Did you hear about the recent face-off between the IBM Watson computer and the two biggest Jeopardy champions? If not, you must have been away from most of the media (in which case I should tell you that Watson won). And in an article in the Boston Globe, Johnny Diaz reveals the method behind the [...]
Tag Archive: Marketing
Are you using the most powerful marketing method on earth?
You probably already know what the most valuable marketing method on earth is: word of mouth. However, many businesspeople are shy about asking for referrals—it’s a variation of the fear of rejection. Even when a customer has expressed satisfaction with our business, it can be difficult to summon up the nerve to ask for names [...]
More revenue from doing something different
One of my favourite marketing mantras is “do something different,” and I think the prize for this goes to musician John Freese. He has been a drummer for Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses, and Devo, among others, so he has a fan base for his first solo album called “Since 1972.” And he decided [...]
Use upsells to make more money
The most familiar version of the upsell probably is “would you like fries with that?” at McDonald’s, but it’s a strategy that can be used by almost any kind of business.
It does have to be handled with care—one example of a discredited upsell is offering a warranty extension at inflated prices.
It also can be resented [...]
Can you offer a less expensive alternative?
In this economic climate it’s natural for people to look for ways to save money without giving up the things they enjoy or value. Revenue is flowing to businesses that figure out how to offer a cheaper or scaled-down version of their product or service.
Example: a fitness trainer I know has started losing clients [...]
Take your customers back to the future
The Financial Times reports that four record labels are collaborating with Apple to increase digital downloads by “bundling a new interactive booklet, sleeve notes and other interactive features.”
Sounds like back the future—a chance to read about the artists, look at photos, etc. just like we used to do when we opened a vinyl album, read [...]
Make sales in unexpected places
Heinz has started finding new places to sell their food products. Naturally you’ll find their products at Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, etc. but now they’re also targeting garden centres and petrol station forecourts to sell their barbeque sauce, and Mothercare to sell baby foods.
Obviously Heinz are hoping to increase their sales considerably, but sometimes it’s not [...]
More than ever, small is beautiful
From Jurgen Wolff, Marketing for Entrepreneurs: One of the results of the economic crash is that people hate banks more than they ever did. They hate bigwigs at companies who take huge bonuses even as their their companies’ pension plans crash and burn. They hate companies that have been caught price-fixing, covering up fraud and [...]
People like to do business with: (fill in the blank)
From Jurgen Wolff, Marketing for Entrepreneurs: One of the predictions some people are making is that a key trend in social media will be companies showing the people behind the brand—in other words, the employees. How can you do this and why should you?
You can do this on any level, both online and offline. In [...]
The power of asking
From Jurgen Wolff, Marketing for Entrepreneurs: In the New York Times there’s an article by Ben Sisario about how cartoon artist Dan Perkins was told by Village Voice Media that they were dropping his “This Modern World” strip—which meant he lost 12 papers in that chain and a lot of income.
He knew the lead singer [...]