Marketing Articles About Consumer

Marketing Articles About Consumer Search Results

Results for: consumer

74 items found:

. ( )

What are your 2009 marketing predictions?.

Welcome (almost) to the new calendar year! I hope that the buzz of Christmas is still with you!

It's that time of year where we shift our focus (if we haven't already) to the possibilities of 2009. I'd like to kick that off by asking what your marketing predictions are for 2009? I've started a new site specifically for 2009 marketing predictions. It's at http://www.2009marketingpredictions.com.

So, put on your Nostradamus hat and let me know where you see marketing and marketers heading for 2009 and beyond!

Here are mine (all explained in greater detail here):

1. Marketers apply lessons from the 2008 Presidential campaign.
2. Marketers will measure absolutely everything.
3. Insurgent marketers will win big market share.
4. Customer data will be the most precious marketing resource.
5. Everyone becomes a marketer.
6. Marketers focus on targeting.
7. Consumers expect feedback loops; companies respond.
8. Mobile and location really begin to matter.
9. Tactics will still lead before strategy.
10. B2B Marketers will increasingly seek a 'thought leadership' based approach to marketing.

Post yours here - What are your 2009 Marketing Predictions?

(02/24/09 09:00 AM)

. ( )

Does being ethical pay?. I just ran across an article in WSJ that answered the question,"How much are consumers are willing to pay for ethically produced goods?" These statistics are only among coffee drinkers (cotton t-shirt buyers had a much narrower range of price... (02/04/09 09:00 PM)

. ( )

What are your 2009 marketing predictions?.

Welcome (almost) to the new calendar year! I hope that the buzz of Christmas is still with you!

So, put on your Nostradamus hat and let me know where you see marketing and marketers heading for 2009 and beyond!

Here are mine (all explained in greater detail here):

Post yours here - What are your 2009 Marketing Predictions?

(12/28/08 09:00 PM)

. ( )

Insight for Ad Agencies - Listen or Go Back to Print.

This is quite possibly the most timely and exciting article I've read as of late (come to think it, this I've been rather busy and this might be the only thing I've read of late...nope, this really is the best).

Joseph Dumont penned a piece for Imedia entitled "Why Agencies are Failing" in it, he lays out several of his own observations that are founded in a report from Forrester (might be worth the $279 price tag if you're seeking some Forrester Research Therapy for your agency) and compiled from his keen insights into the agency world.

This article really hits home as it comes at a time when I'm doing a bit of work with a few agencies that I regard with the utmost respect and I can't help but see some of their challenges echoed in this article. Those are the agencies that are truly students of advertising, marketing, customer behavior and have a genuine purpose in this world. They will succeed because they can learn, they can grow and like energy (you know, never at rest) they are always moving and changing and they're on the right path.

On the other end of the spectrum are agencies who are truly stuck. They're afraid of stepping outside of their comfort zone, afraid to admit that they need help, don't have a mastermind group internally that's challenging their age-old positioning and their clients are suffering as a result by way of crusty old strategies, reheated ideas and basically an ignorance of the end customer that we're all trying to reach. Those agencies will fail a they aren't even on a path - they're standing still.

Here are a few observations that I took from Joseph's article. I really recommend read though it with you highlighter handy - there are some real nuggets in there. If you're an agency, take this to your next staff meeting and discuss it. It's that important. If you like, buy the Forrester report (and tell me if it was worth it!)

1. Damnit, get out there and do the hard work to really understand how your client's consumer has changed their habits, where they hang out and what they want to hear from you. Media kits are for armchair advertisers. You need to get out there, listen, react and move. Oh, and get your client's leadership and front line folks on the same page too. Customers are smart. They see through the disorganization.

2. Watch political marketing. I've said this for years and I'll say it again "the harbingers of the next generation of marketing are working in politics". Watch all 3 candidates and how they leverage the digital space. Also, pay attention to their budgets. They're moving mountains and spending very little (comparatively) online...they reach the masses on TV and the influencers through digital (online) means...it's a great country we live in!

