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Casual Articles - Business Growth: The Five Rules that Goliath Forgot
Direct Mail Marketing and Customer Coupon Addictions
Many times small-business people complain that their direct-mail marketing advertising is working too good and that everyone who comes in seems to have a coupon and no one seems to be coming in who doesn't have a coupon. There could be a couple different reasons for this.One reason could be that your customer service is very lousy and even though you bring in new customers no one ever comes back. But the second reason is probably the most likely and that is that you use direct-mail marketing so often and so much that people only come in when they get the coupon in the mail, which they expect every week or two times per month, so they wait for it.If this is happening to you perhaps you need to limit how much you give away on your coupons and slowly break your customer's coupon addictions. You want the customer to be addicted to your great service and or your products and services, not the coupons that you send out in the mail.The objective of direct-mail marketing is to get the customer in to buy from you and introduce them to your business. Then get them to come back and shop with you more often. But if you consistently send out coupons, they will simply wait until the coupon comes in the mail to come and shop with you.This does not help your business very much, as it costs you money to give away discounts, send out the direct-mail advertising and you're not getting a long-term benefit that you need for the ongoing vitality and success of your business. Please consider all this in 2006.
markets it helped to create.Many times small-business people complain that their direct-mail marketing advertising is working too good and that everyone who comes in seems to have a coupon and no one seems to be coming in who doesn't have a coupon. There could be a couple different reasons for this.One reason could be that your customer service is very lousy and even though you bring in new customers no one ever comes back. But the second reason is probably the most likely and that is that you use direct-mail marketing so often and so much that people only come in when they get the coupon in the mail, which they expect every week or two times per month, so they wait for it.If this is happening to you perhaps you need to limit how much you give away on your coupons and slowly break your customer's coupon addictions. You want the customer to be addicted to your great service and or your products and services, not the coupons that you send out in the mail.The objective of direct-mail marketing is to get the customer in to buy from you and introduce them to your business. Then get them to come back and shop with you more often. But if you consistently send out coupons, they will simply wait until the coupon comes in the mail to come and shop with you.This does not help your business very much, as it costs you money to give away discounts, send out the direct-mail advertising and you're not getting a long-term benefit that you need for the ongoing vitality and success of your business. Please consider all this in 2006.
The newcomer -- David Inc -- is growing the market and taking share. Four years ago, they launched a range of products called ‘Dinc’. At first they sold through specialist outlets; last year they began selling through major retailers; now Dinc is growing its segment at the premium end of the mark
How Much Drama Do You Need In Your Job?
I know a lot of people who simply can’t hold down conventional jobs.Ok, many are artists of one sort or another; painters, actors, designers, writers, and speakers.To them, a typical nine-to-five gig looks like a set from “Dawn of The Dead.” Actually, it’s worse, because there’s at least some excitement, some mystery, some juiciness in a setting where the undead feed on the living.In a typical office, there are no “living,” according to my friends.They need more from what they do. They need drama, for lack of a better word.Drama can come in many forms.For example, you can be a salesperson and have lots of drama. A realtor never knows when she’ll get her next listing, or close her next sale, but when she does, she cashes in, big time!That’s dramatic.A waiter can earn big and small tips and no tips at all. He can serve the rich and famous or the down and out. There’s some excitement in that, and especially on those evenings when the chef is throwing knives around because his pet cat hasn’t come home in four days.I co-hosted a radio show the other day, for an hour. It was dramatic, because I was in the studio, and we had to handle calls, squeeze in news, weather, and traffic, and pay for it all by running commercials. Happily, all I had to be was an expert commentator.But it was dramatic, especially when someone called in with a question I never expected.I noticed that the rank and file at the studio, the account executives and clerical people were a tad spunkier than their counterparts at, say, financial companies.Why is this? They’re doing, essentially, the same work.They’re mo
