Effective marketing isn't about adopting a piece of technology, being clever, or winning awards. It's (still) about appealing to basic human emotions.
Marketing The Buying Experience: How Do You Make Them Feel?
Every business today is actually marketing two distinct value propositions to its customers – and probably doesn’t even know it.
Marketing Is About People, Not Technology
Business marketing today is not about the technology behind the initiatives. It is about connecting and providing value to meet customer expectations.
People To People: Business Comes Full Circle
Every business is a people business. Thanks to a newly-empowered, more demanding customer, businesses must treat their customers as individuals if they are to compete.
Why Small Companies Beat Big Companies
Small companies have the flexibility to react to market changes and capitalize on opportunities. Why? Because they have to.
Marketing Has Become The New IT
Have you noticed how many of the new marketing tools for businesses have more in common with IT than Marketing? If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time (thank you, if you have) then you’ll know how I’m always banging on about how there are a raft of new tools, technologies and processes that help you get your business value message out there – better. The issue is, unless you’re reasonably adept in IT, many of the tools look about as inviting and user-friendly as North Korea. Let me give you some examples. By and large, static HTML based websites don’t help grow your online presence easily. Unless you’re a web guru (or have one to hand) updating static HTML sites is a pain – which is probably why so few companies bother. A site based on a Content Management System (CMS), on the other hand, gives you control, flexibility, easier SEO optimization (for non-SEO geeks) and the ability for anyone with permission to create and publish content to it (from wherever they are). OK, that’s all well and great. But while the developers of popular CMS platforms such WordPress, Joomla and Drupal have made great efforts …
The Thrill Of The (Sales) Chase: But Don’t Forget Existing Customers
Every business needs customers. Well, duh… It’s also true that every business owner, sales manager, and marketer loves finding new customers. The initial contact, the first meeting. The sales pitch, the demonstration, and submission of proposal. Then follows the negotiation, the close, the transaction and, finally, the payment. It’s a complex dance, often with many intricate steps. Any one of those steps can go awry at any time. potentially resulting in sales failure. I think that’s part of the fascination. Business owners and sales managers are often Type A personalities. They relish the thrill of the chase. The sport, the competition against sales professionals from other businesses who are just as hungry for the sale. The importance of understanding the prospect – what makes them tick. The desire to win. The inherent risk and ultimate cost of failure. Looking at it this way you could be forgiven for thinking it’s all quite primeval. Supposing you’ve navigated successfully around the potential pitfalls to failure and – congratulations – closed the deal. What happens next? Sure, the customer takes delivery. Maybe there’s an onboarding phase – installation, training, support, and so on. But I’m thinking farther forward. I’m thinking about the time …
Tradeshow Trauma: Are Trade Exhibitions Still Relevant To Your Small Business?
Exhibiting at a tradeshow can be a very effective sales tool. But today, so can many other things.