marketing

Leadership vs. Management: Why It Matters to Marketing

I woke up one morning with an awful memory of the most negative, hard to please, fast-paced-without-logic-or-specialized-marketing-knowledge-or-metrics boss I’ve ever had. My pervasive thought was: “You, sir, are the antithesis of a leader.” (Essentially, someone who does not understand leadership vs. management–the differences between them and why it matters.) The internal dialogue continued. “Although you

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Why Hire a Strategic Marketing Consultant?

Business owners, internal marketing stakeholders, and entrepreneurs might benefit from hiring a strategic marketing consultant, but often aren’t aware of the circumstances that would prompt such a decision. Also, there is a lack of understanding about the problems a marketing strategist and consultant can solve, resulting in leaders asking “Why hire a strategic marketing consultant?”

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The Alternative to Firing Your Clients: Better Screening

In my earlier post Firing Customers: Why and How,  I referenced Collapse of Distinction: Stand Out and Move Up While Your Competition Fails. This is a book by Scott McKain and although I haven’t read it yet, he has published an informative article on MarketingProfs.com: Why You Should Fire (Some of) Your Customers.  Herein, he recommends who to

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Start with a Goal

“Start with a goal.” It sounds so simple. And it’s a message that’s so pervasive. Yet putting goal-setting into action can range from being an exercise that begins with positive momentum but becomes difficult to maintain to virtually non-existent due to day-to-day demands.  Nevermind full-on strategic planning, which can be too daunting, misguided, or cumbersome

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Marketing Soapbox: Nonprofits Need to Segment

Nonprofits need segmentation strategies. One of the biggest problems I see as a donor is when I receive mailings and other costly marketing materials (such as gala invites) when I have only donated a small amount to a particular charity. Nonprofit organizations need to understand their markets (i.e., target donor personae) and design communications strategies

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Someone Has to Be the CMO

Many small businesses or even mid-to-large-sized businesses with geographic dispersion have marketing people in-house or at least marketing-minded employees, whether at the top or within the company’s ranks.  But oftentimes, there’s not a dedicated, experienced resource at the C-level.  The lack of a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or equivalent leadership role often results in a task-based

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