Posts Tagged ‘marketing strategy’

What to Avoid When Marketing to Women? Defining the Audience Too Broadly

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013

Marketers often pose questions like: “What are the best practices when marketing to women?” In my opinion, that question is far too broad. Women are not a homogeneous market segment. There are a myriad of variations among them. I was recently asked this question; here’s how I responded: (more…)

How to Generate Leads With a Limited Marketing Budget

Thursday, February 21st, 2013

 

In our technology-driven world, the good news for marketers is that lead generation does not have to take a huge investment. Traditional media still have a place, but the Internet and social media make it more cost-effective than ever to raise awareness, generate leads and ultimately create sales.
The process of lead generation is the same as it ever was, but (more…)

What You Can Learn From the Super Bowl Advertisers

Monday, February 4th, 2013

The Super Bowl is behind us, but buzz about the brands that bought space to reach the masses during this much-watched event is still buzzing. It’s buzz that can benefit businesses–of any size–that are looking for ways to boost awareness and break through an increasingly cluttered media environment. Small businesses, in particular, can learn from the best of the best (and worst of the worst…). For example: (more…)

What I’d Like To Do Better in 2013: New Years Resolutions

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…)

To Discount or Not to Discount – the Potential Perils of Perks to Drive Social Media Engagement

Thursday, December 20th, 2012

I was interviewed recently for a blog on the use of perks to drive social media engagement. It’s an interesting topic and judging from the proliferation of such contests and competitions online an important one. Aside from questions related to the efficacy of such competitions, businesses should also be aware of–and knowledgeable about–the impact of these perks on their desired brand image and the laws related to contests, sweepstakes and lotteries. (more…)

What Every Strategic Plan Should Include

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…)

Markets Can’t Really Tell Us How They’re Influenced

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012

I’m a proponent of marketing research and the use of data to drive business decisions at every level and in every aspect of organizational performance. I recognize, though, that sometimes the predictive value of research can be questionable and that it can be most useful to evaluate actual behaviors to support future decisions.

Advertising efforts are a good example of this. (more…)

Are You Prepared to Become Obsolete?

Thursday, September 27th, 2012

While watching the local news my husband made a comment about the weatherman: “You know – who really needs him anymore? You can just look at the radar yourself any time you want to online.”

True. You can. Wonder if people going to school to be “weather people” have thought about that. Wonder if the schools that teach them have thought about that. And, most pertinent for this blog, wonder if all of us have given (more…)

Take the Time to Plan!

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…)

Create, Co-create, Collaborate or Die

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012

We’re all familiar with the saying: adapt, migrate, mutate or die. Charles Darwin put forth his theory of evolution in 1859 and its relevance to businesses has long been applied by academics and business experts. But, in today’s fast-paced environment, while still applicable it suggests a pace that is much slower than our reality.

Adapting, migrating and mutating takes time–sometimes a long time.

While it may not be relevant from a biological standpoint, businesses today might be well advised to follow a different piece of advice: (more…)