Archive for the ‘Marketing and Branding’ Category
Thursday, December 22nd, 2022
And, quite honestly, it may not even really matter to them.
A lot of businesses worry unnecessarily about market share. It’s understandable because we read a lot about market share in the media. It’s something that big companies worry about a lot and, to a large degree, they need to. Smaller companies, though, really don’t need to be worried about market share. In fact, (more…)
Tags: market share, marketing strategy, Strategy, why market share doesn't matter
Posted in Marketing and Branding, Small Business Strategy | No Comments »
Friday, December 16th, 2022
It’s not unusual, when I’m meeting with a new prospect or making a presentation related to marketing and the issue of competitors comes up, for someone to say: “We don’t really have any competitors.”
My response: “Well, actually you do.”
Even the latest and greatest brand new technological innovation that nobody has ever seen before will have to think about competitors. Here’s why. (more…)
Tags: analyzing the competition, competition, competitive matrix, competitors, direct competitors, indirect competitors
Posted in Competition, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 14th, 2022
The business market is different. While some consumers are also small business owners, it can be challenging to ferret out those segments. In addition, small businesses do not represent a homogeneous group that has the same needs, interests, avocations, and “hot buttons.”
This distinction can represent challenges to companies not familiar with—or aware of—the distinctions between B2C (business to consumer) and B2B (business to business) advertising.
(more…)
Tags: ABM, account based management, B2B marketing, marketing strategy, marketing to businesses
Posted in Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Thursday, September 29th, 2022
I used to love the E*Trade commercials with the talking babies. They were cute, clever, and they made me laugh. In fact, every time I see one—regardless of how many times I’ve seen it previously—I laugh. I liked them. They were well done. They had good production values. They were clever.
But, did they work from an advertising standpoint? (more…)
Tags: Advertising, Brand Management, entertainment, Super Bowl, the purpose of advertising
Posted in Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Monday, September 26th, 2022
17877227 – social media
A while ago I experienced an interesting phenomenon related to the release of my monthly e-letter. I’d gotten into the practice of posting notices to various LinkedIn groups when a new e-letter was available, inviting new subscribers. I had been doing this for about 14 months and (more…)
Tags: building followers, building lists, content marketing, digital marketing, e-letter marketing, e-mail marketing, generating followers
Posted in Content Marketing, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 21st, 2022
It is not uncommon for me to be approached by a client or a potential client who wants to “develop their brand.” They are often surprised to find that they already have one—we all do.
You may also be surprised to learn that, whether you realize it or not, you have a brand identity. You may not know what that identity is, but you have one!
Many business owners believe that they define their brand. In truth, a brand is defined by your customers or clients. The definition is based on (more…)
Tags: B2B brand, brand audit, Brand Management, branding, consumer brand, top brands
Posted in Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Thursday, September 8th, 2022
In interviewing for a job several years ago, I went through a round of interviews with various members of the organization. When meeting with the Chief Administrative Office (CAO), he handed me a brochure and said: “What do you think about this brochure?” My immediate thought was: “In what regard?,” but I resisted the urge to say that and, instead, said:
(more…)
Tags: audience analysis, competitive analysis, marketing goals and objectives, marketing research, marketing strategy, Strategic Planning
Posted in Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 30th, 2022
A business contact of mine asked me recently about my thoughts on the value of blogs for generating revenue and the opportunity that may exist for writers to generate content for blogs.
Personally, I think the whole field of blogging is (more…)
Tags: blogging, blogging best practices, blogging ideas, content marketing, ghostwriting, making blogs pay, writing for blogs
Posted in Blogging, Content Marketing, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Thursday, August 25th, 2022
Sometimes I think the most simple thing that we can do as businesspeople and marketers is “put ourselves in the shoes” of our prospects and customers. Are we making it easy to buy? Or are we setting up unintentional barriers, however slight, that may interfere with—or obliterate—the purchasing process?
(more…)
Tags: analytics, customer engagement, customer satisfaction, Customer Service, marketing measurement, marketing strategy, strategic marketing
Posted in Analytics, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Measurement | No Comments »