May 9, 2008

Problems. Challenges. Opportunities. Whatever you call them at your company, we want them fixed.

Our gut reaction is - come hell or high water - to find a solution. However, there are times when there is no fix. You're stuck with it.

For example, your business may be experiencing a challenge with the current "economic condition" in the United States. Perceived or real, the challenge with the downturn/recession is that as an individual business there is nothing you can do. You have to deal with it.

Another time when we face challenges beyond our power, is when performing SWOT analysis. You can manage the Strengths and Weaknesses and you can exploit the Opportunities. However, the Threats are out of your control... you're stuck with their reality.

So what can be done?

May 2, 2008

There's a great quote in Roger von Oech's book, "A Whack on the Side of the Head" that reads as follows...

April 25, 2008

As marketers, in addition to developing strategy, we also spend quite a bit of time managing strategy - activities and tasks that form our marketing programs. While it's relatively easy to make lists for tracking tasks and projects, I have never found a quick and easy way to sort out the scores of items into a prioritized and ordered list. Until now.

April 18, 2008

What's a brand? It's not very tangible. It's more like a feeling than a thing. While it may be managed by you or someone at your organization, it is really outward perception that defines your brand. Furthermore, even if you truly have the best brand in the world, if people don't feel that way, you don't.

April 11, 2008

When looking for good ideas about customer service, ask around. Exceptional services experiences are rarely forgotten and something we all experience. I'm spending time this week with my parents, and in asking them about any remarkable ideas they could think of... offered these two great examples...

April 4, 2008

When is the last time you attended the grand opening of something? Or waited in line to be the first to buy something? (Save for the occasional opening-weekend movie or hot concert tickets) So, why do we think potential customers are going to flock to our new product launch, service launch, or retail store grand opening?

March 28, 2008

It's a phenomenon and seems inevitable. A story played time and time again. A small business is built, grows with wild success, and then loses its tarnish. Every big business we consider bad was once a Mom and Pop.

March 14, 2008

As my high school history teacher Tom "Moto" Pile used to challenge we students: He used to goad...

Do you have what it takes? Do you have mox....ie?!
Are you gonna suck it up, or are you too laz...y!?
You gotta have gump...tion! You gotta want it!

March 7, 2008

Have you seen the mini-booklet print ad introducing the new Mini Cooper Clubman? The booklet add entitled the "Book of ZUG" they neatly summarizes remarkability, while introducing Mini Cooper's new vehicle.

February 29, 2008

How often do we say "Geez, if I only had an extra day?" or "I wish I had just a little more time." Well, today February 29, 2008 is that day. Today is going to afford each of us a bonus 24 extra hours. That'll give us just over 27 more minutes each week than we had this year.

February 22, 2008

You're nearly ready for next week's problem solving session... Problem clearly defined and the objectives of the day outlined? Check. Silly-Puddy, Play-Doh, and Slinkys? Check. Flip charts, colored markers, Post-It notes? Check.

February 15, 2008

Many of us have been waiting for the right moment. The right moment to... ask the boss for a raise; find a job that's more satisfying; pitch your new product idea; propose; start writing your book; launch your own blog; suggest that better way of doing things.

So we wait. We wait until the time is right.

February 8, 2008

"If you can successfully promote sloppy joe sandwiches you can do marketing for anything!" That was my motto, early in my career, as marketing director for a food service company. We were hired to manage the school district's food program. The school district could then focus on teaching children.

February 1, 2008

The foundation of managing an innovative (company, brand, product, service, or individual) involves constantly monitoring and maintaining awareness of your broader environment - the big picture. On a regular basis, look away from the minutia found in the microscope of your day-to-day operations and use a telescope to see the horizons of what's taking place around you. Here is an incomplete* list of (mostly free) companies, articles, books and websites that provide trend-related resources from consumer spending reports to reviews of prototype gadgets...

January 25, 2008

The dusty adage "Jack of all trades, master of none" is defined as... "A person who can do many different types of work but who is not necessarily very competent at any of them." So we work to be a master. That sums up our basic evaluation system. Our job performance is based on meeting or exceeding the expertise outlined for our role. Human resource teams look for the perfect fit. So, we become experts.

January 18, 2008

Are you trying to figure out what to do with your brand? What your company should be when it grows up? How about a step-by-step plan that will let you get in the driver's seat of your company and do the things you're most passionate about?

January 11, 2008

Time management optimization... I'm always looking for different and effective ways to enhance time management. I've learned better managing what you have to do frees you up for what you want to do. I've bumped into a novel approach to day management that you may want to try out.

January 4, 2008

You know that swift glide-y feeling you get when you walk on an escalator. You're moving faster than you normally would with the same effort. That's the feeling we all want when we work. Instead, it often feels more like running in an exercise wheel. We spend lots of energy and break a sweat; we are working hard. However, when we exit the wheel at the end of the day, we find ourselves in the same place we started.

December 21, 2007

Christmas is a brand hand-crafted by and for the people. It is a diverse stew of traditions... many of which are thousands of years old... while others surprisingly quite contemporary. Did you know there are a slew of Christmas traditions invented and/or made popular by marketers?

December 14, 2007

"What a scam!" I thought while drying myself off with the hotel towel. I reached over and read the card the hotel left in the basket among the soaps and slew of mini-shampoo bottles.

