When small businesses think about branding, they often make the Goldilocks mistake.
First, they think that branding is too big for them, that it’s only for big companies with buckets of money to spend. That’s hogwash!
Or they think too small: they think that if they just have a nice logo, they have a brand. That’s also hogwash!
(I don’t mean to insult anyone. Actually hogwash is really important–when you want clean hogs!) Read more…
Every business needs a sense of mission. But I’ll tell you what a business does NOT need: one of those Deadly, Dry, Dull mission statements.
You know what I’m talking about: reading most mission statements is about as exciting as watching grass grow in the middle of winter!
For some reason, when business people begin writing a mission statement, they start using complicated, cliché language they would never use in ordinary conversation. Everyone nods their heads at mission statements like this—and then they nod off. There’s nothing to argue with. But also nothing to get passionate about. Read more…
Remember Aesop’s Fables? These simple stories have some common sense wisdom that has stood the test of more than two thousands years.
One of my favorites is the fable in which the Sun and the North Wind are watching a man in a coat who is walking down a road on a winter’s day. The North Wind says to the sun, “I’ll bet you I can blow that coat off the man,” and the Sun takes the bet. So the North Wind blows and blows and blows, and the harder he blows, the more tightly the man holds on to his coat. Finally, the North Wind gives up and the Sun says, “My turn.” The Sun simply begins to shine down on the man, and the farther the man walks, the warmer he gets, until he finally takes off the coat himself. So the Sun wins the bet.
I believe this story suggests two different ways to think about sales and marketing. Read more…
One of the best marketing lessons I’ve received came from a salesperson in a luggage store. Here’s the story.
Years ago, when I lived in New York City, I happened to be doing a lot of traveling and needed new luggage. I visited several stores, then walked into a luggage store on 5th Avenue. A man greeted me and asked, “Do you have any questions or would you just like to look on your own?”
It was a simple question, but a good one. Usually, salespeople either hover over you when you don’t need them, or they aren’t around when you do need them. This guy resolved that little dilemma with a simple question.
Read more…
I was talking with a marketing executive at Intuit, the maker of Quicken, QuickBooks and TurboTax, and I asked her, “If you could change one thing about your marketing team, what would you change?” Read more…
Looking for more sales? You might start by looking in the wastebasket.
That was the case with a popular cruise line. They had created a beautiful, expensive, elaborate cruise kit brochure and offered it free in their magazine ads. Thousands of people requested the brochure and Read more…
The other day I saw a bumper sticker I really liked. It read:
What a huge idea this is for anyone involved in marketing!
So many businesses get burned because they get desperate for sales, or get in a hurry, and unquestioningly grab the first marketing idea that comes along. They don’t challenge their own thinking. They don’t question their own assumptions. They just run with it.
That’s usually a big mistake.
I hate to break this to you but just because a thought flies into your mind, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a great thought! Read more…
Many years ago, when I was creating TV spots for Hershey’s Kisses and Aim Toothpaste at Ogilvy & Mather in New York, our founder, David Ogilvy, would periodically fly into New York from his home in France and speak to the staff.
He had many good insights, but one comment in particular stuck with me. Read more…
