February
15
2009
Why in the world are we plugging Seth Godin on a Sunday morning? Well, I’ll tell you. Check out #4 on this list of tips for better surveys. We fight boredom. We’re serious about that at VLG. There are plenty of marketing critics out there. We know of one that rubs us the wrong way. Everyone that you market to is leery of your message. Disarm them with something personal and fun. Humor and entertainment give your brand personality.
Picture this, you and your friends are out for a night on the town. Who is the center of attention? The humorist and entertainer (and the looker) are the life of the party. Just now our readers, you, might think humor or entertainment won’t work in all cases. You’d be right, but just don’t take yourself too serious. I could go on, but as Yogi said, “I didn’t really say everything I said.”
February
14
2009
It’s only appropriate on this Valentine’s Day that we celebrate love. Isn’t love what we marketers strive for? I want people to love my brand, not like it. I want customers to love working with our team. Conversely, I want them to hate leaving so much they never leave. It is this love-hate relationship that we feel drives marketing today. However, there is no middle ground for today’s market leaders. Leaders are not prone to occupy the middle ground–the no-man’s land that causes customers or prospects to question our products, services and solutions. We want messages that are clear, solutions that are spot-on, and the confidence to deliver on the brand promise every time.
Love, love, love…
It’s cliche, sure, but love is not without merit in a world filled with marketing opportunity. Brand loyalty (love) provides a competitive advantage and increased lifetime customer value. We would love nothing more than that. Happy Valentine’s Day from the folks at VLG!
February
13
2009
Marketing departments are still, sadly, cost centers. In a down economy, if it doesn’t make money it takes money and nobody like that. Our plea to all marketers is to turn your department/division/group into a revenue center. Reinvent yourself as “the” revenue engine in your organization. We build this clever Dialog Engine solutions, so called because these solutions enable sales.
As a marketing and advertising firm, we see firsthand shifts in marketing spend. They are a little scary. We’re a small, niche player that provides a very specific, revenue-centric solution. Cuts in marketing spend affect even the most sales-focused marketing organizations. Does that make sense? Nope. Together we can reinvent marketing. Find less expensive ways to reach more households. Find ways to get more our of your spend. Find ways to objectively measure marketing’s impact on the bottom line.
It’s not as scary as it sounds. We find new ways to do this everyday.
February
11
2009
Thought leadership threatens the brand, but that’s not a bad thing. A quick read of the latest articles, posts, and podcasts confirm a widely held belief that thought leadership provides a company (or individual) with a competitive advantage. It’s a topic that can be overly complicated.At the end of the day thought leadership is little more than regular, plain old leadership. If buyers flock to the most competent, knowledgeable, trusted thought leaders in the industry for advice, products and solutions and buyers flock to the best brands, how do we get there from here?
Dana Vanden Havel’s “Why Thought Leadership Marketing is NOT Just Giving Information Away” Read Article
So far Dana’s article appeared in 5 Twitter posts. twitt(url)y
