Over the years, I've had a plethora of great ideas. Some have been exceptional, some have been good, and some have been. That's a story for another day.
Know what stopped my best ideas in their tracks? Fear. Fear of failure, fear of ridicule, fear of retribution, fear of lawsuits, fear of being thought silly, stupid, ignorant, inexperienced, (fill in the blank: fear of _______).
Now, however, as I've gotten older, I take a different approach to business, and especially to Marketing.
It's a game.
Life's a game that comes at you. You and I have the same types of opportunity to resolve issues as everyone else.
An old teacher, many years ago--when discussing my attributes in math--said, "Some get it sooner, some get it later, and some don't get it." I never got what I needed because I was fearful.
What aspects of marketing create fear in you?
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Friday, February 2, 2007
readin, ritin, and rithmetic
Thanks to all the pundits out there that have visited and asked via email--"Where are you?"
Well, boys and girls-- kids and kiddies--Mr. Jackson has been earning some hard earned Benjamins. And by the way, Tulsa Tootsie, or whatever your real name is, I didn't like your email comparing my first name to that other Jackson. Come on, that's his last name.
There's no reaction from this Jackson to that Jackson, whatsoever. Let him move wherever he wants. I'm with W.C. Fields on this--Children should be seen and not heard.
Some other emails I received while laboring in the salt mines were of more value. Nancy Amada, by the way, I'm pleased you find my writing to be of value. Thousands have, over the years. Too many to count, really. One must think you to be bright and resourceful.
On the marketing scene, this whole sickeningly unacceptable video marketing craze seems to be gaining strength. Dear God. Heaven knows that there are some interesting video offerings popping up on websites--and then, there are just some village idiots putting trash out to see how many people will view it. It's ok to view it; push their ratings through the roof--after all, it's entertainment. Jackson is reminded of the slogan, "Your Village Called. Their Idiot is Missing."
Was it a long distance call?
Entertainment can open doors, but it's rarely considered marketing unless a true message is conveyed. Don't argue with Jackson on this...we've done marketing, and we've known entertainers, and most of them aren't marketers. They hire brilliant and resourceful people like me to help them.
What's the message that video conveys-- even an idiot can be successful? Ha!
For my money, there will always be writers and there will always be readers. The writers must create in the mind of the reader a need--and that's why I'm becoming more of an objective supporter of this article marketing thing. It takes what old line marketers have done for years, but it seems to simplify it for newcomers, and puts the links out for the world. Readers can accept it or reject it, but here's the bottom line--it puts an issue to a valid test in the mind of the reader; one must think about what is written.
Perhaps the true issue is that many no longer think for themselves?
I've published several articles in the last few weeks and I'm trying out a series of article marketing sites to see if there is a benefit to using one specific site.
So far, it appears--and this is first blush, mind you--that the site at ArticleMarketer.com has the edge in functionality. This site seems to have the business end of article distribution figured out. The price--although Jackson can't imagine having to pay to have his articles read by his audience--seems right, all things considered. If you've used others, please let me know your thoughts.
The group doing the editing (oh, dear God...Editors!) seem to understand what I'm attempting to convey to the marketing and sales neophytes of the world and, consequently, don't entirely butcher my writing and attack my finely-honed skills--creating gutless writing and appeals to panderers. The distribution seems to be fairly broad, and believe me, at my age, any broad is a good broad.
Stay tuned and see if this is a fluke in my thinking or if this is a real opportunity. Believe me, Jackson will share the outcome.
It all boils down to readin, 'ritin, and 'rithmetic.
Well, boys and girls-- kids and kiddies--Mr. Jackson has been earning some hard earned Benjamins. And by the way, Tulsa Tootsie, or whatever your real name is, I didn't like your email comparing my first name to that other Jackson. Come on, that's his last name.
There's no reaction from this Jackson to that Jackson, whatsoever. Let him move wherever he wants. I'm with W.C. Fields on this--Children should be seen and not heard.
Some other emails I received while laboring in the salt mines were of more value. Nancy Amada, by the way, I'm pleased you find my writing to be of value. Thousands have, over the years. Too many to count, really. One must think you to be bright and resourceful.
On the marketing scene, this whole sickeningly unacceptable video marketing craze seems to be gaining strength. Dear God. Heaven knows that there are some interesting video offerings popping up on websites--and then, there are just some village idiots putting trash out to see how many people will view it. It's ok to view it; push their ratings through the roof--after all, it's entertainment. Jackson is reminded of the slogan, "Your Village Called. Their Idiot is Missing."
Was it a long distance call?