3. Interactive does NOT mean Internet. It means really in-ter-acting... get people involved, acting and interacting and engaging. Most of what's called "interactive" is anything but.

4. User generated content is not the holy grail. User generated genuine interest in a brand that excites consumers and pushes their 'loyalty button' is what we're really seeking. There are many UGC campaigns that are bolt on piles of crap... If UGC is not aligned with your brand and the only respondents are professional contestants, you should rethink things a bit. Just because it's cool doesn't mean it's you (or that an agency should sell it to you)

5. I actually think that we're in pretty good shape - there is BRILLIANT marketing going on out there (just read iMedia, Marketing Sherpa and others to see the kick ass campaigns and strategies that are rocking the marketing world)...but there's always room to do better. Both agencies and internal marketers can't afford to get lazy. The entire profession of marketing is founded on a "faith in the future" perspective! That's why we market - for the future...so hurry up and let's all get there!

(06/09/08 09:00 AM)

Insight for Ad Agencies - Listen or Go Back to Print.

3. Interactive does NOT mean Internet. It means really in-ter-acting... get people involved, acting and interacting and engaging. Most of what's called "interactive" is anything but.

(05/29/08 09:00 PM)

How to LIVE RICH. A good friend and ex-Dell colleague passed away on Friday, April 25, 2008, after a courageous and inspiring battle with brain cancer. I want to celebrate and share the piece of his life I knew, and the words of wisdom he left for all of us. Two months after I joined Dell in March 1999, a curly-haired Harvard grad moved into the cube next door. Over the next seven years Rich and I worked together to help build Dell’s consumer eBusiness to a $3.5B business, and then on Dell’s CRM and segmentation strategy (he worked on corporate strategy while I worked in Consumer division). But what he worked on is not as important as HOW he accomplished his goals. Rich exemplified leadership. In fact, he had the rare quality of being a Level 5 Leader, as outlined by Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great. He excelled through confident humility amidst a (typical) corporate environment of politics, ego and alpha aggression. He always put decision in terms of what was right for the business, and helped others grow in the process. Everyone loved to work with Rich or for him. So many of us were awestruck at Rich’s knowledge and wisdom. Rich often put up ‘observations’ on his small whiteboard in his cube. One time he made the observation that time and quality of mission statement are inversely related – graphed on the board, the more time spent on the mission statement the less it resonates. So true. And so funny.... (04/29/08 09:01 PM)

Social Shopping and Getting Your Share of the $600 Stimulus Check.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of social shopping sites. Several times per year our family, just like everyone else, is tasked with purchasing various gifts for relatives, Christmas, birthdays and other such moments. Like most guys out there, I rarely, if ever know what to buy!

Enter social shopping sites. According to a recent AP article on MSNBC "Web surfers buying into social shopping sites":

Social shopping sites with such names as Kaboodle, ThisNext, Wishpot and StyleHive combine two of the Web's most prominent activities: engaging in commerce and chatting with like-minded folks. The sites don't directly sell things, but encourage users to share links to good bargains, obscure finds, products that work and ones that don't.

All of those sites are pretty sweet, if you ask me. While not a 'social shopping' site per se, I'm partial to using Gifts.com as well. I've gotten some solid ideas from there as well.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner (hmm...what should I get this year???), now is a great time to test out all of the social shopping engines to see what kind of goodies they recommend.

Personally, Kaboodle and Gifts.com had the most ideas for gifts I'd likely purchase. However, the others had some good ideas as well. Wishpot is actually powered by results from Shopping.com.

