Customer or buyer intent refers to the motivations that drive consumer behaviors—not simply what they want, but why they want it. The ability to discern the whys behind the whats is obviously important to marketers. The more they can understand the motivations of their customers, the better they will be able to produce the goods and services that best meet their needs and effectively communicate the right points to compel the desired action—a sale. Read the rest of this entry »
Customer Intent: Elusive, but Not Impossible to Obtain
September 27th, 2023Direct Mail — The “Snail Mail” Kind — Never Goes Out of Style
September 1st, 2023
A number of years ago, a colleague of mine gave me a book on fractals to read and it was fascinating! At least I thought so. It was all about how nature is made up of fractals that operate in a systematic way to create patterns (in clouds, in leaves, in trees—in everything!). It’s all very mathematical (and I didn’t understand much of the really technical content…) but the images were fascinating and the idea that there are patterns—often predictable patterns—in everything around us, was Read the rest of this entry »
The “5th P” in the Marketing Mix: People
August 29th, 2023
Developing and maintaining a strong brand for a service is significantly more challenging than developing and maintaining a strong brand for a product. Why? Because a service is less tangible, more ephemeral—and often involves multiple “touchpoints” that really determine the “brand experience.”
What makes a strong brand? Read the rest of this entry »
Ask Before Acting: Why You Should Seek Input From Target Audiences
August 24th, 2023
I was pulled into an interesting online discussion recently in a PR forum that I participate in on LinkedIn. There are currently more than 100 responses to a question that initially asked whether participants hated cold-calling and eventually evolved into a discussion of whether Read the rest of this entry »
Vetting Freelance Talent in 2023
August 22nd, 2023
The use of freelancers and contractors is on the rise, and this trend is likely to continue as hordes of workers are laid off or decide they simply aren’t willing to give up the freedom and flexibility of remote and hybrid work to return full-time to physical workplaces. Freelancers can offer great benefits to employers who know what to look for, what to look out for, and how to effectively evaluate talent before bringing them on board. Read the rest of this entry »
10 Specific Tips for Writing Compelling Email Subject Lines
August 17th, 2023
Despite sentiments to the contrary, email marketing is still a go-to tool for both B2B and B2C marketers. But, especially in the B2B environment, it can be challenging to break through the gatekeepers. Even if your email message gets through organizations’ firewalls designed to combat spam, you still need to capture the attention of your desired recipient—or land in the circular file! Read the rest of this entry »
Shining a Light on the Dark Funnel
August 1st, 2023
Chris is in the market for a new car. Chris, like most consumers, is broadly aware of the many types of cars on the market and can see them on the road, on car lots, in advertisements, and online. While deciding which car to buy, Chris not only draws on his own awareness that has been created through these channels, he is also likely to become much more proactive in seeking information—asking family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues for their advice; perusing review sites; following hashtags on social media channels; gathering information through Google searches; and, eventually, visiting car manufacturer or dealer websites to help narrow the choices. Then Chris is likely to visit a local car dealership to take a test drive and talk pricing. Read the rest of this entry »
The Marketing Content Continuum
July 27th, 2023
Content marketing remains a high priority for organizations of all kinds today as they struggle to stay relevant to customers while keeping ahead of the constantly changing algorithms of search engines like Google. Companies clearly need to generate a constant flow of high-quality, relevant, current content, but continually creating and updating content can take a toll and drive up costs. And finding a qualified staff that can keep up with the demand isn’t so easy these days.
The solution for a lot of companies today is Read the rest of this entry »
Events and Event Planning in a Post-Pandemic World
July 25th, 2023
COVID-19 had a massive impact on many aspects of business life, and events were certainly one of them. SXSW was one of the first events to announce its cancellation at the beginning of the pandemic and, of course, virtually all others followed suit. Live events have been re-emerging, but event planners are approaching the process differently from how they have in the past. Splash’s “2023 Events Outlook Report” (its third annual report) indicates that Read the rest of this entry »
The Power of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos in Writing Promotional Copy
July 21st, 2023
It’s not uncommon for students in both high school and higher ed to question whether what they’re learning will actually have relevance in the real world of work. There are three concepts, though, from several speech classes I taught at the undergraduate level, that I’ve found to be extremely helpful in creating content designed to resonate with various needs and preferences of the target audience: ethos, logos, and pathos. Before I lose you, trust me, these are really simple concepts that you can use to create and evaluate your promotional content. Read the rest of this entry »
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