Archive for Marketing and Sales
Capital, Credible and Quotable — Testimonials that Work
Here’s another testimonial that I produced for Red Cap Communications*. Three things to like about this testimonial from Canton Capital’s managing director, Brian Redman: The “$10 to $30+ million” mention shows that Canton Capital is a serious business, which adds instant credibility to their testimonial. Redman shows how Clare is better than others. “I have [...]
Herbert Marcus on the Good Transaction
There is never a good sale for Neiman-Marcus unless it’s a good buy for the customer. –Herbert Marcus, cofounder of Neiman Marcus, speaking to his son in 1926, quoted by Stanley Marcus in Minding the Store (1974), quoted in Simpson’s Contemporary Quotations. See also Selling is Serving.
Advertising Anew
In this business, you can never wash the dinner dishes and say they are done. You have to keep doing them constantly. – Mary Wells Lawrence, advertising executive, on the need for fresh approaches. Time 3 Oct 66, quoted in Simpson’s Contemporary Quotations
Take All the Good Words You Can! — Testimonials that Work
In What Makes You Different?, we got to look at some great words from EMF Film about Clare at Red Cap, emphasizing her two big differentiators: (1) a systematic approach and (2) responsiveness. But what about the other nice things Jayne Winch had to say about Clare Dagin? Do we just throw those away since [...]
Show Me the Money! — Testimonials that Work
Here’s a testimonial that I produced for Bold Interactive, a client and partner in online marketing. I interviewed their client, Pro-Vigil, Inc., and collected the words that counted the most. And what almost always counts the most? Money. Pro-Vigil, Inc. is an innovator in fighting theft and vandalism in the construction industry. When we introduced [...]
“Would You Buy This Car Again?”
I love this J.D. Power and Associates survey question. It’s not the only marketing criterion I can think of, but it’s one of my favorites.
Bulls, Bullring, Bullsh**
It is not the same to talk of bulls as to be in the bullring.–Spanish proverb. Yes, some analysts can give good advice about things they don’t do themselves. But beware the business advisor who speaks with 100% confidence about something they only watch from the sidelines. I help clients with marketing strategy. I think [...]
Bad Marketing
Bad marketing is when you convert someone who doesn’t know you into someone who knows you but doesn’t like you.
“You have to like helping people”
“You have to like helping people.” Today I heard that twice in the span of two hours: the first time from a bridal consultant, and the second time from a hotel concierge. They both love their jobs. They can’t imagine being successful or happy in any service job without having that attitude.
Quadrants, Round 1: Do You Want It? Do You Have It?
Business thinker must have a million 2×2 grids for classifying things. While chatting with my B-school advisor some years ago, I theorized that most business thinking has to get reduced to a 2×2 grid, because people can’t get their minds around anything bigger than what they can draw on a 2-dimensional piece of paper with [...]