Now, how does all of this have anything to do with the likely "stimulus package" that we're about to receive? (If you've not tuned in to the $150B economic stim pack banter, here's a square assessment from the WSJ[sub]). Well, if you believe that Americans will follow a similar behavior pattern following tax refund time (Tax-refund season helps kick off the spring shopping season. Last year, retail sales jumped 12% to 20% in March), there's going to be a portion of us, 12% to 28% of us, depending on who you ask, who will go out and immediately spend the money, it's a marketer's world and the smartest marketer will win when seeking their fair share of the potential 'windfall' check that consumers are likely to receive this late spring to early summer. Here's where really knowing your customers and their behavior can pay off. A few ideas:

Go back to your customer or buyer profile and figure out who in your customer base will be getting the lion's share of the stimulus monies. For reference, families with <$110K in earnings and individuals with <$75K will be getting the most, while the lowest income and highest income segments of the population will be getting the least. Needless to say, this won't be the time to go after your high rollers who just got a check for $200...
Run a contest or a survey or something to get inside the heads of your customers. If you're doing a regular email newsletter, throw in a survey question or two that takes a fun approach at getting after "what they're going to do with their checks". Segment out those that intend to 'spend it' for a separate marketing effort around the time that checks are distributed.
Be mindful of all of the recession talk. People might not splurge on that big gas grill they've been lusting over, but they might be interested in securing a raft of gift cards or gift certificates to kick off their Christmas or birthday shopping. Now would be a great time to mention that yours have no expiration date and that they're a great way to stretch their dollars for themselves and their loved ones

Whether or not you agree with the efficacy of the stimulus package, if you look at this from the perspective of 'customer behavior' and tap into the most 'likely to buy' segment of your customer base, you're setting yourself up to capture your fair share of the $150B that's likely to be doled out.

(04/04/08 09:00 PM)

Mystery Solved!.

The other day, I wrote about some of the top websites that refer people to my site. One of those sites is the US House of Representatives, which has been sending people to my Guestbook page for quite some time. Well, yesterday I decided to try to find out where on the House site the link to my own site is listed.

It took me only a few seconds to find it using Google. I searched for "US House of Representatives government grants" and the first site listed on the search results was this one: Federal Funds Express - a site I'd never seen before. But apparently a lot of other people have.

Federal Funds Express may be a good place to start looking for government grants and other sources of funds, but it's not really an in-depth resource. However, there are some good links on the site (including mine, of course), which in turn can lead to other good resources. Links are listed under the following categories:

How to get and manage grants
Federal charitable and corporate sources of grants
Resources to help small businesses
State and local government funding, data resources and disaster assistance
Educational resources for students, schools and colleges
Property, surplus, donated and unclaimed
Family issues: health, housing and consumer protection

The website hasn't been updated since October 2007, but you may still find some good sources of information there. I checked a few of the links, but didn't have time to check them all.

I'm thinking about sending an e-mail to the Webmaster asking him or her to direct people to a page on my site other than my guestbook. But maybe it would be best to leave it as is.

(03/20/08 09:01 AM)

Future of Online Retailing -- Four Predictions. Forrester and Jupiter report that more than 70% of online shoppers seek out user reviews before making a purchase decision. MarketingSherpa reports that 84% of consumers prefer the opinion of other consumers vs. experts. Hundreds of retailers including WalMart, Best Buy, HP, and the Home Depot have followed Amazon’s lead by allowing their consumers to review products in the online channel. Consumers demand social commerce solutions and retailers are driving measurable results. As consumers are presented with increasing choices, channels, and messages, they will continue to turn to peers to discover, research, and make decisions about products and services. Retailers will need to utilize technology and best practices to provide authentic, relevant, and effective social commerce solutions to retain their customers into the future. 1) SOCIAL CONTENT IS GOING MULTI-CHANNEL The future of reviews and social content is going beyond the product page and into other channels such as mobile phones, kiosks, print collateral, online advertising, and social networks. It is clear that consumers rely on social content to make purchasing decision. They will expect to be able to access to this content regardless of channel in order to inform their purchasing process. The retailers that provide this multi-channel access will develop competitive advantages in their markets to attract and retain consumers. Additionally, more retailers will see the value of integrating social commerce with CRM and other “back-end” channels. Retailers will start to leverage social content as a key input into driving decisions in marketing, sales, advertising, customer support, and... (12/09/07 09:01 PM)

