The Competitive Advantage

May 28, 2012

Marketing Execution… Your Success in the Details

There’s an old story from professional football with an important marketing lesson…

After a particularly difficult loss one Sunday afternoon, John McKay, then coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was asked by a sports reporter, “Coach, what do you think of your team’s execution?”  To which Coach McKay replied, “I’m in favor of it!”

May 28, 2012

Marketing 101: It takes Work to make it Work

On the surface, marketing looks to be a pretty complicated discipline. Just think about it: marketing plans, strategy, branding, positioning, social media, advertising, e-mail, direct mail, analytics, content, SEO, CRM, MAS, etc., etc. Whew!

Unfortunately, because it looks difficult, many firms just sort of “play” at marketing. They’ll throw up a Web site, maybe make a few posts to their blog, tweet occasionally, take out an ad in a directory and call it a day. And then they complain that their marketing isn’t working!

The fact is, effective marketing is not all that complex. It’s about creating a good plan and then executing it. But execution requires discipline, persistence and focus. In short, it requires a little hard work. And that is why many companies fail at marketing: They won’t do the little day-to-day things necessary to be successful.

May 21, 2012

Social Media Marketing Lessons Learned from an Engagement

My daughter, Laura, got engaged a few weeks ago… it was great news!  Her fiancé, Wade, is a terrific young man and my wife and I couldn’t be happier for them.   And what was really interesting about the announcement was how Laura did it (like a real marketing pro!)…

May 17, 2012

Under-promise and Over-deliver… a True Story

As most of you know, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software is a must-have in your marketing & sales arsenal.  Your CRM software is used to track and record client & prospect interactions, manage marketing campaigns, create sales reports and so much more.

I happen to use ZoHo (www.zoho.com).  This isn’t a story to promote a specific platform, but rather a story about the “customer experience” and how it can impact your business.  And I happen to be the customer.

May 14, 2012

Embrace the Exhibitors

A few weeks ago, I wrote about brushing up your “elevator pitch” as you get ready for some of the Spring conferences.

Let me make another suggestion to help you get the most out of your ‘investment’ of time of money in those events: Embrace the exhibitors!  That’s right… build time into your schedule to proactively meet with all of these “salespeople!”  Go ahead, it won’t kill ya.  In fact, I submit that it could be one of the most productive aspects of your time at the conference.  Here’s why:

May 11, 2012

The Best Promotional Video I’ve Ever Seen

Most promotional videos I come across are far too salesy… no depth, all glitz!

But I came across the video below that I HAD to watch all the way through – it drew me in a wouldn’t let go. It’s promoting a new business book. The video is informational, entertaining and very compelling. Watch and learn…

May 7, 2012

The Research Industry is NOT Dying, but many firms WILL Disappear

The idea that the market research industry is dying has been filling up LinkedIn groups, conference sessions and online discussion boards for a while now, due largely to the emergence of new technology and the concept of DIY research.  Then a few weeks ago, Google announced its low-cost surveying tool… and the conversations accelerated once again.

The fact is, as technology advances, industries change… would you want to be in the newspaper business today?  Own a bookstore?  Produce vinyl records?

May 3, 2012

Use LinkedIn for engaging, not hard selling…

LinkedIn is a terrific business tool for a lot of reasons…

• To connect with someone at a specific company
• To participate in a discussion about an important industry topic
• To post a job opening at your firm
• To connect with a group of liked-minded individuals (in the LinkedIn groups)
• To provide something of value like an eBook or white paper

Want to put on a hard sell?  While LinkedIn (and all social media, for that matter) is not the venue for a sales pitch, far too many people use it for that… each time lessening the overall value of the platform and alienating its members (like me).