Competition is vying to achieve target customer preference over similar products and services from rivals. The prize is to generate more significant sales, market share, and profit growth to sustain the business enterprise and create brand loyalty. It’s incredible that the word “competition” and the phrase “to be competitive” is frowned upon in more circles […]
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But it is not true that I am self-made. Like everyone, to get to where I am, I stood on the shoulders of giants. My life was built on a foundation of parents, coaches, and teachers; of kind souls who lent couches or gym back rooms where I could sleep; of mentors who shared wisdom […]
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I remember when funding for marketing research, including in-market testing, was classified as “non-working.” It meant that spending on it did not produce a sale. There was no immediate line-of-sight from marketing research directly to sales. Whereas, an ad, sales call, or promotion were expected to work in generating sales in the here and now. […]
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We’re alums of P&G (Procter & Gamble) and both grateful and proud of it. P&G is where we cut our first marketing teeth. The company hired Mike despite his not having an MBA. (He has dual masters’ degrees in English and Human Resources.) They hired me despite an MBA with a concentration in finance, not […]
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Excuse me for being direct, but so many creative briefs are not worth the price of the paper on which they are printed. Andy Langer, Executive Creative Director at BBDO Worldwide, said, “The creative brief is the most important piece of paper at the agency.” It provides direction for him and his creative team in […]
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Attractive and growing margins are signs of a healthy brand, as long as they are not compromising sales and market share performance. They help bolster profit. Moreover, attractive and growing margins—mainly when they are larger than the competition—enable the marketer to reinvest more into the business than competitors whose margins are not as robust. However, […]
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The following is an excerpt from my new book, AVOIDING CRITICAL MARKETING ERRORS: Ho to Go from Dumb to Smart Marketing. It’s taken from Chapter 10: Overstating Your Capabilities and Underestimating the Competition. Learn more here: https://bdn-intl.com/avoiding-critical-marketing-errors Failure may very well come from “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.” Success seems certain. When doesn’t it […]
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(Note: We’re reissuing this DISPATCHES article now consciously. While our content is not a direct analogy, we think the perspective and principles herein apply–to some degree anyway–to our current Covid-19 dilemma/enemy/competitor. Among the many arguments–yes, and finger-pointing accusations–we hear, is that our country struggles so greatly now with the pandemic in great part because we had no serious […]
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While the current coronavirus pandemic and social upheaval are producing massive change, change is a constant variable. As the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, stated more than two-thousand years ago, “You can never step into the same river twice.” Not only do the waters flow ever-changing, but we, too, change moment to moment. Most often, we are […]
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Uncertainty is like a plague. No one wants to get near it. It is uncomfortable to the point of being terribly disturbing, wrecking-havoc on one’s confidence in decision making. Uncertainty makes planning difficult, if not impossible. It disrupts the ability to move forward or move anywhere at all. The coronavirus is an excellent example of […]
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