Determining a well-defined target market is the first step towards a successful marketing strategy. Ask yourself who is already interested in your product or service – as well as who might be – and you can attempt to address their needs (as well as reach your clearly defined marketing objectives) with specific content marketing. For [...]
In a competitive economy, learning and knowing your target market like the back of your hand is essential to succeeding and differentiating yourself from competitors. The advantages of understanding how to learn about your target market and capitalize on it are many: Ability to relate with your customers and thus improve your marketing message Improved [...]
The following article is a guest post by Jess Spate. Until quite recently, Yvon Chouinard’s name wasn’t well known outside of the extreme sports community. He was respected largely as a leader in the Yosemite National Park rock climbing scene during the ‘Golden Age’ of the 1960s and the blacksmith who created new rock climbing [...]
The following article is a guest post by Bryan Cochand, a freelance writer for Adobe. As an entrepreneur with a risk-taking spirit, you’ve begun the steps to start your own business. However, before you get too far in the process, start to think about and make plans for marketing your business. Going through this process [...]
This is a great presentation by Simon Sinek about how some organizations are able to achieve so much more than others with seemingly the same amount of resources. Why did no one buy Gateway’s flat screens or Dell’s MP3 players? The following video, which I think marketers should watch over and over, explains why. The [...]
Whether you love them or hate them, Apple has been one of the greatest business success stories of our time and it can be argued that most of their success is attributed to their marketing. Here are the top 7 things marketers can learn from Apple. Create suspense around new products Apple is known for [...]
I am excited to be talking to Bob Gilbreath, author of The Next Evolution of Marketing which outlines a new approach to marketing called marketing with meaning. He has also worked as a brand manager for P&G where he was recognized by AdAge for his turn around of the Mr.Clean brand. He is currently Chief [...]
In The Next Evolution of Marketing, Bob Gilbreath describes an alternative approach to marketing called “marketing with meaning”, in which marketing becomes a product or service in of itself that people choose to engage with. Gilbreath provides a ton of examples of how marketers can create marketing that is meaningful, like Nike’s social network for [...]
Seth Godin recently summarized the main ideas of his philosophy on good marketing on his blog. -Anticipated, personal and relevant advertising always does better than unsolicited junk.-Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.-Your best customers are worth far more than your average customers.-Share of wallet is easier, more profitable [...]
One approach to communicating a marketing message to maximize effectiveness is to keep it really simple. The argument is that the human brain can only comprehend and retain a small amount of the total data so you should try to make your message as short and simple as possible. With this perspective you might be [...]
In a brilliant marketing and PR move, the British band Radiohead is offering their new album for download at any price you want. You just go to their site and fill in the blank. I paid 1.25 pounds for music I wouldn’t have otherwise bought, just because I could. This is a great innovation for [...]
Jones Soda Company based in Seattle Washington is now taking pre-orders for a five-pack of soda titled Dirt, Sports Cream, Perspiration, Sweet Victory and Natural Field Turf. According to the company spokesperson Clare Bowles the “Perspiration Soda is kind of salty tasting” with a “stinky football sock” finish. “A sip of Sports Cream Soda conjures [...]
What if you let consumers take whatever they want and pay whatever they want. That’s the pricing model at a coffee shop called Terra Bite in Kirkland, Washington. There is no obligation to pay at all, as baristas are instructed not to look at what people pay into the tip jar and the website states [...]
Steven Singer Jewelers is a jewelry store in Philadelphia’s jewelry row, the second largest jewelry district in the country. At first he tried traditional advertising with a $10,000 TV commercial featuring him behind the counter, but he says he got no business. Then he found he could set himself apart by targeting guys and building [...]
We always hear that companies are trying to improve customer service. But what if a company did the opposite? At Dick’s Last Resort resturants in San Antonio, San Diego, Chicago, and Dallas, the waiters are trained to be obnoxious, offensive, and rude to customers, and people love it! They will throw your silverware on your [...]
One of the core concepts in Ries and Trout’s classic “Positioning” is the concept of the line extension trap. Brands must communicate a simple message to consumers that sticks despite our society’s communication overload. A line extension such as Starbucks Liquor can “blur the sharp focus of the brand in the mind”. It is easy [...]
