Good marketing strategies, tried and true, are hard to pin down these days, perhaps because they are hard to articulate in few words.

However, there’s help, from the excellent book Kellogg on Marketing.  In the book you’ll find ten elements of a good marketing strategy.  These elements are receiving a lot of attention by smart people in business.  We’re including them in our client’s marketing plans – and we think you should including them in your plans, as well.  (Here’s the best part: they are easy to understand and measure.)

The table below came from research notes we did for a client back in 2002-3. It proved helpful in focusing the content of boardroom presentations and in preparing various communications.  The attributes are still in play and performing well. We hope this list (and the book) will be helpful to you, too, as you seek to innovate in today’s new market.

Look to see which ones your company has employed is or is working to employ. Which ones have you found to be most effective? Which ones haven’t you pursued that merit attention?  Let me know what you think: zself@appleadv.com.

(more…)

Filed under: Bank Marketing & Advertising, Business At Its Best, Marketing, Small Business Services by Zack Self
No Comments »

“What” you are is one thing. “Who” you are is a whole ‘nother thing.

What you are is functional, it can be bought. But who you are, now there’s something that can’t quite be quantified and priced.   It is that which makes you unique, different. It is that which sets you apart from the competition.  It is, to borrow a phrase, ‘priceless’ because it gives your customers a reason to be loyal to you, even in today’s commodity-driven market.

What people mean to each other is what makes a romance last.
What a business means to its customers is what makes it thrive.

There has been a lot of talk lately of the deterioration of brand value.  The numbers don’t lie, consumers are now moving in unprecedented numbers to ‘generic’ products and services that cost less than ‘premium’ brands.   But, what happens when two similar products are similarly priced?  In that case, the difference is distinguished only by personality. So,… (more…)

Filed under: Advertising, Business At Its Best, Marketing by Zack Self
No Comments »

The act of selling via the new or social media outlets is to market via these channels. That’s why it’s called Social Media Marketing.  Do not let the brand personality of social media keep you from perceiving the opportunity of the medium, which is to enhance and extend your company’s reach, and influence.   This is far easier to say than to successfully accomplish.

Here are some ideas that will help you to achieve your own social media marketing success. (more…)

Filed under: Communication, Marketing, Social Media by Zack Self
1 Comment »