Most big businesses are less agile than their smaller counterparts. Often, it’s smaller, nimble companies that spot the opportunity in the market. The big corporation lumbers along a couple of years later. By that time, the opportunity has vanished or it’s been locked up.I know a lot of people who simply can’t hold down conventional jobs.Ok, many are artists of one sort or another; painters, actors, designers, writers, and speakers.To them, a typical nine-to-five gig looks like a set from “Dawn of The Dead.” Actually, it’s worse, because there’s at least some excitement, some mystery, some juiciness in a setting where the undead feed on the living.In a typical office, there are no “living,” according to my friends.They need more from what they do. They need drama, for lack of a better word.Drama can come in many forms.For example, you can be a salesperson and have lots of drama. A realtor never knows when she’ll get her next listing, or close her next sale, but when she does, she cashes in, big time!That’s dramatic.A waiter can earn big and small tips and no tips at all. He can serve the rich and famous or the down and out. There’s some excitement in that, and especially on those evenings when the chef is throwing knives around because his pet cat hasn’t come home in four days.I co-hosted a radio show the other day, for an hour. It was dramatic, because I was in the studio, and we had to handle calls, squeeze in news, weather, and traffic, and pay for it all by running commercials. Happily, all I had to be was an expert commentator.But it was dramatic, especially when someone called in with a question I never expected.I noticed that the rank and file at the studio, the account executives and clerical people were a tad spunkier than their counterparts at, say, financial companies.Why is this? They’re doing, essentially, the same work.They’re mo
But there’s an irony here. And it’s this. Most large companies don’t just pop into existence. They are small businesses that have survived and thrived. So, for at least part of their history, they knew what it took to grow and to change – to create and dominate markets.
As companies mature, they concentrate on being big. They put processes and procedures in place. They form committees to create policy. They appoint planning task groups. They forget how they used to think and behave.
And as a result, they slow down. They become less innovative and more defensive. They find growth harder to come by. And their core markets are threatened by changing consumer demands, by new business approaches, and by niche competitors.
Consider these two businesses. Goliath Worldwide has good people, huge budgets, and decades of experience. It launched a series of successful brands in the 1950s and 1960s, and then went international in the 1970s. In the 1990s, they cut costs and returned to the core. Now it’s struggling, even in the markets it helped to create.
The newcomer -- David Inc -- is growing the market and taking share. Four years ago, they launched a range of products called ‘Dinc’. At first they sold through specialist outlets; last year they began selling through major retailers; now Dinc is growing its segment at the premium end of the marke
Surviving Office Politics
It’s your first month in a new position and it’s rougher going than you’d anticipated. You feel like an outsider and you’re miserable.Pondering how this happened, you nostalgically recall how comfortable and well- liked you felt in your last job.Not only do you possess the requisite skills to do well in your new position, you’ve also built a solid reputation in this field. Yet, you are floundering. Badly.It’s not the actual work that is driving you crazy; you like the work. Even the long hours are not the problem.It’s the emotional undercurrents, gossiping and backstabbing thickening the air that you find exhausting.You can’t seem to find your feet and get traction in your new environment. And people have started to notice and are making comments.What the heck is going on here?Welcome to the world of office politics.Here are tips to help you survive and thrive:• Find a mentor – either inside or outside the company. A mentor can offer advice, counsel and act as a sounding board. Getting objective, professional support is crucial.• Take notice of who performs well in your company. Observe their use of language, tone of voice, confidence level, and preparedness. Learn from their behavior and emulate it.• Don’t complain, gossip or join in backstabbing conversations. Kvetching will get you nowhere.• Learn to read the company’s culture. How do people dress and speak? What is the company’s mission statement? How is it reflected in the workplace and in the treatment of employees? For example, if you work for an environment
large companies don’t just pop into existence. They are small businesses that have survived and thrived. So, for at least part of their history, they knew what it took to grow and to change – to create and dominate markets.It’s your first month in a new position and it’s rougher going than you’d anticipated. You feel like an outsider and you’re miserable.Pondering how this happened, you nostalgically recall how comfortable and well- liked you felt in your last job.Not only do you possess the requisite skills to do well in your new position, you’ve also built a solid reputation in this field. Yet, you are floundering. Badly.It’s not the actual work that is driving you crazy; you like the work. Even the long hours are not the problem.It’s the emotional undercurrents, gossiping and backstabbing thickening the air that you find exhausting.You can’t seem to find your feet and get traction in your new environment. And people have started to notice and are making comments.What the heck is going on here?Welcome to the world of office politics.Here are tips to help you survive and thrive:• Find a mentor – either inside or outside the company. A mentor can offer advice, counsel and act as a sounding board. Getting objective, professional support is crucial.• Take notice of who performs well in your company. Observe their use of language, tone of voice, confidence level, and preparedness. Learn from their behavior and emulate it.• Don’t complain, gossip or join in backstabbing conversations. Kvetching will get you nowhere.• Learn to read the company’s culture. How do people dress and speak? What is the company’s mission statement? How is it reflected in the workplace and in the treatment of employees? For example, if you work for an environment
