spreading ideas
846 posts
Different Kinds Of Doing
You have probably sent a few important emails today. Maybe you blasted through a list of to-dos before morning coffee, or followed up on tasks you have outsourced? There’s no denying that ‘doing’ feels good. But there are different kinds of ‘doing’. There’s the ‘doing’ that makes us feel like we are
A Brand Of Magic
The chairs were out of stock. A delivery was expected some time in December, it might clear customs by January. The sales assistant described the import logistics and company policy. She detailed the 55% deposit terms on all orders placed and made sure to add her name to the written quotation the cu
The Business You Want
If I asked you to describe the business you really want you’d probably find it hard. Here’s why. We have conditioned ourselves to pay attention to popular metrics of success and we often don’t want to make the sacrifices or the compromises it takes to achieve them. It’s akin to wanting Jennifer Anis
The Downside Of Adopting An Umbrella Marketing Mindset
The fledgling entrepreneur is embarking on a career in travel. She has just completed her training and is aiming to abandon the 9 to 5 and earn a great living selling discounted flights and cheap hotel rooms. Today though she is working her day job at the beauty salon so she can pay the rent.…
In Praise Of Intangible Value
What did they do to create value? Design a new portable music player or give you 1,000 songs in your pocket? Serve coffee at $4 a cup or become ‘the third place’? Create a platform where people can rent a room or make them feel like they belong anywhere? Start a photo printing service or…
What Change Are You Making?
The sales assistant at the pop up boutique glowed. She enthusiastically pulled things one at a time from the rails to show to the customer. “These pants will change your life,” she said. I thought that was a huge claim to make about what seemed like an unremarkable pair of trousers, but when the wom
Problem/Product Fit
Before you write the code, buy the domain name, design the logo, rent the office space or print the business cards ask yourself these questions. 5 questions for every entrepreneur to answer 1. Who is your customer? 2. What does she want to do, but can’t? 3. How exactly does your product or service h
Who Do You Think Your Customers Are?
It was a beautiful spring day in one of the most coveted (and expensive), Melbourne suburbs to live (and buy a home) in. The tree-lined streets were beginning to sprout pink blossoms and the afternoon sun warmed the porches of restored Victorian homes. There on one of those porches, behind a well-ke
3 Things Your About Page Should Do
Writing an about page for your website is hard. The reason we get stuck is because we worry about what we need to write, instead of focusing on why we need to write it in the first place. Remember it’s less about blowing your trumpet or filling whitespace with information and more about helping your
The Best Brand Stories
The best brand stories…. Are experienced and felt. Create affinity, not simply awareness. Are perceived in micro-moments that are remembered, long after what’s pitched is forgotten. Give people ways to belong, not just reasons to choose. Are less about what the brand says and more about how the cust
How All Marketing Should Be
This is the story of two homes that are for sale. “Elegantly renovated, exclusive address. This gracious residence set amid professionally landscaped gardens (approx 600sqm), close to schools and parks, offers formal sitting room, expansive living dining, flowing onto the verandah……” You get the ide
How Will We Get Them To Like Us?
A more important question to ask and answer is: “Why should they like us?” You can’t ask people to believe in your story without giving them something to believe in. Image by Andreas Ivarsson.
The Difference Between Strategy And Tactics And Why You Need To Know
Imagine your business mission and vision as a mountain in the distance. Your strategy is the route map—the path you choose that’s going to take you to that mountain. Tactics are the steps you take on the journey to advance your way along that chosen path towards the mountain—thus realising your visi
What Are Your Competitors Failing To Do?
Like many new mothers Jessica Alba wanted to buy non-toxic baby products, they were incredibly difficult to find information about and source, this inspired her to found The Honest Company. Dave Gilboa lost a $700 pair of glasses and couldn’t afford to replace them, his experience was the seed of an
The Marketing Disconnect
Potential customers have unlimited choices and are in no rush to make a decision. You on the other hand, need customers to choose your product or service, and to do it in the quickest time frame possible. It would be easy to believe that because you need more people to choose your product today, you
Five Brand Storytelling Lessons From Jamie Oliver
Who could forget how Jamie Oliver burst onto our screens in the UK almost twenty years ago? While most celebrity chefs of the day adopted the posture of the hero, showing us how to follow their rules to the letter, Jamie made aspirational cooks around the world the hero of the story by making cookin
Social Media: Just Because You Can, Does It Mean You Should?
To anyone who has ever paid for advertising social media seems like a marketers dream. As entrepreneurs and business leaders who want to attract more customers, it’s tempting to buy into the hype that social media is the answer to our lead generation problems. Now that we can access an audience in d
The First Rule For Making A Better Product
Do you remember a time when you went to dinner at that restaurant everyone was talking about? You probably booked the table days, if not weeks in advance and told friends how excited you were about going. When you arrived the staff were polite, you got a good table and the meal was well cooked.…
The Reasons People Buy From You
“People tell us who they are, but we ignore it because we want them to be who we want them to be.” —Donald Draper, ‘The Summer Man,’ Mad Men, season 4 Our customer’s motivations have two things in common—they are surprisingly few and they are also universal. What’s driving your customer to buy your
No Big Pitch Required
It was nudging 6pm and Kelly was the last customer at the salon on a cold and dark winter evening. As she pulled out her credit card at the point of sale she noticed a discreet, but pretty display of ‘non toxic’ lipsticks and commented on the gorgeous colours. The therapist showed her the colour…
