As a business, what makes you valuable to your customer? If you can’t answer this question succinctly, then you won’t be able to communicate your value to your customer in such a way that engages them to enter into a buying relationship with you. How does a company differentiate itself enough to compete with hundreds…
Read More“Help, I’m stuck!” I hear this often from business owners I come into contact with. Businesses can sometimes grow despite themselves, with a great deal of sweat equity invested by the business owner, lots of DIY marketing, word-of-mouth sales growth, customer acquisition via referrals, etc. The challenge is that after a certain amount of time…
Read MoreToo many business owners are stuck in the ‘busyness’ trap of working in their business and not making the time (a priority) to intentionally design the business they actually want to be in. If you are in the business of providing a service, in an ideal world you want to spend 60% of your time…
Read MoreI was appalled when I read an article published in BC Business Magazine entitled Fake It to Make It by Niko Bell. I found the fact this was the ‘featured’ article in the Marketing section of the magazine to be somewhat curious. Giving earned media to Gravytrain Marketing, a company whose entire business is built…
Read MoreTo truly engage customers for whom traditional advertising (push marketing) is increasingly irrelevant, companies must engage with customers in a new way. At the end of the day, customers no longer separate marketing from the product—it is the product. They don’t separate marketing from their in-store or online experience—it is the experience. In the era…
Read MoreScenario: I’ve been in professional services for 10 years and based on my experience I am becoming faster at outputting the work I am hired to do. I charge an hourly rate; I am now getting paid less by the hour because I’m faster at getting the work done. Q: How do I set fees…
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