Entertainment can open doors, but it's rarely considered marketing unless a true message is conveyed. Don't argue with Jackson on this...we've done marketing, and we've known entertainers, and most of them aren't marketers. They hire brilliant and resourceful people like me to help them.
What's the message that video conveys-- even an idiot can be successful? Ha!
For my money, there will always be writers and there will always be readers. The writers must create in the mind of the reader a need--and that's why I'm becoming more of an objective supporter of this article marketing thing. It takes what old line marketers have done for years, but it seems to simplify it for newcomers, and puts the links out for the world. Readers can accept it or reject it, but here's the bottom line--it puts an issue to a valid test in the mind of the reader; one must think about what is written.
Perhaps the true issue is that many no longer think for themselves?
I've published several articles in the last few weeks and I'm trying out a series of article marketing sites to see if there is a benefit to using one specific site.
So far, it appears--and this is first blush, mind you--that the site at ArticleMarketer.com has the edge in functionality. This site seems to have the business end of article distribution figured out. The price--although Jackson can't imagine having to pay to have his articles read by his audience--seems right, all things considered. If you've used others, please let me know your thoughts.
The group doing the editing (oh, dear God...Editors!) seem to understand what I'm attempting to convey to the marketing and sales neophytes of the world and, consequently, don't entirely butcher my writing and attack my finely-honed skills--creating gutless writing and appeals to panderers. The distribution seems to be fairly broad, and believe me, at my age, any broad is a good broad.
Stay tuned and see if this is a fluke in my thinking or if this is a real opportunity. Believe me, Jackson will share the outcome.
It all boils down to readin, 'ritin, and 'rithmetic.
Friday, January 19, 2007
21st Century Reality Marketing
You may have seen that I commented in The Warrior Forum on how many hundreds of thousands of dollars that I have been responsible for spending on Marketing over my career; I have often wondered how it is that I used so much money for marketing in the past.
What is not so important as the past is the new wave of marketing of the future.
We can actually connect with clients. My clients can actually connect and communicate with their customers. Believe you me, that's a hell of a difference than we ever had in simply putting the message out and "hoping" we had the audience.
I'm going to comment on this over the next few days.
js
What is not so important as the past is the new wave of marketing of the future.
We can actually connect with clients. My clients can actually connect and communicate with their customers. Believe you me, that's a hell of a difference than we ever had in simply putting the message out and "hoping" we had the audience.
I'm going to comment on this over the next few days.
js
Monday, January 15, 2007
Marketing /MBO 101
Peter Drucker, the Management Guru Extraordinaire, developed the concept of MBO, or Management by Objectives--literally--40+ years ago.
Today, I want to suggest that you apply the process of MBO to your Marketing Plans and find how to best approach your potential success. First, though, let's look a bit at the whole MBO process. Distilled down to three simple questions, you can measure your marketing program this way:
Where is my marketing program today?
Where do I want to take it tomorrow?
How will I get the program there?
In positioning these magic three questions to your marketing expertise, look first at what it is you want to achieve, then how to get the target to where you need them to be, and finally, what must be done to get them to that magic spot .
Marketing is the process of positioning the mindset of the potential customer....what you must do and what you must say to create the potential consumer needs, and theoretically develop his/her mental demand for your product and service. Tell them what the benefits are. Tell them what your product or service does for them. Then tell them how you meet their needs.
How you get them to that point is the key.
Today, I want to suggest that you apply the process of MBO to your Marketing Plans and find how to best approach your potential success. First, though, let's look a bit at the whole MBO process. Distilled down to three simple questions, you can measure your marketing program this way:
Where is my marketing program today?
Where do I want to take it tomorrow?
How will I get the program there?
In positioning these magic three questions to your marketing expertise, look first at what it is you want to achieve, then how to get the target to where you need them to be, and finally, what must be done to get them to that magic spot .
Marketing is the process of positioning the mindset of the potential customer....what you must do and what you must say to create the potential consumer needs, and theoretically develop his/her mental demand for your product and service. Tell them what the benefits are. Tell them what your product or service does for them. Then tell them how you meet their needs.
How you get them to that point is the key.
Friday, January 12, 2007
How Can I Develop My Business?
"How can I develop my business?"
Oh, please. That's the mega-million $$ question, isn't it? I bet every Fortune 500 company in the world wishes I'd answer that, right here on this blog.
What I do is examine the proper mix of Marketing strategies to address development of a business. Where your business is currently operating is one issue.
What you want it to convey is something else, entirely.
Marketing is NOT advertising. Advertising is one form of marketing, but holistic marketing recognizes and represents the image that each targeted customer has in his/her mind representing their thoughts of your business. You can build that holistic marketing in a variety of ways.
