I caught an episode of “So you think you can dance” on TV the other night. I’m fascinated by what these dancers can do with their bodies and how effortlessly they move through the air. As a martial artist, I envy their body mechanics and incredible athleticism. If only I could move as they do—unfortunately, […]
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If you’re a regular reader of DISPATCHES, you know that from time to time we like to go digging into our brand-building files from yesteryear—with the intention of recalling to mind a timeless principle or two. Since we both spent (and took so much from) our earliest “yesteryears” while at Procter & Gamble, it’s no […]
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This exploration to find an answer to the question of why cheaper is better for the customer would seem to be a no-brainer. The apparent answer is, “duh, it’s cheaper!” However, that’s not the case in all situations. Customers will pay a healthy premium for something because they can, and it bolsters their image. They […]
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The other day I explored “when” cheaper pricing is better—positioning that a competitor claims to be the same as the leader but cheaper. Today’s musing is “why” cheaper pricing is better. Now, I’m not advocating that we compete by being the low-cost choice. In fact, virtually all my clients choose to market their brands with […]
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The saying goes, “you get what you pay for.” The meaning is clear: if it’s cheap, it probably means it’s of poor quality. Or is it? One of the strategies for winning is the promise of “better value.” There are three approaches to creating a perception of better value: 1) value-added—offer more for the same […]
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My wife has begun preparing for our move from the family home despite it being several months into the future. She came across a stack of Approach magazines, which I diligently read a lifetime ago when I was a young Naval Aviator. Approach, a publication of the Naval Safety Center, focuses on Naval and Marine […]
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There’s a place and time for the formal, projectable kind of marketing research. However, the wrong marketing research can put a drag on momentum, suck-up marketing support funding, lead to the wrong conclusions, inaction and even paralyze the organization with useless facts. Marketing research should lead to knowledge. And, knowledge is a practical understanding that leads […]
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“The goal isn’t to do business with people who need what you make; the goal is to do business with people who believe as you believe.” Simon Sinek, TED Video, September 209 We continue to be convinced that the most common and costliest brand positioning blunders occur in targeting. Most common because way too many in […]
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You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself. John Steinbeck I think it is fair to say that we marketers should strive to empathize with our target customers. After all, empathy is about seeing, feeling and understanding what another person is experiencing—from their perspective. It could better lead us to discover legitimate and […]
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Icon – ikon, (noun) an object of uncritical devotion; an emblem, symbolSynonyms: God, hero, idol Another icon passed away. No, not a human icon (such as Lee Iacocca, the subject of my musing in the last blog), but the Volkswagen Beetle bit the dust. The Beetle is the best-selling car of all time. The last […]
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