Category: Business Growth & Marketing
-
Data is not the story. Nor is it marketing
Modern marketing is ever-more difficult to distinguish from data. But it is crucial that we put forth continued effort to separate them in order to best invest our resources. Here is my take on it. Marketing is the story. Multiple stories, actually! – The story about why and how you (the brand, product, team, individual,…
-
Everything is Marketing. Marketing is Everything!
Everything we do and don’t do communicates something about us, our values, preferences, and personalities. It helps us build trust and social bonds to those around us, as well as to seek other places/groups where we can easily connect. This applies to individuals, small business entities, and large corporations equally. Humans evolved to communicate at…
-
Listen, connect, innovate.
These three words will do wonders in EVERY relationship you have – both business and personal. As simple as it sounds, it represents a lifetime commitment of practice, patience, getting it wrong, and improving. LISTEN:It must start here. Hear the words others say as well as what they don’t say. By following the ‘anatomic rule’…
-
Profitability is Key to Sustainability
Sustainable business IS profitable. Let’s start with simple explanations of 2 key concepts with 7 words each. PROFIT: calculation of total revenue less total expenses. SUSTAINABILITY: The ability to continue operations perpetually. In order to continue operations, businesses need to collect more than they spend. Each business has a unique pattern to the sources, timing,…
-
Easy Is Always Better
One way to gain huge advantages in the minds of the human buyers and users is to make things simple. Einstein has been famously attributed to a reminder to us all that if we can’t explain it simply enough for a 5th grader, we don’t understand it well enough. This applies to Business, Finance, Economics,…
-
Ideal Clients Are Not Always Ideal
It is easy to describe ideal clients/customers as being … well… perfect. As in:– Easy to identify and find digitally– Already know they have a problem or challenge– Currently looking for solution options– Funding approved– Ready to buy While some of these attributes ARE available, they alone are not likely to sustain your growth goals,…
-
Story is EVERYTHING
You’ve likely heard it many times before, story is important to your brand. What is most fascinating is that it is less about the story you tell, and more about the story people say over and over within their own mind. You get to influence their story of you through the following: – content –…
-
Personalization is HUMANIZATION
YES. We are buyers, sellers, users, employees, partners, owners, influencers, interacts, and an unthinkably broad range of demographics. Most importantly, we are HUMANS We are individuals with passions, interests, dreams, hobbies, friends, people demanding things from us, challenges to navigate, and lots of ideas. Smart marketers understand the value in the first list. They build…
-
Whole-business approach
Whole person approach = whole business approach Thankfully, there is a lot of talk about mental health and stability as it pertains to business, career, growth, and success. The benefits apply to EVERYONE, not just entrepreneurs, founders, and executives. A whole-person approach to business design is merely about creating support systems for critical infrastructure. It…
-
Dreams Require Processes
Ideal outcomes are like whimsical dreams without a process to bring them into reality. These 6 Key areas help channel efforts and energy into building systems that create ideal outcomes. They are presented in a circular design to suggest that it doesn’t matter where you begin. There is no particular order to follow. Start where…
-
Limits of Product Design
It is nearly impossible to design and build a product that will sell itself millions of times over! Great product design IS important. But Sustainable and growing revenue streams are built by stories, connections, and relationships of marketing, branding, and sales professionals. Period. Revenues can be generated without them. However, the default arena is PRICE – which is heavily slanted toward…
-
How To Prioritize
Ever come out of a strategic meeting with TOO MANY PRIORITIES? It might be a sign that they actually aren’t priorities and might benefit by a system. Feel free to apply, adapt, and/or share this simple one. 1: GET PHYSICAL: not like fisticuffs! Write the following down on paper or whiteboard (avoid software as much…
-
Strategy and Execution
Execution is a valuable and important skill to have in business. It shows up as our history. We can easily look back at the sum of the decisions we make and assess a judgement – Did we execute well? But execution is only half (at most) of the story! Strategy and purpose are what drive our decision-making and will…
-
Always Add Value
When business is booming… When things are slow… When you are absolutely confident… When you are in doubt… Find ways to add value to whatever situation you find yourself! Here are some common ways to start adding value. Listening and attention Compassion and understanding Sincere compliment Smile or tasteful humor Hope, new options, or a path forward Education or…
-
Simplifying “BRANDING”
I wish I had a nickel for every time I had a conversation with a business professional about what branding is or isn’t; why it is valuable; when and how to invest in it; etc. Here is an overly simple solution for executives, owners, founders, as well as our friends and family members. Every time you see the word branding,…
-
Uncertainty is the result of unclear VALUES.
Decisions are made nearly sub-consciously and are absolutely driven by emotions. Even the big decisions that are supported by mountains of data and have sweeping impact on thousands of people. Having clear values – whatever they might be – helps align information and resources to ease the decision-making process. They also help bring consistency to decisions made…
-
Leading from Chaos
All your thoughts, beliefs, actions, and reactions have brought you to where you are today. It might not be the depiction of Strategic Mastery you would like it to be. It is likely the most accurate depiction of “learning curve” and represents huge investments in developing emotional boundaries, physical dexterities, understanding others, situational awareness, and…
-
What is Leadership in Marketing & Sales?
