Strategy
1,155 posts
Building A Brand Versus Selling A Commodity
Ideas spread, products become irreplaceable, and businesses grow when they stop being mere commodities and have meaning attached to them. It’s not possible to be a brand and a commodity all at once. Customers don’t demonstrate loyalty to commodities but they can fall in love with a brand. PRODUCT-ME
Worrying About The Competition
Rachael showed up for her trial as a part-time dishwasher in a local cafe, donned her apron and was sent into battle alongside Lolita. Lolita who was a fairly recent addition to the staff was worried, the manager had already had a word with her about picking up the pace at busy times. As she…
Perfect
When a Ryanair flight touches down on time a fanfare sounds over the public address system to celebrate the fact. Flights that arrive on time might be cause for celebration for the airline, but that’s no longer enough to delight most passengers. Just twenty years ago when you made an expensive long
What Business Are You In?
More on those $5 roses that you paid $8 for last week….. On the Saturday before Valentine’s day I went shopping for single white rose. The florist had none on display, but when I asked she went into the fridge and pulled out two dozen. “Oh, these are not at their best. You can see…
The Difference Between Value And Valuable
On Saturday a single rose would have cost you $5. Today and tomorrow it’s $8. While you clearly got better value for your dollar on Saturday, the roses are more valuable to you today. Who decides then where the value lies and what’s valuable? The value of your product isn’t just in the price you…
2 Questions To Answer Before Bringing An Idea To Market
1. How does your customer want to feel after she’s bought your product or experienced your service? 2. How are you going to get her there? Image by Renato Targa.
How To Get The Customers You Deserve
You’ve heard a version of this story before. It goes something like this. The customer leaves the restaurant a little disgruntled after a Friday evening dinner. The service had been particularly slow, his table had waited an hour for their meal and the waitstaff hadn’t nipped his complaint in the bu
The Business Buzzword Of 2013 ‘Platform’
Everywhere I look online these days I see people being urged to build a ‘platform’. The modern day platform is a digital connection to potential customers, contacts, followers or fans. A platform then is a tool and a tactic. There are plenty of consultants willing to help you with the ‘how to’ of bu
Could Your Customers Find You Blindfolded?
When I first watched the video below about Silver Moon Bakery I shed a tear. I love the line where (spoiler alert) Judith the owner says; “You have to love what you do, or at least enjoy it. Unless you have no choice in life and you have to do this because it’s the only…
Something To Lose
The solitary guy who sets up shop in his garage or carves out a space at the local cafe to use as an office has nothing to lose. He can tell his friends that he’s following his passion, that it might not work but he’s giving it a go anyway. Not so easy to be…
On Being Noticed
You want your brand, your business or your cause to be noticed, but have you considered what you’d actually do with the attention if it came flooding in? What would you do if Oprah called? What would happen if you were featured in that publication of your wildest dreams? What then? How would you pre
Different, Because
We are different because ———————. We are the only one that does ———————. How are you different and why does that matter to your customers? Image by Evive.
10 Questions To Help You With Your Pricing Strategy
When my family and I were in Venice recently we decided to take a seat in a tiny Cafe in St Marks Square and ordered four hot drinks (anyone who has holidayed in Italy knows what’s coming next!). There was nothing remarkable about the coffee but we walked out half an hour later having paid…
5 Questions You Need To Ask About Your Ideal Client
1. Who is she? What’s her backstory? What makes her who she is? (Hint…she may not be you). 2. What does her typical day look like? How does she spend her time and where (both online and offline)? 3. What does she care about? What inspires and informs her? What motivates her to act? 4.…
The Secret To Spreading Ideas
I recently had the opportunity to share an idea I care about thanks to the team at TEDx Perth. The talk went live online two days ago. I hope it helps you to spread the ideas that you care about. Image by Sally Jarvis at TEDxPerth
There’s Only One Way To Get A Different Outcome
We should have known as soon as we walked in. The place was empty, not a soul in sight apart from two lone waiters who pounced. Every other breakfast place in the city was teeming with life and overflowing with plates of over easy eggs. This place was dead. We stayed because we didn’t have…
Buy Versus Buy Into
Don’t be the brand that people buy. Be the one they ‘buy into’. Image by Peter Morgan.
What Don’t You Do?
It’s easy to rattle off the features of your product or benefits of your service. Which means it’s not hard for the competition to do that too. Far more difficult to stand for something and be willing to stand out because of what you don’t do. It turns out that time and again telling the…
Anticipation Is Your Point Of Differentiation
Brand new guest rooms, sleek kitchenettes, minibars and bright, new bathrooms were only the start of the boutique hotel’s story. The ‘dream pillow menu’ gave me six choices from buckwheat to hypo-allergenic, duck down to Swedish memory foam. And yet…..there was no chance of an early check in after a
What Your Clients Need Now
They need you to ask the right questions, not to have all the answers. They need your generosity, not jargon. They need the truth. They need what works for them, not what makes you look good. They need faith in you and your intention. They need to be empowered more than they need to be…
