Be Patient – Just Gimme a Minute
Right now I find my patience is wearing thin in nearly every aspect of my life. Collectively, patience has been in a steady state of decline — and the state of current events is only exacerbating this. In the business world patience is anathema. I love Gary Vaynerchuck’s view of patience. It’s the long game. […]
Would You Stay Married to Your Brand?
If my wife is reading this, “Don’t worry! I’ve been researching divorce rates for a blog post. Really!” I came across a list from Accenture of reasons that people break up with brands and it sounded eerily like why marriages end in divorce. So for fun, I looked for the top reasons that people get divorced. […]
A Radio Shack TRS-80 Taught Me Marketing Automation
In 5th grade being one of the top three in math had its perks. It meant that Eric, Jeanine and I got to pack into Mr. Hourigan’s sedan and drive to the high school and spend fourty-five glorious minutes being taught BASIC programming on Radio Shack TRS-80 computers. This was the Silicon Valley of our […]
Why Columbo Could Have Been a CMO
I loved Peter Falk as Columbo. Columbo was a TV crime series starring Falk as a frumpily-dressed seemingly disorganized homicide detective. He had a distinctive style of asking “just one more thing.” Here’s an example. Columbo would have made an amazing CMO by applying this questioning style to the marketing. Columbo was dogged in his […]
Walking a Mile in Your Customers Shoes: Three exercises to use empathy in your marketing efforts
Empathy is an undervalued skill in marketing. It’s hard to empathize with what customers are experiencing from an office or conference room. With today’s instant feedback and review culture, the theory of customer centricity is putting pressure on organizations to deliver positive experiences and for marketers to better understand customers. Understanding customers’ needs, and the […]
The Tale of Two Mailings
This is going to be unfair. I received two different pieces of direct mail on the same day. And the impression they left could not have been more different. Yes, they were from different industries, for sure. But there’s no reason that they couldn’t both speak to me personally and create a positive experience. MAILER […]
It’s Not You, It’s Me
You’ll have to trust me on this one, I’ve never stalked anyone. Neither in my personal, nor in my business career. I’d like to think that during the various relationships I’ve had, I’ve been able to toe-the-line of being too forward and obsessive and being attentive and engaged. Sometimes it’s difficult to be poised, holding […]
What a One Day Email Exercise Taught Me About Marketing Complacency
Last week I took part in a one day research assignment organized by my colleague Maigen Sawyer. The assignment was to catalogue our emails for an entire day. We were to write down the sender, the subject line, timing, whether we opened it or not and why? We had no preconceived notions on what we […]
Tom Webster: Big Data, Small Data and FOMO (fear of missing out)
If you’re deep into data or scared of it, Tom will dispel the myth of big data and show you how to get comfortable using the data you already have. Tom has been interpreting and telling stories with numbers for 20 years. He will share his experiences and insights on keeping the customer at the […]
Frank Oswald: Why Your Brand Positioning Should Be Idiosyncratic
Frank Oswald is a writer and strategist who, for 30 years, has worked with the biggest brands across diverse industries — from Accenture and American Express to Samung, Reebok and Yahoo!. In this 6 minute video Frank discusses how making your brand idiosyncratic will help you target the right audience. And keep listening for his […]