December 7, 2007

Successfully doing something that has never been done before (innovating) is sort of like shooting an arrow at a target while blindfolded. You know where you want to go but until you draw back on the bow string and launch, you can't be certain where the arrow will land.

November 30, 2007

There is a lot of hubbub right now surrounding Starbucks. Specifically their breakout decision to pursue TV advertising this holiday season. As a brand known for approaching marketing in non-traditional ways, this drastic traditional move has armchair marketers swarming. Cause and Effect is when one thing (A), gives rise to an action (B).

November 19, 2007

China wants to ensure rain storms take place where and when they want them to... That does NOT include the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. So, the Weather Modification Department in China is seeding approaching clouds with activators to induce rain storms outside the National Stadium. Over the past 12 years of testing they've increased rain storms by 24%. Not bad.

November 9, 2007

When I was a kid, I had a book filled with facts and trivia about science, nature, humans, inventions and more. It was printed on rough newsprint paper and was as thick as a phonebook. One of the entries that I often recall asked (and answered) the question:

What is a Ghoti?

November 2, 2007

There is an agricultural practice farmers use called "fallow field farming." It is the method of planting nothing at all to allow fields time to replenish, rejuvenate, and regain fertility. I got to thinking... this practice of waiting a season to allow for replenishment is exactly what some businesses could use...

October 29, 2007

You should be in business for yourself. We all should. I don't mean quit your job and form a new company. I mean right now - at the job you are in - you should be in business for yourself.

October 19, 2007

I was enjoying a tasty sandwich in a Quizno's this week and spotted among the required permits, license, and a thank you letter from a local charity, an award stating...

October 12, 2007

When you first discover you have a problem or challenge, before searching solutions... be sure you're about to fix the right thing. Who has the time, energy, or money to fix something that isn't broken? But, how do you determine what the true problem is?

October 5, 2007

"How do we define service at this company?" If you were to send that question in an e-mail to the person responsible for operations, the person responsible for hiring, the person responsible for marketing, the person responsible for sales, the head of your company, and a front-line employee (assuming these aren't all the same person)... would they all respond with the same answer? Same words?

September 28, 2007

When it comes to curiosity and creative problem solving, kids have the process down pat. They are expert problem solvers. (Only a kid can transform an over-sized box into a lunar lander!) Having this imagination around the office can be pretty handy. But how can you make this happen without breaking child labor laws or getting into trouble with school truancy officers? Bring your Inner Child to work...

September 21, 2007

Wouldn't it be great if there were a build-a-brand kit that provided all the pieces necessary to construct the perfect business?

September 7, 2007

So you are...

• ...A marketer.
  
• ...A sales person.
  
• ...A blogger.
  
• ...A [_ _ _ _ _ _ _].

But is that settling?

August 31, 2007

The month of September (especially Labor Day weekend in the US) signals the transition from summer, to hunkering down at school and work. Our goal? Return with renewed energy and to be more productive than ever. THE key to productivity is an organized approach* to getting things done. I have recently discovered one of the simplest systems: The Action Method developed by Behance.

August 24, 2007

Huh? Am I asking you are from Belgium? Or have a cold... phlegmish? No. No. Do you flemish? To "flemish" is to coil the loose end of the lines* (ropes) used when boating.

August 17, 2007

Last week I shared a decision making method that utilized a two-by-two diagram to rank/filter ideas using two key parameters. While the method received positive feedback (thank you for the discussion), you asked what to use when you need to rank/filter ideas that involve more than just two parameters.

August 10, 2007

Some call it a matrix, others a two-by-two diagram. I call 'em awesome.

Two-by-twos allow you to plot complex information in a matter that allows you not only to see the relationship between two things, but also to make better judgments and decisions. I often use these during brainstorming sessions with clients as a way to filter our stacks of great ideas to the fewer, bigger, and better solutions.

July 19, 2007

You want to read marketing information that helps you. I want to provide you with that very stuff. Let's make a deal... if you let me know what you're looking for... I will do my best to provide it for you!

July 13, 2007

I love tools that are simple to use, easy to learn, but offer profound impact. The performance chart is one of those tools. They consists of a group of continua (left-to-right axis) where you plot "where you are" versus "where you want to be."

July 6, 2007

When faced with a challenge you need help to resolve, consult your board of directors. No, not your corporate governance... your Imaginary Board of Directors - your iBoard of Directors.

June 29, 2007

As marketers and business people, our time is spent coming up with creative ideas, problem solving, and decision making. With focus, concentration and inspiration, we are better and faster at these applied thinking skills.

June 22, 2007

Innovative ideas - the kind that can transform your company - are inadvertently being demolished. When first presented, many ideas meet wrecking-ball comments such as...

• "How's that going to work?"
  
• "Good luck getting that done!"
  
• "We don't have time for something like that." And the classic,
  
• "Doesn't work... Trust me... We tried that years ago."

June 14, 2007

The first and best tip I can offer to anyone wanting to be more creative and innovative is to start carrying and Idea Journal... Something to write your ideas on 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

June 6, 2007

We marketers are problem solvers. Our role is to support companies, clients, and customers by solving their business problems. We're asked to help drive sales, increase traffic and build awareness.