4 simple rules amateur writers often break.
Marketing is about stories, and most stories start with an event, situation, or circumstances recorded in narrative form. Being a marketer, I write frequently. Some of my musings are published on the StrategyAudit blog and often elsewhere. I also keep...
Pareto’s 80:20 Principle Evolves to the 20:30:50 Rule in Marketing
Pareto's 80:20 principle applies universally, though its proportions vary across markets and circumstances. While media choices have proliferated over the past 25 years, the core drivers of consumer behaviour remain largely unchanged. However, brand loyalty has eroded...
45 years of marketing experience in 6 simple statements.
‘Marketing’ is a word used and misused widely. Perhaps that is because there are so many definitions around, including my own: ‘The generation, building, protection and leveraging of competitive advantage’ After 45 years of marketing, I have gained some...
A marketers explanation of Economic Value Added.
Economic Value Added, EVA, is another of those annoying acronyms accountants tend to use to confuse simple marketers. Therefore, it is a term marketers must understand if they are to hold their own in the boardroom. EVA is a calculation used to measure the net...
Four basic strategies to maximise the effectiveness of your marketing investment.
'Marketing' & 'Communication' are two words that should not be compounded. They have entirely different meanings. The confusion of meaning amongst quasi marketers is the beginning of wasted marketing budgets. It is also the source of much of the dumb...
Why you should be up front with price.
Imagine the difference. You go into a sales call and the first item on the agenda is the price. The potential buyer knows that the price stated is the price, without variation. The whole conversation therefore is about quality, delivery, and all the...
The critical trade-off made in a remote work environment.
Amongst the tsunami of gratuitous advice on the web about how to manage remotely, whether you be the team leader, or a team member, there is a critical piece missing. Depth of strategic thinking. Regular and managed team video gatherings, as well as a range of...
The huge cost that never shows up in the accounts.
Opportunity cost. The mistakes you make of Commission are the ones by which performance is judged. They show up in a profit and loss and balance sheets of businesses. However, when you pass up a golden opportunity that turns out to be a winner, that 'cost of potential...
Is Institutional memory the critical component of future success?
Today, September 1, 2024, is the 85th anniversary of the German invasion of Poland in 1939. There are very few people left alive who were old enough at the time to remember that critical date that drove the world into an orgy of destruction, death, and depravity. Over...
Where is tomorrows competitive advantage hiding?
Identifying, building, defending and leveraging competitive advantage has been, and will remain, the foundation of successful marketing. It is also the essence of strategy: making choices with incomplete information that serve to shape the future to your...