Service Contracts

Since moving into my new house, I have had the occasion to work with a couple of companies using service contractors and one using its own staff. In each instance, the experience has been fine. Using contractors for your in-home service work makes sense in the right situations:

The contractors’ vision and mission aligns [...]

The Challenge of Segmentation

Segmentation is a difficult thing to wrangle sometimes. When internet-based sales starting picking up steam ten years ago, people weren’t sure how to respond, though the thought process really shouldn’t have been much different than for catalog sales. The main difference is that the catalog was now online and accessible to anyone who [...]

Make It Important to Them

While attending a conference this week, there was some discussion about how to bring other people along on projects, particularly when you need them for your success. I immediately thought of a post I wrote last month called “Our Own Bias”. Then, I saw this post, titled “Brand confluence beats brand influence” from [...]

Maintaining Your Identity in a Partnership

One of the main changes we face when we marry is a change in our identity. That same identity changes even more when kids enter the picture. Notice I said change and not loss. It’s an important distinction, because you still are who you are, just in a different context that includes [...]

The Choices We Make

I know that I am exactly where I am because of certain choices I have made. Some of those I can trace back nearly 20 years. Certainly others’ choices have factored into it. But how I chose to respond, behave and act put me on one path or another.

The same is true [...]

Do We Really Believe the Customer Is in Charge?

Wherever you look, more and more people are writing about how the customer is now in charge of the conversation between buyer and seller. We point to the internet in general and web 2.0 tools in particular. We note the range of choices for consumers and the intense competition that creates among companies. [...]

Going Retro

I was listening to REM’s newest CD (which is excellent, by the way) and was struck by some of the acid-rock-influenced tracks. That reminded me of the 70s influence throughout Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky from last year. Some of you out there might say that you should expect as much from 40-ish rockers. [...]

Your Product Mix Depends on Your Sales Channel

In a meeting with a CEO earlier this week, we discussed changes happening at his company. One coming changes involved his sales presence on the internet. Like most products that sell through retailers, his ended up on various internet stores beyond his control. Instead of fighting it, he’s looking at how to [...]

Citizen Brand Managers?

Businesses rely on their customers for long-term success. I know that is a pretty obvious statement. In this post, though, I want to discuss the manner in which we rely on them, beyond the need for customers to buy our stuff.

News outlets use citizen journalists for different story angles and helping fill in [...]

Limited Supplies or Found Everywhere

How can I launch thee? Let me count the ways.

When it comes right down to it, your launch strategy is going to be based on one of two basic strategies. One is a scarcity tactic, which varies from initially available in only one market (Coors, Starbucks) to out-of-stocks (iPhone, Wii) to exclusive segments [...]