I love 80’s hair metal. There, I said it.
Tom Keifer of Cinderella provides a good lesson in personal branding and staying relevant. I love 80’s hair metal music. My favorite band then was Cinderella; still is. Great blend of rock, blues and country and local folks…from a town only 20 miles from where I grew up. Tom Keifer was the band’s singer and […]
Size doesn’t always matter in business
Speed, smarts and dexterity can often be the determinant between winning and losing. Size doesn’t always matter in business. Speed, dexterity, hunger, smarts does. At a board meeting 12 years ago, our chairman was Googling keywords during my marketing update. He pummeled me with questions and derisive comments. “How come this company is appearing on […]
The packaging is as important as the product
Form must meet function for maximum impact. Great packaging can mean the difference between stopping a customer in their tracks or having them move past your product without even a glance towards your product. Blinding flash of the obvious, right? But it bears repeating. Good marketing blends function and emotion to “arrest” buyers and make […]
Mono-line sales leader, meet Mr. Dinosaur.
If you’re only using one channel to generate sales, you may be facing extinction. I bet you’ve heard some of these statements: I’ve heard these and many more excuses plenty of times dating back to the late 90’s when companies I worked for were adding new sales channels. I could understand then but can’t understand […]
Is your marketing like Mom’s meatloaf?
Old-school marketing is like comfort food. It’s familiar to you, but it may not be what you need. In primary research I conducted a few years ago, 91% of my buyers first learned of my brand long before a sales and marketing engagement occurred. They weren’t sitting around waiting for me to give them a […]
“You’re a Chief Marketing Officer? OK, but what does that mean?”
Well, it could mean many different things to many different people. Let me offer my perspective. The days are long gone when the top marketing leader in an organization is valued for how well they render logos on donut boxes. The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) role is vital in today’s organization…or it should be. Today’s […]
Questions all marketers should ask when interviewing for that next great role.
It’s easy to be wooed, swayed, enticed by what seems to be a great career opportunity. After all, we all remember how we felt when we were asked to the high school prom. But, put emotion aside and and prepare to interview the interviewer to make sure all that glitters really is gold. Some questions […]
Tips and truisms for building your personal brand.
Lions represent wisdom, power, royalty, courage, dominion and authority. Lions stand up, stand out. They claim and defend their territory. Each of us needs to be a “brand lion.” In a crowded, cluttered marketplace, you need to take steps to claim and defend your space. Here are some tips and truisms on building your personal brand to stand up and stand out.
Is marketing simpler than we think?
Can you overthink marketing? Is it complex? Yes. But can it be simplified? Yes.
What fuels organizational performance?
You can Google the topic and likely find 10 pages of results, all with varying opinions and perspectives on what drives growth, performance, brand leadership. I’m sharing my perspective on what I’ve seen and believe to be some of the critical factors that can drive corporate performance:
