Marketing strategy

Two rams butting heads, with the caption, "Copying what the competition is doing is the best way to never stand out."

Business marketing: three three reasons why you should stop looking at your competition

Between the two of us, Theron and I have about 40 years of business marketing experience. And I’m willing to bet that the one thing we’ve heard the most in all those years is, “We should be doing [some idea] because our competitor is doing it”. These things that the competition are doing range from great ideas to really terrible ideas. But they all have one thing in common: the sense of gut-wrenching urgency from the requester. We have to...

A turtle crawling in grass, with the caption, "A critical eye is good. But second-guessing yourself too soon will break your marketing."

How to succeed in marketing your business: learn the patience game

My husband recently shared a Masters in Business podcast with me in which the Winklevoss Twins (of The Social Network/Facebook fame) were interviewed. You can listen for yourself, here. The point that hit me the strongest was that their investment strategy relies on a little-appreciated trait: patience. In fact, studies have shown that most professional investors are quite good at buying great investments. Where many of them fall down is in selling them; the majority make great selection decisions, then get...

Two twins, with the quote, "So what if you've said it before. Say it again. In marketing, repetition is actually a good thing."

In marketing, it’s OK to repeat yourself. Really. It’s OK to repeat yourself.

Important newsflash: using messaging once, or covering a topic in a blog post once, or executing a brilliant marketing strategy once, does not make it off-limits for the rest of all time. As humans, we tend to get bored with things that we experience on a regular basis, whether it’s eating at the same place for lunch every day, listening to the same songs on the way to work on your way home, watching Star Wars 76 times in a...

Small business open sign, with the text, "It's always easier to business plan with the marketing basics in mind than try and figure out how to reach customers after the fact.

The new small business marketing checklist

Let’s talk about new businesses. Specifically, the marketing planning they (ahem!) should be doing. First of all, trust me, I know how many things a business founder has to think about. General business planning, of course, but also legal things. And tax things. And how you’re going to serve your customers best, and how you’ll make sure your product is the highest quality it can be, etc, etc. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that marketing can wait until after...

A businessman holding a christmas tree, with the quote, "Why would you put a lot of resources into something you'll be publishing right when people are the most distracted?"

Our gift to you: do you really need that holiday marketing video?

‘Tis the season for corporate holiday cheer, which in this day and age means holiday email after holiday email, from every business contact you have ever made—and even probably some you haven’t. And a high proportion includes their version of the dreaded holiday video. Now, I’ve done competitive research on corporate holiday videos. They range from the mind-numbingly boring (the vast majority), to cringe-inducingly awkward (a healthy second), to the occasionally truly brilliant. Yes, brilliance is possible, but let’s just...