The Color of Money

No, I'm not talking about the movie with Tom Cruise and Paul Newman; I'm talking about something green - hence, the "color of money" reference - but also tasty.  It's a client I'm working for right now: Kicking Lizard.

Axis and Allies: Part 2

Just to reiterate, this isn't just about a method (ie tactic) that can be used to strike the target market at its core. It's a process that must be followed to achieve maximum marketing effectiveness.

All of your research will lead you to: the INSIGHT. This insight is the key to your campaign; it's the nugget of truth that glows white hot at the center of the marketing plan. An insight is a universal truth that all your customers share as an intrinsic value that they see in your product or service.

It's your Axis and Allies battle cry that trumpets your cause and helps you win the day. Find that insight, and you've found the key to the marketing kingdom.

The insight is what helps to guide and develop the direction of the next step: the strategy.

Glocalization: An Introduction

I've said it before: LinkedIn is a great tool, and my favorite feature is still the "Answers" section. The following answer is one that I gave to this question: "Networking event: What would attract you to an off-line networking event?"

The person who asked the question liked my answer better than the other 18 people who replied to her query.

My answer:
“I agree with other responders when I say that LOCALITY is one key issue for me. Honestly, to get the biggest bang for the attendees, you should do a SERIES of these events all over the country (or world). Make it truly local, with local companies, but global by addressing key business issues of the day. Make it a "glocal" movement by focusing on different local events with a broad, global view and feel. That would draw me to it.”

"Glocal" is one of my favorite marketing words of all time. When I say it, people look at me funny, but it's becoming an important part of how business works; here are some definitions to get you started thinking about it:

A global brand does the following:
- Maintains a uniform strategy.
- Standardizes positioning and image across countries.

Glocal brands:
- Adapt to local markets.
- Don't necessarily share the same characteristics across all markets.

It gets more complicated than these simple definitions, but I'll save the rest for some more posts. For now, just remember that glocal brands focus on localized strategy and tactics with global backing.

Reputation Management

If you've never been to LinkedIn, I'd recommend it as a great professional networking site. My favorite feature is the "Answers" section, where you can offer answers to questions other users have asked, or you can write a question of your own. I recently liked the answer I gave to someone in my network. The question asked about managing companies' reputations. It listed a few agencies that specialize in this area and a link to a blog entry about the subject. Below is my response to the question. I felt it was a pretty good answer, but was apparently NOT the answer the person was looking to receive.

"While any of the companies you've listed could do a good job of attempting to manage a company's brand and reputation, we all must consider something: both the brand and the reputation of a company exist in the minds of consumers. Understanding this fact helps relieve some of the pressure that companies put themselves under. They have no direct control over exactly what people think of them.

"That being said, there is a plethora of ways in which to engage customers, and that includes B2B customers. To start out, any company can do some things that don't require the aid of a specialized agency. The road to a good reputation ALWAYS begins with improved customer service; it's the one sure-fire way to improve the way people think about a business, and it's the one part of the good reputation equation that must be there. Every other strategic improvement will relate to the specific business model, but a company that wants a good reputation in the minds of potential and current customers MUST start with customer service.

"Agencies that advertise that they can 'change your reputation' are guilty of puffery. No amount of dollars spent can change the way people think about you. A good reputation management agency will teach how to manage the current reputation – it’s in the consumers’ minds – and suggest ways that customers can be engaged to help to improve the relationship."