The huge power of relative risk in sales.
'Risk' is an emotive word, it immediately conjures up danger, and an instinctive reluctance to avoid it, if at all possible. Relative risk is often used in a selling situation as a means to motivate the potential buyer to take that last step, and buy,...
Where to easily find the real value in Facebook
Facebook has made organic reach virtually (pun intended) impossible in the quest to empty marketers pockets of advertising funds, at which they have been astonishingly successful. This is despite their appalling management of privacy and enabling some...
Chemotherapy has no place in marketing.
Imagine you walk into your doctors office, and after the usual greetings, he just glances at you, and said 'Chemotherapy' After recovering, you would walk out. The thought of undergoing chemotherapy without detailed examination of the malignancy to which...
Where does the ‘essential essence’ of marketing hide?
Great marketing is never entirely rational. If it was we would call it economics, and be bored to death by its recitation. 'Rational' relies on precision, mathematics, and repeatability, not characteristics often seen in the behaviour of human beings. ...
Algorithm groundhog day
In 1911, Frederick Winslow Taylor published his book 'The Principals of Scientific Management', which used logic and maths to describe the pathway to efficiency. It shaped the practice of management for the next 80 years, until, slowly, we realised that...
8 things to remember about that hugely persuasive data.
'In God we trust, all others bring data' . This statement is generally attributed to W. Edwards Deming, way back in the 50’s. It is as true now as it was then, with some pretty significant caveats. You need to know the provenance of any data you choose to...
Blowing up 5 myths about strategy
Strategy sessions are often seen as an annual, 3 day bonding session at a nice spot away from the usual distractions, with little application to the daily business. Nothing could be further from the truth. Strategy is not just about the long term. A robust...
What is the value of habit?
Yesterday I filled my car with petrol. There are a number of petrol stations near me, but I tend to use the same one, by habit, without any real form of comparative pricing with other stations in the area. It is convenient, is in a backstreet, the bloke...
Two crucial learning tools for SME’s
Rationally analysing the impact of decisions made, or about to be made, is a crucial and challenging task. Most people instinctively overestimate their ability to generate favourable outcomes from a decision, and underestimate the difficulties of...
How much is a seat at the creative table?
The nature of the 24 hour marketing turnaround has led to piles of rubbish advertising. The 'big idea' of my youth, the search for that magic something that will engage and motivate has been replaced by piles of small expressions that get left on the table....