Be Masters of Reality. At last week's Forrester Consumer Forum, Richard Edelman suggested today's PR has to be 'masters of reality' rather than focus on spin and hype. This was underscored by his tagline, "Be it. Don't Buy it." I think that's a great mission for marketers in general. In a world of higher transparency the best products and companies will succeed. The true reflection of their quality and character will be amplified. As masters of reality we will realize that products need to be great, word of mouth follows, and marketers (as masters of reality) will leverage the truth. (10/14/07 09:00 PM)

10 Rules to Live By (Deborah Schultz). I was at the Forrrester Consumer Forum last week. The topic of the conference was social technologies. At a place like that you meet people that have blogs. I try to check out blogs of people I meet, I scan them, and see if something pops out. I met Deborah Schultz, a consultant in the Social Media / Interactive Design, and this post popped out to me where she outlined 10 things she tries to live by. In a busy, transparent world these rules are relevant for a consultant or corporation...they are salient for management and marketing...and some are useful to remember when living your life! Do not ignore your customers, it WILL come back to haunt you Constant iteration is NECESSARY - build in flexibility so you can respond quickly Don't LIE - you can't HIDE the truth anymore Build LISTENING into your DNA (Put it in customer service, marketing, product management - just PUT IT SOMEWHERE) Learn to BALANCE the listening with PERSPECTIVE so you are not constantly in REACTIVE mode. DESIGN matters - Make it EASY (iPhone anyone?) Be CLEAR & CONCISE - who has time for long winded-ness Be EMOTIONAL - tell a story [read this to learn the basics] Be HUMAN - talk like one, act like one. Sounds like a big DUH but it is amazing how easy it is to get lost in complexities when we forget this one. Take a BREAK - and step back to think BIG thoughts Great stuff Deborah! (10/13/07 09:00 PM)

Yahoo Buys Zimbra for $350 Million. Yahoo has agreed to buy Zimbra, a startup that offers Web-based corporate e-mail (and a Next Net 25 company from 2006). The price is a hefty $350 million—one of the largest for a Web 2.0 startup to date. Yahoo is right to build up its portfolio of Web-based apps, but Zimbra is an enterprise app. Yahoo (YHOO) is a consumer company. So this could end up being a stretch for them (or its entry into a whole new market). Update: A senior Yahoo executive just told me that the acquisition was more for Zimbra's technology than an attempt to create a wedge into the nascent enterprise Webtop market. That makes more sense. So expect to see some of Zimbra's gee-whiz Webtop features appear in Yahoo's consumer e-mail, contact, and calendering apps down the road. (See my earlier coverage fo Zimbra here, here,and here) (09/17/07 09:00 PM)

VCs Keep Throwing Money at Web 2.0 Startups. Dreams... Originally uploaded by noahwesley The numbers are out for how much money venture capitalists poured into Web 2.0 startups like Facebook, Zillow, and Netvibes during the first half of this year. Worldwide, counts Dow Jones VentureOne, VCs put $464 million into 101 deals. That’s up from 89 deals worth $432 million during the first half of 2006. (See the full-year 2006 figures here). Most of this increase comes from Europe, where early-stage investors are getting the Web 2.0 bug. Two thirds of those 101 deals were in the U.S., maintaining a steady pace with the activity during the same period last year. But the $357 million raised in U.S. venture deals represents a mere 1.6 percent up-tick from last year. And while Web 2.0 deals made up 30 percent of all “information services” deals, that’s actually down from 41 percent last year. With all the low-hanging fruit already well picked over in the U.S., VCs here are migrating to later-stage financings and funding startups focused on the enterprise, whereas consumer-oriented deals still dominate overseas. Sequoia Capital and Draper Fischer Jurvetson lead the charge in Web 2.0 financings, with six and five deals, respectively, But, for the first time, New England beat out the Bay Area in terms of money raised for Web 2.0 companies ($102 million vs. $90 million). Soon, it is going to stop making sense to count Web 2.0 deals separately from any other Internet deals. At this point, any Internet company worth its salt can claim... (09/17/07 09:00 AM)