As companies mature, they concentrate on being big. They put processes and procedures in place. They form committees to create policy. They appoint planning task groups. They forget how they used to think and behave.
And as a result, they slow down. They become less innovative and more defensive. They find growth harder to come by. And their core markets are threatened by changing consumer demands, by new business approaches, and by niche competitors.
Consider these two businesses. Goliath Worldwide has good people, huge budgets, and decades of experience. It launched a series of successful brands in the 1950s and 1960s, and then went international in the 1970s. In the 1990s, they cut costs and returned to the core. Now it’s struggling, even in the markets it helped to create.
The newcomer -- David Inc -- is growing the market and taking share. Four years ago, they launched a range of products called ‘Dinc’. At first they sold through specialist outlets; last year they began selling through major retailers; now Dinc is growing its segment at the premium end of the mark
Thomas Edison And Invention Process
IntroductionVery often people are curious as to whether there is a certain methodology that successful inventors are following that can be adopted by others. In my opinion, one should look no further then Thomas Edison, one of the greatest minds of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries; inventor who gave the world a long-lasting light bulb and phonograph – just a few inventions that revolutionized and modernized our world. In fact, Edison patented 1,093 Inventions in US alone, not counting numerous patents obtained in European countries like Germany, France and England.Edison And His MethodologySo, what methodology did Thomas Edison follow when he worked on his numerous ideas? Many researchers and bibliographers who studied Edison’s life claim that the famed inventor didn’t use systematic approach while working on his ideas; in fact, many claim that Edison favored the so-called random approach. In my opinion, above mentioned claims are misleading and should be taken with big grain of salt.Thomas Edison never rushed into conclusions and methodically studied any available literature on the topic he was working. Edison once wrote the following –“When I want to discover something, I begin by reading up everything that has been done along that line in the past - that's what all these books in the library are for. I see what has been accomplished at great labor and expense in the past. I gather data of many thousands of experiments as a starting point, and then I make thousands more.”Respect the Work of OthersOne can clearly see that Thomas Edison had the uttermost respect for the researchers who worked before him, either s
rm committees to create policy. They appoint planning task groups. They forget how they used to think and behave.IntroductionVery often people are curious as to whether there is a certain methodology that successful inventors are following that can be adopted by others. In my opinion, one should look no further then Thomas Edison, one of the greatest minds of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries; inventor who gave the world a long-lasting light bulb and phonograph – just a few inventions that revolutionized and modernized our world. In fact, Edison patented 1,093 Inventions in US alone, not counting numerous patents obtained in European countries like Germany, France and England.Edison And His MethodologySo, what methodology did Thomas Edison follow when he worked on his numerous ideas? Many researchers and bibliographers who studied Edison’s life claim that the famed inventor didn’t use systematic approach while working on his ideas; in fact, many claim that Edison favored the so-called random approach. In my opinion, above mentioned claims are misleading and should be taken with big grain of salt.Thomas Edison never rushed into conclusions and methodically studied any available literature on the topic he was working. Edison once wrote the following –“When I want to discover something, I begin by reading up everything that has been done along that line in the past - that's what all these books in the library are for. I see what has been accomplished at great labor and expense in the past. I gather data of many thousands of experiments as a starting point, and then I make thousands more.”Respect the Work of OthersOne can clearly see that Thomas Edison had the uttermost respect for the researchers who worked before him, either s
And as a result, they slow down. They become less innovative and more defensive. They find growth harder to come by. And their core markets are threatened by changing consumer demands, by new business approaches, and by niche competitors.