-It is building authentic connections with customers, clients, and users; as well as teammates, other departments, and internal competitors. – It is helping those in your sphere grow, benefit, find joy, minimize pain. – It is sharing knowledge and skills while constantly learning from others and trying new things. – It is about facilitating communication and trust. (notice that it is NOT…
-
Is your business sexy?
My personal belief: confidence, consistency, something of clear value or benefit to me, and maybe a sense of humor … all without taking one’s self too seriously is #SEXY, #ALLURING, and #ATTRACTIVE. It is what I want! Though they are expressed very differently; I think it is what most people want in terms of product, service, and functionality,…
-
Polishing Turds or Audience Selection
I admit it! On more than two occasions in my career, I invested massive amounts of my creative, persuasive, and story-telling energies into a product or company that I knew wasn’t going anywhere. It was torture! What separates successful #innovations isn’t how much spin or #marketing resources are applied. It is doing the challenging work to understand who can…
-
The Thin Line Separating Crazy from Genius
The distance between “Crazy” and “Genius” is measured in tenths of millimeters and often comes down to 3 categories – #Practicality, #Audience, and #Messaging. Here are some questions to help bring clarity to each of these categories. The more you invest in them, the more you will develop unlimited value, markets, and revenues. PRACTICALITY:How does it benefit, bring…
-
Why People Love Brands
The foundation of every #Brand is psychological safety. People want to feel #heard.We want to feel #connected with others.We want to be part of a shared #future #Communicating that brand is done through #BelongingCues – subtle and authentic behaviors repeated over time that create conditions for collaboration, shared problem-solving, listening, and learning. People show love and support where they feel it reciprocated. Are you…
-
Innovation and Product Life Cycle
Innovations are often mis-understood as being instant hits that immediately resonate with mass audiences and ‘virtually sell themselves’ based on their merits, coolness, or impact alone. This is NEVER the case! More accurately, all innovations follow the exact same sequence of growth as every other product. No brand, person, or idea can escape it. Following…
-
Only Execute Fully-Funded Projects
A mentor talked with me about only executing fully-funded projects early in my career. I feel strong and confident every time I use this tip to make a decision about where to invest my energies. I have been burned every time I go against this methodology. As have countless others. One trick I have learned…
-
To Brand Is To Be Human
Your brand is critical to attracting ideal clients/customers, defining expected quality, overall business stability, growth opportunities, and personal wealth. Meaning: without a defined brand, all the above is extraordinarily difficult. It has always been this way! By always, I refer to dating of early branding irons that go back thousands of years. More crucially, branding…
-
Where Your Brand Lives
Your #brand is the reputation that lives in the minds of people. They might be internal, externally connected, or totally disconnected. Over-simplifying, I put 60% emphasis on external but connected people. they might include:– #Vendors– Former employees– Distribution partners– #Customers (current and past)– #Prospects– Ideal #audiences, etc. The remaining 40% on internal people.– #Employees– #Investors Synergies and momentum build when there is overlap and…
-
Marketing and Sales Relationship
I like to describe the relationship between #sales and #marketing to be that of heads and tails of a coin (or front/back of a dollar bill). In many situations, #CEOs seem to have systems and structures in place to measure sales. Marketing can and should be designed to compliment and enhance their sales processes. Places where they feel a lag, struggle,…
-
Simple Rules For Communication
1st Rule of Marketing and Communications:Say something you believe and that people want to hear. It is about being original in your perspective, not just verbal vomit 2nd Rule:Say it clearly, and in appropriate channel. 3rd Rule:Repeat and refine your message, audience, and channel. These rules are alarmingly simple and easy to overlook. They are…
-
Finding Your Marketing Sweet-spot
Marketing initiatives and strategies are as unique and diverse as humanity. There is NEVER a single best-solution for any brand, product, service, or industry. Rather, each marketing and leadership team must determine their own goals, outcomes, and objectives they wish to achieve with their efforts and find a range of nuanced tactics that serve them…
-
Measuring Ideas
Some people talk about ideas in terms of being big or small. The idea itself is not measurable beyond a couple firings of neurons somewhere in our brain. What IS measurable is the impact of the idea – the number of people involved in it, the amount of #change it brings, the #value it creates,…
-
Build culture on purpose
Be #intentional. Sure, many business cultures are built on the fly, by accident, and without much deliberate thought. Sometimes they even manage to produce great #products and #systems. But the best cultures are built over time and under careful directives. They exist to #grow, #inspire others, protect themselves, and accomplish specific tasks. Be #mindful. In…
-
Connect more than conquer
We use numerous references to war, battle, and conquering when discussing #business – #sales in particular. These suggest that business is about gaining advantages over customers and buyers that only benefit us. That sure doesn’t sound like the best type of relationship we can create! #21stCentury business and sales models are about building beneficial connections…