Startup Watch: Fellowforce.com (the Business Smarts of Strangers). The best ideas for new products and businesses often come from outside a company's walls. Now, those companies have a Website called Fellowforce.com to help them try to tap into the business smarts of strangers. On August 1, the Amsterdam-based startup launched its consumer-facing site where people can sign up as fellows and answer challenges posed by companies large and small. There are only about 20 challenges so far. Some have been posted directly to the site itself, like one startup's plea for a blockbuster TV-format for a new website. While others are links to existing crowdsourcing efforts elswhere on the Web, such as Nokia's invitation to consumers to help design an N76 phone, or the Motion Pictures Laboratories quest to develop a theatrical projection screen that can handle both 2-D and 3-D movies. Like InnoCentive or NineSigma, what Fellowforce fosters is a form of open-source innovation. People who submit the best ideas can get paid by the companies anywhere from $250 to $10,000. Fellowforce itself is offering 1 percent of its stock to the person who comes up with the best tag line for the site. (How about: Where it pays to have good ideas). Fellows can submit unsolicited brainstorms to specific companies as well, such as one member who came up with a novel type of door hinge. Fellowforce charges companies $295 to $1,000 to post a challenge. The site is free for Fellows. And in a few days, the company plans to release an Innovation Box—essentially a... (08/09/07 09:00 AM)

It's Time For Open-Source Hardware. Open-source software has proven that users are sometimes the best designers with products like the Linux operating system and the Firefox browser. The next logical step is open-source hardware, a movement that is gaining ground in design circles. For instance, Chuck Messer at Tackle Design in Durham, North Carolina has developed an open-source jaundice light for developing countries using blue LEDs that can be manufactured for $75 (versus $3,000 to $5,000 for a similar piece of hospital equipment). And he is also involved with the Open Prosthetics Project, which is trying to bring back an updated version of the popular World War One-era Trautman Hook. Similarly, there are efforts to create open-source computers, cars, telephones, and 3-D printers. There is even a venture-backed company called Bug Labs trying to apply the concept to the commercial realm with what sounds liek open-source consumer electronics. As Fred Wilson, an investor in Bug Labs, cryptically puts it:The thing about Bug is that it's not anything like the iPhone. It's closer to Ning. It's all about what people will make with a Bug, not what a Bug is when it comes out of the box. The buzz around open-source hardware is just going to keep getting louder because it is an idea whose time has come. Bringing the culture of participation to physical products is a natural evolution of the open-source, DIY world we are now living in. What open-source hardware/products would make the most sense to build a business around? Comments are open.... (07/31/07 09:01 PM)

Spectrum Auction to Be Run By Google Rules. From inside a rainbow... Originally uploaded by jerikojosh It appears that the FCC is going to adopt open-access rules backed by Google and other tech companies in its upcoming spectrum auctions. This is not good news for incumbent wireless carriers. What Google (GOOG) wants is for the resulting 4G networks built on top of the auctioned spectrum to be more like the Internet, so that you can plug in any device or run any application on it no matter who happens to be billing you for your wireless broadband access. Google's principles going into this are: * Open applications: consumers should be able to download and utilize any software applications, content, or services they desire;* Open devices: consumers should be able to utilize a handheld communications device with whatever wireless network they prefer;* Open services: third parties (resellers) should be able to acquire wireless services from a 700 MHz licensee on a wholesale basis, based on reasonably nondiscriminatory commercial terms; and* Open networks: third parties (like internet service providers) should be able to interconnect at a technically feasible point in a 700 MHz licensee's wireless network. It might not get everything it asked for, but even one or two concessions would make it much more likely that Google will decide itself to bid for some of the spectrum. If such rules were in effect today, you would be able to buy an iPhone and not be locked into ATT's network. It's nice to see Internet rules finally winning the day... (07/10/07 09:01 PM)