Consider these two businesses. Goliath Worldwide has good people, huge budgets, and decades of experience. It launched a series of successful brands in the 1950s and 1960s, and then went international in the 1970s. In the 1990s, they cut costs and returned to the core. Now it’s struggling, even in the markets it helped to create.
The newcomer -- David Inc -- is growing the market and taking share. Four years ago, they launched a range of products called ‘Dinc’. At first they sold through specialist outlets; last year they began selling through major retailers; now Dinc is growing its segment at the premium end of the mark
Time for A Marketing Tune-up
If you have been in business any length of time, I can assure you that habits, not conscious thought, are guiding your marketing actions. Many business people are great optimists, or they probably wouldn’t have gotten into the game to begin with. They keep doing everything they’ve ever done in the hope that one day it will produce results. STOP! It’s time to get the brain back in the game!If you are like most people, each time you come across a new marketing idea you add it to your existing approach. You never think to weed out the approaches which haven’t yielded any fruit yet. You just keep adding more. Time for that to change!Marketing strategies and actions tend to accumulate. They hang around and continue to siphon off time from your day (even when they may not be working as well as you'd like). We get into habits of actions. Seldom do we take time in our busy schedule to really assess how we are spending our time.To improve your marketing, you'll need to clean out some old ways of working.Start to make this a habit. Every week, at a minimum, schedule time in your busy day for a marketing tune-up. Ask yourself the following questions during that tune-up:1)What’s working in my current marketing efforts?2)What’s not working at all?3)What’s not working as well as it should and how can I improve it?What’s Working?These showed be hard to find. They are all the marketing actions you are taking which are successfully getting your name in print, driving traffic to your website or blog, making the phone ring, and selling product.What will we do about these? Keep doing them! In fact, is there a way to e
nd by niche competitors.If you have been in business any length of time, I can assure you that habits, not conscious thought, are guiding your marketing actions. Many business people are great optimists, or they probably wouldn’t have gotten into the game to begin with. They keep doing everything they’ve ever done in the hope that one day it will produce results. STOP! It’s time to get the brain back in the game!If you are like most people, each time you come across a new marketing idea you add it to your existing approach. You never think to weed out the approaches which haven’t yielded any fruit yet. You just keep adding more. Time for that to change!Marketing strategies and actions tend to accumulate. They hang around and continue to siphon off time from your day (even when they may not be working as well as you'd like). We get into habits of actions. Seldom do we take time in our busy schedule to really assess how we are spending our time.To improve your marketing, you'll need to clean out some old ways of working.Start to make this a habit. Every week, at a minimum, schedule time in your busy day for a marketing tune-up. Ask yourself the following questions during that tune-up:1)What’s working in my current marketing efforts?2)What’s not working at all?3)What’s not working as well as it should and how can I improve it?What’s Working?These showed be hard to find. They are all the marketing actions you are taking which are successfully getting your name in print, driving traffic to your website or blog, making the phone ring, and selling product.What will we do about these? Keep doing them! In fact, is there a way to e
Consider these two businesses. Goliath Worldwide has good people, huge budgets, and decades of experience. It launched a series of successful brands in the 1950s and 1960s, and then went international in the 1970s. In the 1990s, they cut costs and returned to the core. Now it’s struggling, even in the markets it helped to create.
