Do You Have To Be First To Win? There’s an awful lot of talk in business about the importance of being the “first to market” when launching a new product or service. The conventional wisdom being that if a company is first to market with a breakthrough technology they’ll wind up with a competitive advantage. This in turn will allow them to enjoy large margins and a monopoly-like status. Well, that sure sounds like a win, doesn’t it? But here’s the thing. Have you ever noticed that in real life
Know Your “Frenemy” Has this ever happened to you? You’ve pitched a prospective client on your services. The meeting ends and you walk out feeling great! You’re sure that you’ve nailed it! After all, you had great rapport with the prospect. They were engaged. They nodded in acknowledgement as you made your case for being the most experienced service provider in town. They were clearly impressed by your client list and references and, you’re proposed pricing is well within their budget. They are chomping at the bit! All that’s left
Beware of Being the “Affordable" Choice When pricing your product it can be really tempting to position yourself as the low-cost alternative in the market. After all the thinking goes, if your product’s price is more affordable this will drive traffic and even though you’re making less per item, you’ll be able to make up the difference on the volume sold. It’s a popular tact taken by many businesses mostly because it’s simple and straightforward and, you don’t need a lot of marketing “know how” to pull it off. However,
Surprise! People Just Want What’s Familiar. Does this ever happen to you? Your traveling in a new city and find yourself wanting to buy a cup of coffee but you don’t know any of the coffee shops in the area. I suppose you could do some research or ask a local, you could take your chances on the first place you see, or, more likely you could just go to the nearest Starbucks (If you haven’t gone completely off the grid, there is surely a Starbucks in the area.) Now,
Mentor Schmentor Have you ever felt during the course of your career that you were floundering a bit and thought, “Gosh, if I only had a mentor, someone to help me along, things would surely be different.” I know I have. And yet, I never fully understood the relationship between mentor and mentee. It all seemed very loose to me and frankly it was hard for me to imagine that an ambitious, successful superior focused on his or her own career would have the bandwidth or interest to be a sounding
Buyers are like toddlers. Give them fewer options. If you’ve ever been around a toddler you know that asking them to pick between multiple options is a recipe for disaster. For instance, if you offer a toddler breakfast you shouldn’t say “Would you like cheerios, or pancakes, or maybe yogurt?” Why, you ask? Because as any parent will tell you odds are the toddler will a) be confused by the options (which may all sound good) and b) become paralyzed by indecision. In all likelihood this will result in a
Marketing’s Law of Attraction Why do we do what we do? Why do we choose to befriend one person over another? Why do we decide to wear certain clothes? Why do we buy this type of car and not that? No doubt there’s research out there that professes to answer each of these questions in ways that sound very scientific. But in truth the social sciences aren’t based firmly on scientific fact as much as they are a collection of well-supported observations about human behavior. If we were to just
Beyonce is a very savvy marketer who does a phenomenal job of managing her brand and using social media to her advantage. How Beyoncé Keeps the Internet Obsessed With Her The singer’s social media presence combines faux intimacy and calculated messages that make events out of her most normal moments. Read more. [Image: Instagram]
Extroverts are “Natural” Salespeople, and Other Lies. How many times have you been at a cocktail party or networking event and seen that guy, you know part Max Headroom, part Mr. Incredible, with the toothy grin and the bone crushing handshake who seems to be sucking all the oxygen out of the room as he makes a point of introducing himself to each and every person at the event? We’ve all seen this at one time or another and then no doubt thought to ourselves, this guy MUST be in
13 Ways to Get More Pinterest Followers – Search Engine Journal Pinterest- the latest social media craze, is a great way to build awareness for your blog or website.