Disruptors Video: Turning Bits Into Atoms (Desktop Factory). This week's New Disruptors video is up. I visited Desktop Factory, an Idealab startup in LA, and interviewed CEO Cathy Lewis as well as Idealab CEO Bill Gross. Most people probably remember Idealab from the 40-some Internet startups it launched in the late 1990s. Those included some duds like eToys. But also some major home runs like CitySearch and GoTo.com (which pioneered the concept of paid-search advertising, became Overture, and was eventually bought by Yahoo). I was surprised to learn that Idealab has a lot of atoms businesses these days (as opposed to bits businesses), including Desktop Factory. Desktop Factory is developing a 3-D printer for the masses. It literally prints out three-dimensional objects made from a gray plastic powder. Most rapid-prototyping machines cost $50,000 and up. When Desktop starts selling its machines later this year, they will cost $5,000. And they eventually want to get them down to $1,000. Not only will more businesses be able to use 3-D printers to iterate their designs faster, but consumers will be able to afford them too. I'm sure this will be a niche business at first, but I can also imagine all of those Second Lifers printing out their avatars and all the virtual clothing, buildings, and vehicles that they already design online. Gross and Lewis want to encourage users to share or sell 3-D CAD designs online, so that people can find objects online to download and print as well. Watch the video. (Full transcript after the break):... (07/06/07 09:00 PM)

Microsoft Plays With P2P TV. Video: LiveStation Demo Microsoft Research (MSFT) and a UK-based company called Skinkers are developing peer-to-peer software called LiveStation for streaming live television over PCs. Think of it as a Slingbox Without the Box. (See demo video above). Except that TV stations would have to sign up to stream their broadcasts over the service. Using P2P networks is the most bandwidth efficient (and least costly) way to deliver video over the Internet. Joost, Babelgum, and Veoh also all use P2P distribution techniques in one form or another. But they all deliver videos that are already stored somewhere (their servers or the computers of their members), as opposed to live streams. I'm not sure how difficult it would be for any of these services to offer live streams as well. It doesn't seem like that big a deal. Joost, for instance, is working on (or already has) the ability to synchronize the streaming of a particular show so that you and all of your friends can watch it at the same time while chatting over Joost. Making that a live stream should be easy enough. The bigger question is: On the Internet, does live TV even matter any more? The TV schedule is a product of the historical limitations of broadcast television, where you have to broadcast the same shows to everyone at the same time. But those limitations are falling away. Even in cable and satellite TV, the growth of pay-per-view and on-demand channels proves that if you give consumers more... (07/06/07 09:01 AM)

Product loyalty: consumers mistake familiarity with superiority. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070605-product-loyalty-consumers-mistake-familiarity-with-superiority.html (06/07/07 09:01 AM)

Succinct Positioning. Five words or less. Use consumer language, not clientese. Follow the 4D rule. These are a few of my guidelines for writing positioning statements that are compelling and executable. Five words or less. See if you can write your own... (04/23/07 09:01 AM)

Free download of ONE chapter. Author Stefan Engeseth today made the first chapter of his upcoming book ONE (about consumer power) available for download. It's well worth a read -- Stefan mixes high and low, deep and shallow. He's the kind of writer that makes you think, whether you agree or not. (04/06/07 09:01 AM)

3 Emotions to Drive Execs to Action. Yesterday I was on a panel for a Forrester bootcamp on Social Media. One of the common questions was how to convince senior management to agree to and resource these new emerging channels and marketing strategies. What moves consumers to action? Emotion. It’s not much different than with executives and managers…you just use data to create those emotions! In my experience, there are three emotions I’ve seen drive executive action: Fear – show the competition is having success with a strategy that you are not. I’m putting this first because fear is the biggest motivator in the human psyche. And the first reaction for executives when they see a competitor doing something successful is to react. I’m not suggesting this is always right, but it’s reality. It’s a call to action event. If a competitor is launching an emerging channel strategy, your executives have to decide to do something or nothing. Use this time to drive a recommended strategy. Excitement – show and prove the revenue impact from such a strategy. Changne resistance is typically due to prioritization and predictability. Corporations, and management in them, have a need to drive predictable growth and mitigate risk. Priorities are driven based on familiarity of strategies that drive confident results. Something that can be proved to drive better results and meet or beat forecast excites executives. Pride – most forward-thinking executives want to be first to market, forward thinking, innovative and cutting edge. Some want this because it is right for the company,... (03/22/07 09:01 AM)

