I wonder if you can answer a very simple question about your business. Do you do a good job? By that, I mean do you accomplish what you set out to do for your customers and clients? Do you provide more value than your competitors offer? Are your customers better off because they work with […]
After six months of tireless effort, your company’s new website has been launched, and you’re ready to announce it to the world. That’s probably a waste of your time. Hey, I get it. Everyone’s worked hard, and you’ve invested a small fortune into the process. Your new site is quite impressive, and you’re deservedly proud. […]
Most people don’t agonize about how communication works. We simply do it. If we leave agonizing to the academics, we can break communication into three parts. There’s the composition of what’s going to be communicated, the delivery of that message, and its reception by another party. As a writer who helps companies and other organizations […]
Every business has its slower moments. When they happen, instead of trying to find ways to kill time, use the opportunity to tidy up your website and other marketing materials and toss out the obsolete trash. That way, they’ll be updated when things get busy again. I rarely find websites that wouldn’t benefit from a […]
Remember when we started it? It was so exciting. The company was finally going to let customers know everything that was important. Each department had to contribute something. Management agonized for hours over the name. Sales came up with key customers to profile. The graphic designer presented a breathtaking layout. Finally, 20,000 emails arrived on […]
Marketing tools emanate from a variety of sources, but only white papers can trace their history back to one of history’s most consequential figures. During the 1920s, the United Kingdom faced some tricky political issues in the Middle East. Then a Member of Parliament, Winston Churchill asked his staffers to develop a paper exploring the […]
Many people will tell you there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Yes, there are questions that trigger involuntary eye-rolling. Sometimes they’re questions we’ve heard ten times too often. Sometimes they’re just plain dumb. But when it comes to communicating with prospects and customers, stupid questions are often a remarkably deep source of wisdom. […]
In the hundreds of hours I’ve devoted to waiting on hold for people, I’ve listened to many messages that are nothing short of torturous. I’m not talking about reminders that I’m being kept on hold because my business is incredibly important – the problem usually shows up in the sales messages that pop up every […]
Just as each generation believes it’s the first to discover the joy of sex, marketers and managers who stumble upon the power of storytelling often believe they’ve unearthed an extraordinary innovation. In reality, they’re simply learning what generations of their predecessors already knew and successfully employed. I chuckle every time I see a marketer promoting […]
If you think sending a more powerful message is the best way to get a rise out of your audience, you’re probably wrong. Oh, it’s a popular request, and people tend to equate popularity with effectiveness – just look at most presidential elections. But following the herd is rarely the most intelligent approach, and that’s […]
