A new book called “Drive” by Dan Pink challenges us to rethink what really motivates us. In a nutshell, simple mechanical tasks can be encouraged with rewards such as money. A factory worker who assembles items repeatedly may respond very positively to cash bonuses for quality or quantity goals achieved. Yet, as tasks become more…
A lot gets written about social media and how companies do or don’t use it effectively. Seldom do you find evidence of how CEOs have responded to or embraced it. My favorite social media blog, Mashable, offers some insight with this article: “How CEOs are Using Social Media for Real Results.” http://mashable.com/2010/06/14/ceos-social-media-real-results/ John Bradley Jackson…
The internet age is one that has lost its personal touch, if not its humanity. Little personalization is done. Everything is digitized, automated, and delivered but is done without compassion or style. Letters are addressed to “Dear Occupant”; “Please insert your name here.” Seemingly, every letter received has a label created from a database by…
The internet age is one that has lost its personal touch, if not its humanity. Little personalization is done. Everything is digitized, automated, and delivered but is done without compassion or style. Letters are addressed to “Dear Occupant”; “Please insert your name here.” Seemingly, every letter received has a label created from a database by…
Have you ever had the feeling that you have experienced a sales and marketing challenge before, but were uncertain about what to do next? Have the conventional tools become less effective for you? You tried direct mail, networking, print advertising, and cold calling. Nothing seems to work anymore. Welcome to the “new normal”. New and…
Trust is hard to define, but we know it when we see it or feel it. And this is particularly true with e-mail marketing. The truest measure of trust in commercial e-mail marketing may be the “reputation score” which is calculated by all the individual ISPs. A reputation score is a complex algorithm used by…
Why do I Blog? I get asked this question a lot. Yes, it takes a lot of time and brain cells, both of which I have a very limited supply. To blog regularly requires research, fact checking, writing, and editing. It is hard work. And, yes, I don’t blog for the money; my blog is…
Given the many options for new products and new ventures, why not create an offering that solves a problem or relieves a pain for your customer—a problem that the customer wants to fix right away. When people have headaches they reach for aspirin or other pain relievers. The need is clear and immediate. The value…
Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, and the other social networking websites have supplanted the water cooler as the place to go when you need a break from your work day. I suppose for many of us in this increasingly virtual world having a chat with a cyber friend brings some meaning, if not a respite from…
For some, the sole purpose of social media is ruthless self promotion, if not outright narcissism. At the very least, they consider social media an outbound marketing tool. It is my opinion that that they are missing the point of social media: social media is all about two-way communication. For example, we all know that…