As 2014 rapidly approaches (I can’t believe how rapidly it’s approaching…) businesses are looking ahead to the New Year and thinking of the challenges and opportunities they will face. We recently responded to a reporter’s inquiry about marketing challenges lying ahead in 2014. Here’s our perspective:
There are two key challenges that businesses are likely to face in 2014 from a marketing standpoint: one is evergreen, the other is continuing to emerge: (more…)
The field of advertising is traditionally known as a haven for “creative types.” And those types often come up with some pretty creative “rules” for doing business. Some of the rules may seem pretty silly, but they work. And there’s nothing silly about that. For instance: (more…)
One of the most common missteps made by businesses large and small, in both the for-profit and not-for-profit arenas is a failure to clearly identify the desired target market. Why? In my experience, I see this happen for a variety of reasons: (more…)
Regardless of the audience asking, or the way the question is posed, my #1 recommendation is always a two-part recommendation and it’s one that I convey to clients and students communicating in both internal and external settings. (more…)
Pricing is a complex issue for any organization or business and one of the key considerations that organizations must make is whether to discount what they have to offer. Even the “big guys” sometimes get it wrong. Consider J.C. Penney’s recent missteps with their move away from discounts under short-lived CEO Ron Johnson. Pricing is one of (more…)
We sponsor, and I present a session on marketing at, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Entrepreneurial Training Program; my session is on marketing. When I first spoke with the program’s director about the program he pointed out that one of the major missteps that he saw from participants was that they too broadly defined their target audiences. They generally felt that their products or services appealed to “everyone.” He was right. (more…)
The skills of great marketers are many, but are primarily rooted in an understanding of consumer or human behavior and all of its complexities. Marketing is a challenging field of endeavor because, while there are certain principles and tenets of practice that are widely accepted, there are also many exceptions that challenge the rules. I’ve been a marketer, I’ve worked with marketers, I’ve hired marketers–both as staff people and as external consultants or vendors. I’ve worked with both effective and not so effective marketers. What does it take to join the ranks of the effective marketers? In my opinion, those who will be most effective in marketing-related positions are those who: (more…)
I was interviewed recently by a reporter with Inc. Magazine about the prevalence and value of outsourcing the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) role. It’s a topic that I definitely have an opinion about–one that may seem to be at cross-purposes with my own self interests. As a marketing communication consultant I’ve actually served in the role of an “outsourced CMO” on a couple of occasions. In one instance, the client was looking for not only my assistance with current marketing efforts, but my recommendations for how they should proceed in the future — should they continue to outsource this function, or should they hire someone to handle their marketing efforts on staff?
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