I was recently visiting an established client and saw the opportunity to “drop In” on a potential client that I had been repeatedly trying to contact. Why wouldn’t you, I hear you ask? I approached reception and introduced myself and asked to speak to the principal of the college (let’s call her Bernie for anonymity’s sake) […]
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Marketing Spend in 2015
There’s no better time than the New Year to bring fresh ideas to your business. Last year we saw the rise of crowdfunding, the announcement of exciting wearable technologies, and a continued effort to engage customers through social media and mobile. It was a year of thrilling trends in consumer development. How many times have […]
Digitizing Your Business Model
What, another clarion call urging executives to fundamentally rethink their business models through digital technology? The business media have had no shortage of these. Many such bulletins focus on radically changing the nature of competition in an industry, as Apple did for music and Uber did for taxis. While there is certainly merit in questioning […]
Our One-on-one with the World Leading Expert on Family-owned Businesses, Don Schwerzler
Don Schwerzler is arguably the world’s leading expert on family business. In fact, he has been working and advising in this field since 1967, a track record of almost half a century. Don has been published in many leading business magazines, newspapers, and trade magazines. He is also the founder of the Family Business Institute and runs […]
Delivery Innovations for e-Commerce in 2015
Changes and improvements in parcel delivery options will give a boost to e-commerce sites in 2015, according to a new report by Fastlane International. The internet retail delivery and international parcel market is poised for some “significant developments” next year, including increased delivery options, the growth of Sunday and same-day delivers, better ‘signature’ proof systems […]
Make eWoM Work for You
Marketing professionals know that social media marketing is word-of-mouth selling multiplied by a million. Philosophically, electronic word-of-mouth (eWoM) is a logical context for any marketing campaign, but practically, implementing eWoM so that it drives web traffic and convertible sales is another matter. We Are All Connected In an article published in the journal of Business […]
An in-depth Q&A on Social Media
Social media–it’s a hot topic. Much has been written about how important social media is, how to measure it, the pitfalls of doing it, and how it will transform marketing as we know it. What has been missing from these social media discussions is how companies can leverage social media to better understand consumers and […]
Formulating Breakthrough Strategy and the Making of the Damascene Sword
The making of the Damascene, the Samurai, or the Viking sword, took time. Each blade was meticulously shaped by hand into hundred layers of steel. This was the secret of its superiority. Each blade was also special and unique due to the passion involved in the making. This was the case over 1000 years ago, because […]
Selling the Solution, Not the Product
Selling can be sleazy when it’s manipulative. “Let me convince you to do something, so I’ll get what I want.” If you want to grow your business, and feel good about yourself at the same time, it’s necessary to change the way you think about “selling.” Everyone buys things. If you provide a product or […]
The Most Common Sales Fallacies
For many years, I have struggled and beaten off my competition through hard work and failures. I have read many books and many articles on how to be the best Salesman or the Best Marketer and have tried implementing all the advice. I am sick to death of all of these How-To guides and the […]
Innovators or Sheep?
Have you ever notice that so many companies want to be visionary? Able to predict future products and services you need; but yet they also say they respond to market demand by being market-driven. Seems to me that’s an oxymoron. Can you be both market-driving and market-driven? To disruptively break free from reactive business strategy […]
Who Is the Customer and Why Are They Different?
Editor’s Note: The author is an expert and practitioner of the growth strategy framework, Delta Model. The Delta Model is based on the teachings of MIT professors Dean Wilde and Arnoldo Hax. It aims to change your strategic thinking, identify new sources of revenue, and transform your overall organization. This article is based on the business principles taught […]