“XYZ customer thinks our product should do ABC!” or “XYZ customer doesn’t understand…” These conversations are often accompanied by chuckles, eye rolling and agreement among many, if not all, members of the group that the “customers just don’t get it.” That may be true. But if they don’t, whose fault is it? Yours! Every once in a while I hear someone make a comment about their customers like: “They just don’t get it.” Or, “what they don’t understand is…” The truth is, with any audience, when you hear yourself saying these words warning bells should start going off inside your head. Chances are ..read more

As we enter 2023, I can’t help but notice lots of commentary about what we can expect on a variety of fronts, including marketing. As I think about marketing in 2023, a few things spring to mind, maybe because I was doing a lot of reading about them during the last week or so of the year while I was enjoying some downtime. But, I see three key trends for 2023: a continued focus on local marketing, disruption from ChatGPT, and increasingly sophisticated use of data and analytics. A Continued Focus on Local Marketing Even the big brands are trying to gain traction in local markets and compete a ..read more

Many of you have probably been at goal-setting seminars or workshops where the leader will pose a question like: “Would you like to make more money?,” and, of course, everybody nods or raises their hand. Then the leader will approach a workshop participant and hand over a dollar. “There—you’ve just made more money.” Not as silly as it seems, and, in fact, many marketers fall short when it comes to setting precise goals for their efforts. “More” is Not a Marketing Objective It is very common for me to work with clients who know they want “more,” but haven’t spent time quantifying what “mor ..read more

And, quite honestly, it may not even really matter to them. A lot of businesses worry unnecessarily about market share. It’s understandable because we read a lot about market share in the media. It’s something that big companies worry about a lot and, to a large degree, they need to. Smaller companies, though, really don’t need to be worried about market share. In fact, most simply don’t have enough capacity to serve the needs of the majority of the market. And it doesn’t matter. What’s More Important Than Market Share What matters more than market share is generating the appropriate leve ..read more

I’m a big fan of conducting SWOT analyses, not only for strategic planning but really for any situation where you’re faced with an important business decision. A SWOT can help you gain clarity around the strengths and opportunities you can leverage and the weaknesses and threats you need to overcome. Pretty basic, but very powerful when done well. Though common in large organizations, many small businesses and solopreneurs may not be familiar with the tool. Let’s take a look at how this might work. We’ll use an example that most of you should be able to relate to—planning a family vacation. W ..read more

It’s not unusual, when I’m meeting with a new prospect or making a presentation related to marketing and the issue of competitors comes up, for someone to say: “We don’t really have any competitors.” My response: “Well, actually you do.” Even the latest and greatest brand new technological innovation that nobody has ever seen before will have to think about competitors. Here’s why. Direct vs. Indirect Competitors When most businesses consider their competition, they tend to think of the obvious–their direct competitors. If I run a salon, the salon across the street (assuming it targets the sam ..read more

The business market is different. While some consumers are also small business owners, it can be challenging to ferret out those segments. In addition, small businesses do not represent a homogeneous group that has the same needs, interests, avocations, and “hot buttons.” This distinction can represent challenges to companies not familiar with—or aware of—the distinctions between B2C (business to consumer) and B2B (business to business) advertising.   Strategic Orientation The primary difference between B2C and B2B is strategic orientation. Instead of addressing, typically, one decision-m ..read more

Most people think “advertising” when they hear the word marketing. That’s understandable because much of what we see/hear as consumers involves traditional advertising activities—newspaper ads, television commercials, billboards, etc. These media ads are the most visible and “in your face” marketing activities, so it’s not surprising that most of us think that these ads are marketing. But, they’re not… But, while advertising is a component of marketing it is NOT marketing. There are many other elements of the marketing mix that can—and do—have a significant impact on your success! Marketing i ..read more

In a digital world where literally anyone can be a “publisher,” I’m often asked why (or if) public relations (PR) is still important for marketers. My answer: It definitely is! In fact, used appropriately and efficiently, PR can be a great way for businesses of all sizes and types to gain exposure for their companies, their products and services, and their thought leaders. Biggest Benefit of PR (IMO) The biggest benefit of PR that I always stress to clients and students is that it reflects a third-party endorsement of your company and its products and services. There are four ways that we are ..read more

Content, as part of a successful marketing endeavor, is a big deal these days and I suspect (and hope) it will continue to be. Content–from social media posts, to blog posts, website content, case studies, white papers, ebooks, etc., etc., is used by marketers of all kinds to attract audience, raise awareness and, ultimately drive some desired end action. Quality Content Remains in Demand Due to many changes in its algorithms that Google has introduced over time, and continues to introduce to ensure that it can deliver high quality content to its users, marketers need to be continually crea ..read more