marketing Archives - Scott Flood Writing

Mentioning bad things isn’t necessarily being negative

November 15, 2022 by Scott Flood

Business owners and managers often suffer from a common allergy. When they review copy for a website, blog post, or newsletter and see wording they perceive as negative, they break out in hives. That could be understandable. We’ve long been urged to accentuate the positive and emphasize the good things. Mentioning something that’s negative is … Read more

There’s a human at the other end

August 30, 2022 by Scott Flood

He stared at me through steel-blue eyes, lower lip quivering in some weird kind of suppressed rage or unbridled contempt. I had just broken Rule Number One: I had suggested he might be wrong. “Think I don’t know who my customers are?” he seethed. “We did twelve million in sales last year. You really think … Read more

Using downtime to tidy up your marketing

May 3, 2022 by Scott Flood

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 … Read more

Don’t base your marketing on worst-case scenarios

January 5, 2021 by Scott Flood

When it comes to marketing, one of the most common mistakes I’ve seen companies make is basing their decisions and efforts on whatever troubles them most. It may be an aspect of their product or service about which they’re particularly sensitive. Could be a perceived flaw they worry the competition will exploit. It can even … Read more

Marketing is all about relationships

March 22, 2017 by Scott Flood

No matter how much technology a company uses in its marketing, its chances of success or failure are likely to come down to the organization’s ability to build relationships. That’s usually what effective sales and marketing efforts are all about. You want to build some sort of positive relationship with the prospect or customer, so … Read more

Don’t let automation drive your marketing

November 2, 2016 by Scott Flood

Technology’s impact on the marketing world has been growing exponentially. Each year sees amazing new platforms that give marketers more power and greater opportunities. However, they also create a dangerous temptation to completely eliminate the human role … and with it, do away with common sense. I’ve written about this in the past, pointing to Staples … Read more

THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL TRANSFORM MARKETING

July 12, 2016 by Scott Flood

I’m not big on making grandiose statements, but I’m making this one with a tremendous amount of confidence. If you’re involved in marketing, a company you’ve probably never heard of is using technology in a way that’s going to transform your industry. The July/August 2016 issue of Inc. Magazine includes an article about a company … Read more

THERE IS NO HOLY GRAIL IN MARKETING

March 26, 2014 by Scott Flood

From an early age, our minds are trained to pursue the single answer that’s best for any situation. Whether it’s a question on a math test, a color choice for our living room, a career path, or a religion, we tend to believe that there is one single choice that rules out all others.

But when it comes to marketing, that’s rarely wise. Business owners will try to identify the marketing or advertising strategy that will be most productive for them. They’ll try radio advertising, and when that doesn’t produce the results they want, they’ll switch to sending direct mail, and when that doesn’t create a jump in sales, they’ll buy cable TV commercials, and when that falls short of their expectations, they’ll try a new online strategy … and it goes on and on.

IS IT TIME FOR A NEW MARKETING APPROACH?

March 19, 2014 by Scott Flood

You’re just not pleased with the way things are going. Sales seem to be down, despite that new marketing campaign you launched three months ago. And frankly, you’re tired of it. So toss it aside and come up with something new.

Bad idea. And I say that as someone who profits when companies need brand-new marketing approaches, because it usually means that they need a new website, brochures, advertising — all those things they hire people like me to help them create.