The newcomer -- David Inc -- is growing the market and taking share. Four years ago, they launched a range of products called ‘Dinc’. At first they sold through specialist outlets; last year they began selling through major retailers; now Dinc is growing its segment at the premium end of the mark
The Art of Persuasion
Man-1: I came here for a good argument! Man-2: Ah, no you didn't, you came here for an argument! Man-1: An argument isn't just contradiction. Man-2: Well, it CAN be! Man-1: No it can't! An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition. Man-2: No it isn't! - Monty PythonINTRODUCTIONThis is a subject near and dear to my heart. As a graduate of the College of Communications at Ohio University, I studied interpersonal communications which I found fascinating and has served me well in my business career. Currently, I see very little emphasis on sharpening the speaking skills of students. High Schools typically spend little time in this area, as do the colleges (aside from Communications schools such as OU's). Consequently, we are developing a generation of dysfunctional people in the work place who do not know how to work with other people.Key to speech is the art of persuasion which is needed in order to lead people, sell ideas or products, conduct negotiations, and to simply argue a point. Instead of calm rhetorical discourse though, I've observed heated arguments in the board room, in the office, and life in general, with personal relationships becoming casualties of such debate. This was very obvious in the last presidential election, as well as in Congress today.A substantial part of the problem is that people do not grasp the fundamentals of persuasion. To some it comes easily, to others it is difficult to assimilate. First, we have to understand that formulating a persuasive speech is hard work. For example, Winston Churchill was
markets it helped to create.Man-1: I came here for a good argument! Man-2: Ah, no you didn't, you came here for an argument! Man-1: An argument isn't just contradiction. Man-2: Well, it CAN be! Man-1: No it can't! An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition. Man-2: No it isn't! - Monty PythonINTRODUCTIONThis is a subject near and dear to my heart. As a graduate of the College of Communications at Ohio University, I studied interpersonal communications which I found fascinating and has served me well in my business career. Currently, I see very little emphasis on sharpening the speaking skills of students. High Schools typically spend little time in this area, as do the colleges (aside from Communications schools such as OU's). Consequently, we are developing a generation of dysfunctional people in the work place who do not know how to work with other people.Key to speech is the art of persuasion which is needed in order to lead people, sell ideas or products, conduct negotiations, and to simply argue a point. Instead of calm rhetorical discourse though, I've observed heated arguments in the board room, in the office, and life in general, with personal relationships becoming casualties of such debate. This was very obvious in the last presidential election, as well as in Congress today.A substantial part of the problem is that people do not grasp the fundamentals of persuasion. To some it comes easily, to others it is difficult to assimilate. First, we have to understand that formulating a persuasive speech is hard work. For example, Winston Churchill was
The newcomer -- David Inc -- is growing the market and taking share. Four years ago, they launched a range of products called ‘Dinc’. At first they sold through specialist outlets; last year they began selling through major retailers; now Dinc is growing its segment at the premium end of the market, and it’s seen as a ‘must-have’ brand by the retailers.
Somewhere along the line, while Goliath was growing so successfully, it was also losing sight of the things which made it work. What has Goliath forgotten that David is doing right -– and can Goliath learn to be agile again?
Forgotten Rule One. Spend extraordinary amounts of time with your customers.
Goliath Limited conducts plenty of market research. Their agency filters the results and presents them to the marketing team each month. The marketing team selectively publishes research results via email on a quarterly basis. Most of the emails are unread.
David Inc's managers just spend time with their customers, at least half a day each week, whether it’s watching them in stores, shadowing them in everyday life, or observing them in focus groups.
You may believe that David’s approach is unproductive. But what could be more unproductive than working without a deep knowledge of what your ultimate customer wants?
Here’s an example. Michele Ferrero, the late boss of Ferrero (one of the largest confectionery businesses in the world) used to spend two days every week just watching shoppers. He created a steady stream of hugely successful new products (including Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tac and the Kinder Egg) which have
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