marketing Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Scott Flood Writing

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.

MAKE YOUR OFFER A REAL DEAL

February 27, 2013 by Scott Flood

One of the best ways to increase response for any type of marketing activity is to make some sort of special offer to the reader. That offer maybe a discount, special pricing, or some sort of bonus available if the reader takes the specified action right now.

Often, when a client is considering using a media outlet that they have not used before, I’ll recommend that they develop an offer to get a better sense of what type of response they can expect from that particular media outlet.

HIT AND RUN MARKETING

January 23, 2013 by Scott Flood

Not long ago, a non-profit organization asked me to come in and perform a bit of tinkering. They had existing materials, such as a website and brochures, but they were fed up with the way things were going. They wanted me to come up with words to describe what they were all about so they could determine the next steps.

I refused to help.

YOU JUST DON’T MATTER

October 31, 2012 by Scott Flood

Many people claim the title of Marketing Guru, but Seth Godin is one of the few who actually deserves it. In a recent TED talk, he said something that everyone who sells to consumers — whether those consumers are ordinary people or business customers — really needs to take to heart.

“Customers don’t care about you at all. They just don’t care. Part of the reason is they’ve got way more choices than they used to and way less time.”

MARKETING IS ABOUT THE HOLES

October 3, 2012 by Scott Flood

I recently re-encountered one of the best descriptive quotes about marketing. Professor Theodore Levitt of Harvard once noted that people don’t care about a quarter-inch drill. “They want a quarter-inch hole.”

It’s a simple concept, but it’s one that’s lost on far too many marketers in all industries. Instead of thinking about the prospective customer’s ultimate need and desire, they focus on their product’s attributes or what they think is most important.

THE LATEST MAGICAL MARKETING TOOL …

August 22, 2012 by Scott Flood

… is one of the oldest in the book. I’ve always been a fan of direct mail (the targeted kind, not the mass junk mail version). And my clients will tell you that I’m quick to recommend it in this age of tweets and suites. In fact, I’ve told audiences that direct mail may even be more effective today, simply because so few companies are using it.

But don’t take my word for it. Lois Geller has been one of the doyennes of direct marketing for decades, and in a recent blog for Forbes, she shares her thoughts on why direct mail continues to outpull most other marketing channels.

CUSTOMERS HAVE THE ANSWERS

May 2, 2012 by Scott Flood

Businesses and organizations often struggle to understand why they’re not performing as well as they’d like. In many cases, the answer is a lot closer than they realize. If they took time to talk with … and genuinely listen to … their customers, they would develop a much stronger understanding of what they’re doing right, and what needs to be improved.

In his landmark book The Customer-Driven Company, Richard Whiteley cites many successful companies that aggressively pursue input from customers, and then build what they’ve learned back into their products and processes.