Archive for the ‘Strategy’ Category
Monday, April 29th, 2013
The Evian babies are back! In a new spot, which has received more than 41 million views on YouTube, adults find themselves face-to-face with their younger selves in a large mirrored window–and the dancing ensues. It’s adorable–but does it sell water? Where’s the relevance?
Contrast this spot to an equally creative–and far more out-of-the-box–spot (more…)
Tags: Advertising, Brand Management, Strategy, viral marketing, word of mouth, YouTube
Posted in Marketing and Branding, Media Relations/PR, PR and Media Relations | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
I love a new year. Although I realize that, technically, every day is the beginning of a new year, there’s something about the New Year that makes me both reflective and optimistic about what lies ahead. As a pretty goal-oriented person, I enjoy the process of looking back, learning, and looking forward. It’s the basis of strategic planning, after all, a personal passion of mine. Each year I spend time to commit my goals to writing and I track my progress throughout the year. I don’t achieve every goal, but I do belief that I’m more effective than I would be if I didn’t take the time to plan. I had some great successes in 2012 and a lot of very rewarding experiences–both personally and professionally. But there’s always room for improvement and, regardless of what I achieve, I always want to achieve more. So, in 2013, there are a number of things I’d like to do better: (more…)
Tags: Business development, client development, Customer Service, Innovation, Marketing, marketing strategy, personal development, planning, professional development, resolutions, Sales, Strategic Planning, Strategy
Posted in Business Development, Client Relations, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Thursday, December 27th, 2012
As the New Year approaches it’s time to begin thinking about New Year’s resolutions, which might also be referred to as “strategic planning” — although those words tend to strike fear into the hearts of even the most focused of business professionals. I don’t know why, but I’m coming to accept it as a given. One of my resolutions for the New Year is to come up with a way of making planning less intimidating. “Good luck” say my business colleagues. But, I digress…
As you look forward to 2013, what are the fundamental issues that most impact your organization? What are the opportunities you hope to take advantage of? What are the challenges you hope to overcome? Here are a few tips to get you started: (more…)
Tags: goal setting, goals, New Year's resolutions, planning, strategic plan, Strategic Planning, Strategy
Posted in Business Development, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Friday, November 23rd, 2012
I work regularly with businesses, and independent consultants, on their marketing communication strategies, including social media strategies. The first two key points I address with my clients (whether for traditional or online media) are: (more…)
Tags: Advertising, facebook, Google+, linkedin, Marketing, Pinterest, Social Media, Strategy, twitter
Posted in Marketing Communication, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Thursday, November 15th, 2012
A recent survey by VerticalResponse, a marketing software company indicates that while 90 percent of small businesses are on Facebook and 70 percent on Twitter, they’re not as eager to embrace social media sites like LinkedIn (only 4 percent!), Google+ (3 percent) or Pinterest (1 percent). Wow! (An infographic provides more detail.)
Personally, I’m a huge fan of LinkedIn, find Pinterest to be a very interesting concept (and have an article coming out soon in EContent about some unique ways content providers are using Pinterest), and don’t really “get” Google+, but my personal opinions really don’t matter here and, IMO, neither do these survey results. (more…)
Tags: Advertising, communication tactics, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
Posted in Marketing and Branding, Marketing Communication, Strategic Communications | 1 Comment »
Thursday, October 18th, 2012
A journalist asked me last week what I thought the key elements of a successful strategic plan should be. That’s not an easy question to answer and there are, in fact, a wide range of inputs and elements that go into ensuring strategic plan success. But it was a legitimate question and one that I know many strategic planning consultants–and their clients–are deeply concerned about. (more…)
Tags: marketing strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategy
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 25th, 2012
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll reveal a personal “pet peeve” right up front. I have a strong negative reaction any time I’m approached by someone – colleague, client, prospective client, etc. – who says: “Let’s do…” without having taken the time to develop a plan (even a very quick and abbreviated plan) to help them determine whether the thing they wish to do makes sense within some larger context.
Here’s a 10-step process to developing communication/marketing plans that will provide you with the direction you need.
(more…)
Tags: ad strategy, communication tactics, market plan, market planning, Marketing, marketing plan, marketing strategy, plan, strategic plan, Strategic Planning, Strategy
Posted in Marketing Communication, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Thursday, September 6th, 2012
Having been involved in corporate communications and public relations for a number of years I’m well aware of the concerns that organizations often have about too much information being shared with too many audiences. Transparency, I believe, is under-rated! While there are obviously “trade secrets” or “inside insights” that organizations wisely protect, too often information that does not really present any real risk is kept close hindering the ability of the organization to actually achieve its goals.
One big example of this is (more…)
Tags: Employee Communication, planning, Strategic Planning, Strategy
Posted in Internal Communication | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 4th, 2012
I recently had a business colleague ask me for some advice as she embarks on a major strategic planning effort for her organization. That’s a big question, but I gave it some thought and considered some of the “big rocks” that I’ve come across both in my own strategic planning efforts and in the research I’ve done on strategic planning. And, while this really represents just the “tip of the iceberg,” there are some foundational issues that can lead to the success, or lack thereof, of strategic planning efforts.
(more…)
Tags: planning, Strategic Planning, Strategy
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, August 9th, 2012
Working in large organizations I became very familiar with “leading” and “lagging” indicators and, admittedly, sometimes I found what I thought was the “complexity” of the concepts to be a bit overwhelming. But, I’m very data-driven and very committed to measuring the impacts of my efforts whether working in an organization, for a client or for myself. The premise is really quite basic: if you are looking for (more…)
Tags: Business development, measurement, Sales, Strategy
Posted in Business Development | No Comments »