I can’t do it. I can’t sit through another PowerPoint presentation where the speaker attempts to share 4 hours of information on 30 slides in 20 minutes. And that’s after he starts by apologizing for the hard to read slides. Can you relate? Stop the insanity. Follow these tips and leave your audience wanting to continue the dialog rather than having them leave shaking their head wondering what you were rambling about. Tip #1: Tell…
Forget Madonna, Eli and Tom. Forget the ads. The big winner of the night was the avocado. That’s right, the avocado. Did you know that Americans were on pace to eat 71.4 million pounds of avocados on Super Bowl Sunday? How did I know that? It was cited this week in the Wall Street Journal, on ABC’s Good Morning America, on FOX News, on local CBS stations, and on plenty more media outlets. Avocados received…
How did we compile the list? We used research and experience. We reviewed industry studies as well as primary research conducted for our clients. Our experience includes working with dozens of companies and seeing, first hand, what’s working for them and what’s not. Trend #1: Your customers are your new sales force Social media and the web make it easy to learn what your customers think of you. Take TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site….
Volvo stands for safety. Zappos is known for customer service. Staples is easy. Wal-Mart is savings. Victoria Secret is sexy. What’s the one word that your brand stands for? Find your word. Creating a strong brand is about focusing on what you have to offer that differentiates your brand in a meaningful and compelling way. Pick the right word, and then design your marketing and messaging around it. Find your word. Less is more. Defining…
No more “Who’s Herman Cain?” Herman Cain, Republican Presidential Candidate, became a household name nearly overnight. How? He devised a name for a tax plan that is easy to remember and means something. It’s crisp and a child could understand it. How did Herman Cain come up with the name: 9-9-9 plan? He listened. He observed. He understood that Americans are fed up with politicians’ complicated messages. He limited the message to one thought, found…
Hyatt Place asked. They asked people what they wanted in a hotel. It’s obvious because their hotel works. It works because a bunch of suits inside their huge organization didn’t base this hotel brand on their own ideas. Instead, they focused outward – on their customers. Just ask Ever try and find the electrical outlets in a hotel room to plug in a charger? We’ve all done it. Crawled around the floor to find an…
Would you go into a bar and ask someone to marry you? Not if you want to get anywhere. Then why do companies do essentially the same thing? Let your prospects get to know you, experience your products and services, and then later talk about ‘more’. Date first Start by offering something of value to your audience. Take Naturepedic, a leading manufacturer of organic crib mattresses. Their web site is full of educational articles about…
Darwin was one sharp guy. Through observation, Darwin learned that animals adapt to survive. They don’t adapt to be different or get noticed. They adapt to live. The same thinking applies to your business. Evolve or become extinct Take the baby Sally Lightfoot crabs found in the Galapagos. The young crabs are black and well camouflaged amongst the black lava rocks. They’ve adapted to survive. The adults, which earned their name by being swift and…
If Susie had some information at the Delta airlines counter on March 25th, I wouldn’t be writing this blog. But she didn’t. Here’s the abridged story…We were waiting for a delayed flight from Akron, OH to Atlanta, GA. In Atlanta, we were catching a flight to Ecuador. (Did I mention that there’s only one flight a day from Atlanta to Ecuador?) Fast forward to an hour after our flight was scheduled to depart Akron. Our…
Last night’s Oscars were such a bore. The “Academy” blew it. They neglected to deliver what their customers wanted. If only they had conducted consumer research. “Critics pan 83rd Academy Awards hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco as the most boring ever” was one of numerous headlines blasting the event. The Academy thought their audience wanted young and beautiful, so they delivered young and beautiful a la Franco and Hathaway. And, that’s all they…
