Strategy
1,155 posts
When Subjectivity Wins
Successful brands craft and tell stories for their ideal customers—the people who are ready to hear and believe them.The more subjective we can be in our sales and marketing, the better.
Get Specific To Get More Customers
The more specific you can be about who your work is for and who it’s not for, the better your chances of gaining traction with more people.
Persuade On Purpose, With Purpose
If we’re in the business of making things that change people’s lives for the better, we must master the art of persuasion and help people to make decisions they’re glad about.
Values, Choices And Strategy
Sharing your values, and better, demonstrating them to your customers is a smart strategy. How are you doing that in your business?
The Value Conversation
What’s the value conversation your customer is having?
Do The Unnecessary
A great deal of our work is about doing the necessary, meeting spec and making sure the client got what they paid for. But much of the skill and all of the joy in our work comes from doing the unnecessary.
Say It With Intention
Communication is not just an exchange of information, it’s also an exchange of intention. We’re never just speaking or writing the words to be heard, we’re always trying to make ourselves understood.
Reverse Marketing
Who is the antithesis of your ideal customer? What’s the message you’d share to convince that person never to buy from you? When you can tell that story well, you’ll be something to someone.
Rethinking Customer Loyalty
What if instead of only measuring, rewarding and expecting loyalty, we started measuring how we demonstrate it?
More Vs. Enough
Our culture has taught us that we should multiply our effort to maximise our reward. But a sustainable business—one that is both viable and brings us joy, doesn’t always necessitate exponential growth.
Everything Speaks
The fundamentals don’t garner loyalty. Customers want an experience. People don’t just buy what we serve—they buy how it makes them feel.
A Word About Value
How much is an avocado worth? The answer is, it depends. It depends on the season, the stock levels, how much the customer wants it and the context in which they are buying or consuming it. Buy an avocado from the market, and it might be as little as $2.50. Mash it up, serve it…
Marketing Advice
We’re on our way to buy that forgotten pint of milk late one weekday evening when we spot a brand new restaurant. So, we stop to take a look at the menu in the window. Inside the place is deserted, apart from two smiling waitresses, stationed behind the double glass doors and one anxious owner…
Words And Deeds
When we moved to our neighbourhood, the independent organic grocer was a community hub. The sales staff knew locals by name. The fruit and vegetables were plentiful and fresh. And customers were offered food tastings every day. And then bit by bit things started to change. The owner opened a store i
If You Want To Be Noticed, Start Noticing
We’re always looking for ways to get our customers to notice us. We spend time thinking about what new marketing channels we could explore. We work on strategies to get us more exposure. We test tactics that might improve our reach. What would happen if we shifted some of our energy to noticing our
A Word About Product Market Fit
Successful businesses do great work for good customers.
What Stories Are You Forgetting To Tell?
Often our best stories are the ones that seem insignificant to us. We take the things we do well for granted. We forget that what’s simple to us might be insightful for others. We become accustomed to doing the work without celebrating or showing the results. And that’s a problem. If we don’t articu
Always, Sometimes, Never
Doing our best work requires us to pay attention to the things and people that energise us. One way to do this is to consider categorising potential opportunities, projects or clients into three buckets. Always, sometimes and never. The goal is to do more of the ‘always’ work, on the projects that b
The Power Of A Shared Narrative
Many shoppers wandering the department store on Saturday are browsing. Some are buying. Most people the menswear assistant offers to help, decline. But one or two ask if a particular shirt or jumper is available in their size. The response depends. It depends on three things—the stock levels, the tr
What Can You Learn From Your Competitors?
What’s the story your competitor doesn’t want to tell?
