Great brands are authentic, consistent, and differentiated. Once significant brand equity is established products can be successful in spite of themselves. Just look at McDonald’s. Author Selena Maranjian wrote in the Motley Fool recently about a research study that described a new way to get your kids to eat their broccoli: “Wrap it in the…
DetailsMarket research can be one the best uses of funds at a small firm, but, typically it seldom gets done. The reasons include lack of funds, little or no experience with market research, no time to do the research, and often the autocratic styles of entrepreneurs don’t allow for third party feedback. There are many…
DetailsThe marketing mega trend of the decade is unquestionably the need to be “green”. Call it what you like: clean-tech, low carbon footprint, environmentally conscious, eco-friendly, the impact of global warning, or just common sense. It’s for real and it represents a major marketing opportunity, while some might say it will be a political necessity.…
DetailsSatisfied customers are great, but they can still be teased by a competitor’s lower price or product features. Loyal customers are not swayed by the sweet talk from your competitor since they are committed to doing business with you. The acid test for loyalty is referrals. If your customer refers you to their friends and…
DetailsCreating innovative products can come via sheer serendipity, but most of the time they are the result of hard work and taking deliberate steps in an innovation process. Here are the basics steps for inventing new products: Awareness: A problem, idea, or random thought jumps up and bites you and it makes you think to…
DetailsUnlike advertising and public relations which create publicity and awareness, product promotion delivers a call to action. Typically, the call to action is for the customer to buy now; often there is an incentive offered to encourage the customer to do so. The goal of product promotion is get the product in front of the…
DetailsSuperior negotiators come in all genders, shapes, and sizes, but they tend to have a few things in common. Here is my list of the seven habits of superior negotiators: 1. A superior negotiator is always prepared. Abraham Lincoln said, “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening…
DetailsChris Anderson’s business bestseller, The Long Tail, is widely quoted and the term “long tail marketing” is now as ubiquitous as sustainable competitive advantage, value proposition, and the other business clichés. With this cliché status, the term gets abused and misused. What Anderson meant is that there is a new economy that provides an economic…
DetailsArticle marketing is one of the best ways to optimize your website, create new sales leads, and to garner new publicity. The really good news is that it is free and relatively easy (OK, it does take some time and a few brain cells). If you are not familiar with article marketing, it is the…
DetailsSimply put, a market is a group of buyers that are willing and able to buy your product or solution. A market is made up sub-markets or “market segments”; market segments are groups of potential buyers who have similar wants, needs, experiences, or problems. In fact, a wise man once said, “There is no market;…
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