-
Serve Others First
I first heard the concept of #ServantLeadership about 25 years ago (though it dates back over 40 years) and was hooked! The idea is that those in positions of #power and authority put the needs of others first and help them develop in ways to perform their best. In committing to this, they selflessly build…
-
Entrepreneurs Change The World
#Teachers educate the world. They share knowledge, help us learn valuable lessons, and inspire us to do more. They are never restricted to the classroom. #Politicians rule the world. As in they create the norms and laws we are to follow to live in society. For better or worse, we give them this permission and…
-
Creativity
#Creativity is the process of making something out of nothing. It requires a tremendous amount of skill, patience, experimentation, and a variety of tools. It is unpredictable at its best, and inconsistent at its worst. From a certain perspective, it is highly inefficient and unproductive. Perhaps that is why it is hardly embraced by the…
-
Purpose Propels
5 April 2018 Purpose is a simplistic explanation of why a particular thing, action, or business exists or is used. #Corporations have a fiduciary duty to act in good faith, use their best judgement, and promote the best interests of the entity. The #capitalistic purpose over the last couple hundred years was to simply make…
-
Meet customers wherer ever they are
2 April 2018 We have all types of customers in all types of places. #CustomerService is about catering to their needs. Internal #customers (like #CEO, #manager, and other departments) have different needs than external customers (#consumers, #clients, #shareholders, shippers, etc.) The one common thing is that they all crave personal attention and recognition. Meeting them…
-
Leaders Move
30 March 2018 #Leadership is movement… towards a known goal/objective or away from an undesirable status quo. It takes #vision, confidence, and competence to recognize it is possible for ‘something better’ even though there is zero evidence of its existence. #Movement starts with #communication. Sharing ideas #connects people and allows them to discover ways their…
-
Keep giving
26 March 2018: The next time someone asks about your job, tell them you are responsible for managing and growing gift-allocations of precious resources. This IS your job – regardless of your title, position, or age. YOU decide how much, when, where, and for how long you will invest your #time, #effort, #talent, and #attention.…
-
Embrace change
22 March 2018 The only universal law is that EVERYTHING is in a constant state of #change. There is no need to #fear the constant or inevitable; especially when a different approach can reveal countless #opportunities to grow and #experience unparalleled #joy. Those who excel seem to open their arms and embrace the phenomenon.…
-
Innovation and growth
21 March 2018 Too many of us are intimidated by #innovation and make it out to be a monster of mythical strength. Just as tracks make it possible for trains, innovation is the precursor to #growth. One #strategy is to shoot for an industry #disrupting #unicorn that are requires Sisyphus like dedication to get the…
-
Transparency
13 March 2018 #Focus is about having a single-minded approach towards a known and supported objective. This allows #teams and individuals to act as independently or collectively as they see fit. It is as much about what we are NOT going to do (distraction of energies) as it is about what we ARE going…
-
Greatness lies beyond logic
6 March 2018 Logical and progressive steps will bring speed, #efficiency, and incremental #change. While beneficial, they are also predictable and therefore relatively easy to attain by others. To achieve #greatness, we must overcome the ordinary. #Innovation is the result of #creativity and #imagination. There is never any evidence it will work. Such deviations from…
-
Consider Your Audience
Why do most marketing, communications, and sales pitches fail? They lack connection to the audience. Sellers try to stay in control of the conversation and present what they think are the most compelling reasons to buy. Often it is the same reasons to every audience. Before my sales career began; I spent a couple years…
-
The Power Of Connectivity
It’s one thing to be connected to the Internet. This connection enriches our experiences working, playing, shopping, sharing, and communicating. It’s another thing to be connected to another human being. This connection enriches our entire lives and brings an entirely new meaning to the concept of sharing. Both of these connections are pretty insignificant when…
-
How to Achieve 2x, 5x, 10x Growth
Everyone in business wants to grow! Some might see 20% or 30% as effective growth. Others might set their sights on 50% or over 75% growth. But from the viewpoint of earning a return on your investment (time, money, energy, talent, or any other resource), these are pretty paltry. Most businesses need to double their…
-
The Power Of Systems In Marketing
Contrary to beliefs throughout the industrial age; marketing and sales are not interchangeable words. Independently, they seem to be infinitely complex and divergent, but when blended together properly they blend create powerful synergies. Described separately and in overly-simplified terms; ‘Sales’ is about creating and maintaining a relationship that results in a transaction. ‘Marketing’ is about…
-
Profit is not an indication of Growth
Profits are great! And quite easy to figure out. They are simply the monetary surplus left to a producer after deducting all expenses (wages, materials, rent, etc.) from the total income or revenues. This can be calculated per transaction about as easy as it can be for a given time frame (month, quarter, year). While…
David R Frick 