Career Tip #12: Take Bigger Risks. If change is not happening in your organization, it’s 99% probable that the company is on the decline. And if you’re the only one who knows this, start preparing your resignation letter now. Executives who land a high level position, play it safe, and clutch onto high salaries, need to be flushed out of corporate America. They have the triple impact of holding back innovation, sucking profits from bonuses, and demotivating great people who eventually leave. And, by definition, these executives reach a plateau. Whether you’re an executive or not, I suggest you take bigger risks to move your career forward (and for fun). Make big plays. Take initiative for change at a strategic level. Bigger risks help your career because you stand out, differentiate, and accomplish great things. Whether you’re an individual contributor or manager, anyone who takes initiatives and risks can become a leader. They are the ones who are break through the next level. Their reputation is lasting and their contributions are recognized and rewarded over the long haul. Plus, the accomplishments create great soundbytes! At Dell I led a small ‘big change’ team. We were responsible for Dell’s consumer CRM strategy, customer centricity, retail competitive strategy, Hispanic marketing, customer segmentation, and other large projects. All of these initiatives were not part of day to day operations. They had to be invented, sold, implemented and finessed into company operations over time. The challenge for each of team member, from a career perspective, was to get the perspective... (01/17/07 09:00 PM)

Career Tip #10: Go Where There's Margin Growth. The tabloid paparazzi attacks a story they know will sell magazines. Hence you see five tabloid covers at the supermarket all covering Brad and Jennifer’s break up, for example. Similarly, executives swarm around areas of the company that margin dollars. They will focus there, invest there, and grow that area as quickly as they can. And it is there where you can also find career growth. In any company with multiple product lines or divisions there are some parts of the company that have high margin % and/or high revenue growth (preferably both), and some that don’t. For Dell, for example, there’s high margin and high growth in servers, storage, and service. You find lower margin % and lower growth (yet an unfortunate large % of Dell’s revenue) in workstations, desktops, and consumer laptops. Which divisions do you think will hire more people and the best people? Managers in those high margin divisions are growing their career and learning things other companies want. Are you in a position to help your company grow a high margin category? Can you learn a new skill that helps grow a high-margin category? Remember, the ideal situation is high margin % and high revenue growth. If management is smart, they are trying to grow margin dollars (a.k.a. profits). If only 5% of your revenue has high margin % and is growing slower you’re your overall business that’s not the greatest place to be. But if a high margin % part of your company is... (01/17/07 09:00 AM)

Career Tip #7: Connect to a Visible Brand. Sometimes it's helpful to have something recognizable on your resume. My first interview with Dell in early ‘99 was for managing Dell’s Small Business site. I was a finalist with someone who had no online experience. But, she had worked at Coca Cola and Deloitte. So, the small business division ended up choosing her. Fortunately, they liked me enough to refer me to the Consumer division for a peer position. I was hired and enjoyed a prosperous career at Dell. What happened to her? Well, long story short, she didn’t receive her two year appreciation certificate. Did you go to a well-known school, work for a well known company, work on a visible project, or work for a well-respected person? If so, you have an advantage. This is a tip that goes under the “do as I say, not as I do” category. Prior to Dell I helped launch and grow three startups you probably n ever heard of (User Group Connection, ThirdAge.com, Telepost). I appreciate what I learned from these companies, but the names didn’t help open doors. I’ve seen less talented people get through the door because of the brands listed on their resume. As unfortunate as that is, it’s an obvious advantage considered for a job or promotion.... (01/15/07 09:00 AM)

