“So, how do you pack a lot of meaning into a little message? You don’t. That’s the first lesson of microstyle. A message isn’t a treasure chest full of meaning. It’s more like a key that opens doors. A message…
Michael said that probably the biggest problem faced by B2B marketers is truly understanding “Who am I targeting?” At a recent Strategic Marketing P2P, we were joined by Michael Stephens, who runs marketing at TeraGo Networks. Michael was there to talk…
“If you sell something, you make a customer today; if you help someone, you make a customer for life. Youtility is marketing upside down. Instead of marketing that’s needed by companies, Youtility is marketing that’s wanted by customers. Youtility is…
Most folks in marketing have heard of the concept of a brand identity – the colours, fonts, logos and other visible stuff associated with a brand. Slightly newer is the concept of a brand personality – the characteristics that you…
This Christmas, I received as a gift the book Youtility – Why smart marketing is about help not hype, by Jay Baer. The title alone had me excited, as over the past year I’ve implemented a number of initiatives around…
You know what really grinds my gears? Bad advertising. And I don’t mean the so-bad-it’s-kinda-good stuff (I love that stuff), I mean the high-production-value-but-completely-misses-the-mark stuff. Case in point: “RAID”, from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). I get angry every…
A few weeks ago I wrote about positioning statements and value propositions. At a recent tradeshow, we put some theory into practice.
Recently I was in a Starbucks in Maui, Hawaii – specifically, the Starbucks at the airport. I moseyed on up to the counter and requested a Kona coffee. Me: “I’d like a grande Kona, please.” Starbucks Barista: “We don’t have Kona…
An awesome value proposition identifies your target audience, gets their attention, and generates an emotional response to the product or solution you’re selling. Every company needs a value proposition; in fact, if your company has a broad range of products, then you…
“For most people, language is functional rather than being an end in itself. For me, it’s the people that are the end; language is just a tool to reach them, a means to an end. But it’s not enough to simply stand there and marvel at…