was asked recently for my “top tips” on how companies, large and small, can improve their employee communication efforts. These were my top three recommendations: (more…)
Tags: communicating with employees, Employee Communication, internal communication
Posted in Internal Communication | 1 Comment »
Monday, March 2nd, 2015
A friend recently expressed amazement that, in the process of conducting a Google search, Google somehow magically knew what she was searching for. She deemed the experience “creepy,” and many would say the same thing. Regardless of how creepy it may or may not be, though, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of something that consumers are experiencing more and more as they navigate the online world through laptops, tablets and smart phones. (more…)
Tags: consumer privacy, content management, content marketing, contextualized content, Google+, privacy concerns, Technology
Posted in Content Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Communication | No Comments »