Whale Season. The web hates channel conflict. Actually, it's consumers who hate it. Channel conflict is what happens when a producer doesn't want to favor one retailer over another, or gets stuck because the terms at the effective retail channel conflict with... (12/12/06 08:47 AM)

[Experience Manifesto] MOVIE PLACEMENT CREATES DEMAND FOR NONEXISTENT SHOE. http://blog.brandexperiencelab.org/experience_manifesto/2005/02/movie_placement.html The unpaid inclusion of a nonexistent Adidas shoe in the movie The Life Aquatic has sparked a brisk consumer demand for the product. more...... (12/12/06 08:04 AM)

Search marketing works for B2B, too.. Thanks to a reader, I learned that there was a 'B2B Case Study' session at the recent Search Engine Strategies conference in San Francisco. The article reviewing the session, titled, Search marketing works for B2B, too, starts with this gem:

"Most people assume search marketing works only to reach consumers, but it's actually quite effective for businesses wishing to connect with other businesses, as well."

Um, I'd counter that SEM is more effective for B2B, but I think this comment just shows the lack of knowledge of the author--obviously B2B is off the charts for some folks. The article throws up comments about basic SEM for B2B but this bit is probably of interest B2Blog readers:

"Rick Brown, President of NetTrack closed out the session with a discussion of the effectiveness of paid inclusion in vertical aggregator sites like ThomasNet, GlobalSpec and Industrial Quick Search. Brown articulated his endorsement of such aggregators cautiously, saying that they can bring in relevant traffic as well as provide valuable links to a company's homepage but that many of the metrics such websites use to promote their services (such as "reach," "page views," and "brand activity") don't have much impact on a client's bottom line.

He also noted that the value of the links from content aggregators is highest when the landing page can be controlled and there is a one to one relationship between the product category being searched and the landing page on a firm's website. Brown suggested than firms who invest in paid inclusion on a vertical aggregator site have their own analytics like ClickTracks to determine the value of the traffic coming in from sites like Industrial Quick Search. "

Um, get an analytics program? Duh. What most B2B folks don't do is actually look at the data and ponder its meaning.

One thing that Rick Brown said that is innovative, is that he proposes a 1-to-1 relationship between the seller's landing page and the product categories on the directories. I've opined before that part of the problem with directories is that once the user clicks-thru, they have to start their search over again.

BTW: A rather interesting post by Marketing Headhunter Harry Joiner about a SEO specialist looking for a new job. Key fact: $125-150K pay for specialists at SEO agencies. Wow! (08/28/06 09:03 PM)

Secret product differentiation in a public world. Michael points us to: BBC NEWS | Business | 'Product sabotage' helps consumers. I don't buy the sabatoge part, not at all, but it's interesting to see how the BBC outed Starbucks on one of their secret menu items. (thanks,... (08/25/06 09:03 PM)

Looking at How Feature Articles Can Boost Public Relations. Placing feature articles with appropriate trade, consumer, or business publications is a powerful and effective PR technique. Unlike a news article, which gives a straightforward report of recent ev ...

(08/24/06 09:00 PM)

The Riddler. John Sawatsky of ESPN knows how to ask questions, and he thinks you don't. You need to ask questions every time you interact with a consumer, a job applicant, a co-worker with a great idea or even someone sitting next... (08/14/06 09:03 PM)

CapturePlanning.com is a huge resource for learning about business development and how to win proposals:

Browse hundreds of articles written for the "do it yourself" user that discuss the best practices for winning new business.
Write winning proposals by following the practical advice, formats, and tips in our tutorials and workbooks that will help you get to work immediately, finish faster, and win more business.
Get FREE articles and updates from our best practices newsletter and become part of our extended family. You'll also get free access to our Template Tool and Resource Directory. Join the 68,179 other professionals who hang on our every word :-)