Resources and Tools for Online Marketers
Check out this video collection of some of the world’s funniest ads. www.VeryFunnyAds.com In the Tivo age, humor is one way to catch the attention of an overexposed and busy audience. People want to listen to your message if it is valuable to them, and everyone loves to laugh. Just make sure that the message … Read more
I came across a cool book entitled The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval which argues that it pays to be nice. The authors are executives of Kaplan Thaler Group, a billion dollar advertising agency built on the foundation of kindness. Authors like Al Ries and Jack Trout have compared marketing … Read more
these would be on the course reading list. (Marketing Focus) All Marketers are Liars Seth GodinBlink Malcom Gladwell Blue Ocean Strategy W. Chan Kim, Renée MauborgneThe World is Flat Thomas Friedman Selling the Invisible Harry Beckwith Winning with People John Maxwell Leadership Challenge James Kouzes Never Eat Alone Keith FerrazziBuzz Marketing Mark Hughes Small is … Read more
In the highly enjoyable book Small is the New Big, Seth Godin strikes back against corporate America. In today’s world large companies are too conformed, too unauthentic, too uncaring, too conservative, and too used to the status quo, to paraphrase the book. Instead of a typical book format, Seth uses a blog like format, with … Read more
The level of customer service in America sucks. How often does the individual you interact with at most establishments, look you in the eye, smile, and talk to you in a friendly tone of voice. Maybe I’m too young to remember the days before Nordstrom, generous return policies, and frequent flyer miles. Perhaps my generation … Read more
Is an MBA worth the tuition and opportunity costs for today’s marketer? While my mind battles this one out, I have found a great alternative to the traditional $55,000 dollar business school. I’ve enrolled in a free online MBA program called The Personal MBA, in which you read from a selection of books and then … Read more
Jack Trout is one of the greatest marketing thinkers of our time. Though the title is somewhat threatening, Differentiate or Die, describes the secret stuff that any successful product or service must have. The low cost strategy doesn’t work because your competition is often willing to out bid you even if they die with you. … Read more
There are basically two strategic paths a business can travel down. Option one: take the low cost path, cutting costs as much as possible and then pass those savings to the customer in the form of lower prices. Option two: try to differentiate your product in such a way that consumers are willing to pay … Read more
On a hair dryer: Do not use when sleeping On the package of a iron: Do not iron clothes on body On a child Superman costume: Wearing this garment does not enable you to fly On a Korean kitchen knife: Warning: keep out of children On a bar of soap: Directions-use like regular soap On … Read more
In Thomas Friedman’s book The World is Flat, he describes how the playing field in the world is flattening out. Experts now recognize the top rate talent graduating from India, which graduates a frightening number of engineers and MBAs each year. New graduates are highly sought after by international firms, receiving compensation packages of up … Read more