You must address your “Advertising” strategy and decide where you might want to invest your pitifully meager dollars to present a unified image to your customers.
All of these concepts can demonstrate the power that correct marketing can offer in presenting your services to a new and expanding client base, lest you think I've gone round the bend.
Oh, please. That's the mega-million $$ question, isn't it? I bet every Fortune 500 company in the world wishes I'd answer that, right here on this blog.
What I do is examine the proper mix of Marketing strategies to address development of a business. Where your business is currently operating is one issue.
What you want it to convey is something else, entirely.
Marketing is NOT advertising. Advertising is one form of marketing, but holistic marketing recognizes and represents the image that each targeted customer has in his/her mind representing their thoughts of your business. You can build that holistic marketing in a variety of ways.
You must address your “Advertising” strategy and decide where you might want to invest your pitifully meager dollars to present a unified image to your customers.
All of these concepts can demonstrate the power that correct marketing can offer in presenting your services to a new and expanding client base, lest you think I've gone round the bend.
Branding and It's Importance
So if I'm really going to share wisdom and vision, I should answer some of these everyday questions that I get asked.
"What is building a Brand all about?"
What tree did you just fall out of, Bunky?
Building a new Brand means more than simply building Brand awareness, offering a name for a company or product, or developing opportunities for reciprocation.
If you want to simply devise a "name" for your product, various vendors can charge you $50,000 and give you a name that has been vetted through every language, develops a positive image for a subset of clients, yet one that makes other potential clients sweat, simply by thinking about it. I can even recommend one that’s brilliant.
But that’s not what you want—or need. You need to expand beyond awareness—you’re seeking a Brand concept which is inextricably tied to your product or service.
You must seek presence, customer relevance, and marketplace differentiation.
Finally, you need to develop imagery that will immediately offer you recognition and with which you can expand upon your offerings to a growing and expanding client base.
Branding is the ultimate endform of marketing. Marketing manages the mindspace of the consumer—whomever your consumer is. Marketing positively exploits whatever means the consumer has to find you. Everything you do—let me repeat that—everything you do-- impacts in some way on the mindset/mindspace of your potential client, and—by extension—those of your Brand.
So is it important? You bet your booties.
"What is building a Brand all about?"
What tree did you just fall out of, Bunky?
Building a new Brand means more than simply building Brand awareness, offering a name for a company or product, or developing opportunities for reciprocation.
If you want to simply devise a "name" for your product, various vendors can charge you $50,000 and give you a name that has been vetted through every language, develops a positive image for a subset of clients, yet one that makes other potential clients sweat, simply by thinking about it. I can even recommend one that’s brilliant.
But that’s not what you want—or need. You need to expand beyond awareness—you’re seeking a Brand concept which is inextricably tied to your product or service.
You must seek presence, customer relevance, and marketplace differentiation.
Finally, you need to develop imagery that will immediately offer you recognition and with which you can expand upon your offerings to a growing and expanding client base.
Branding is the ultimate endform of marketing. Marketing manages the mindspace of the consumer—whomever your consumer is. Marketing positively exploits whatever means the consumer has to find you. Everything you do—let me repeat that—everything you do-- impacts in some way on the mindset/mindspace of your potential client, and—by extension—those of your Brand.
So is it important? You bet your booties.
Newness. Will it wear off?
When you think about it, life was changed forever when we were able to start to write things down...and as many of these new aspects of technology like blogging begin to gain "real" legs, they will truly impact business with new and exciting ideas.
One aspect of business that I have embraced more and more is the "recyclable" aspect and concept of business...it's shocking to me that so many concepts I learned early in my career can now be recycled in new and diferent ways.
Not so with these new technologies. This is new, and this is exciting. We need to start thinking in new and different ways in order to simply comprehend the opportunities they make available and the doors they open to us.
Think about, for example, Article Marketing. It's a concept that's fairly simple, but drives traffic to your site because every content publisher in the world is looking for content; if you're interested in sales or influence-peddling, writing a 300-600 word article about your product, service or concept is a no-brainer.
One aspect of business that I have embraced more and more is the "recyclable" aspect and concept of business...it's shocking to me that so many concepts I learned early in my career can now be recycled in new and diferent ways.
Not so with these new technologies. This is new, and this is exciting. We need to start thinking in new and different ways in order to simply comprehend the opportunities they make available and the doors they open to us.
Think about, for example, Article Marketing. It's a concept that's fairly simple, but drives traffic to your site because every content publisher in the world is looking for content; if you're interested in sales or influence-peddling, writing a 300-600 word article about your product, service or concept is a no-brainer.
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