Magical unicorns, bizarre job titles and late nights: How to nail your next customer demo
Avoid these common demo mistakes. Continue reading Magical unicorns, bizarre job titles and late nights: How to nail your next customer demo
Category: Tech
Applying the 70:20:10 innovation rule to your marketing
The 70:20:10 rule is frequently cited as a useful formula for delivering an optimally blended mix of marketing content. For those not familiar with it, it suggests: 70% of your content should be low risk; it talks to the fundaments of your proposition and you know it works. It’s the stuff that keeps the lights on and the furnaces burning. 20% should innovate off of your 70%. It’s a little edgier and might go deeper into the core proposition. It might be used to pull targets further down the sales funnel, perhaps leveraging long-form, niche content. 10% is your room for … Continue reading Applying the 70:20:10 innovation rule to your marketing
A “content marketing” definition for B2B marketers
Something of a debate has opened up at the office around the exact definition of content marketing. It’s a valid debate; marketers play loose and fast with the term and, technically, almost every marketing effort uses “content” of some description. However, it’s not that simple. The value of Content Marketing lies in its ability to affect a change in a highly non-interruptive way. There is no hard and fast definition. In fact I have read several definitions and I disagree with elements of all of them. So here’s a personal attempt at defining content marketing for B2B marketers. Let’s start … Continue reading A “content marketing” definition for B2B marketers
Brands don’t always own their name on Twitter, and this is what happens…
Once upon a time, connecting your brand across online properties was relatively easy. So long as you had the URL, there was little else to think about. Today, the landscape is very different with organisations having to connect their brand across multiple social sites; each with very different trademark policies and control points. I was reminded of this today following the launch of the John Lewis Christmas advertisement. For those outside of the UK, John Lewis is a highly respected retailer (think Nordstrom in the US). The launch of its Christmas adverts have become something of an event, creating lots … Continue reading Brands don’t always own their name on Twitter, and this is what happens…
Churn & Customer Value Management in Telecoms
I’ll be speaking this month in Prague, chairing the Churn & Customer Value Management in Telecoms conference. Some great speakers have been lined up (O2 UK, Tele2, 3UK, TTNET, Vodafone etc). I’ll be keeping a live blog / Twitter stream throughout the event. If you are planning to attend, feel free to connect with me in advance. More information at http://www.churnandcvmintelecoms.com Continue reading Churn & Customer Value Management in Telecoms
Customer Journey Mapping
Customer Journey Mapping has become an important exercise for mobile operators looking to improve the customer experience. Here are some best practice guidelines for anyone thinking of running a journey mapping project. The customer journey (how your customer progress through your business from acquisition and beyond) is typically “owned” by several functional groups within a business. This makes customer journey mapping is a worthwhile exercise. It focuses the organization around a common goal where the outcome is improved Customer Lifetime Value (profitability & retention) and not just P&L improvements within individual functional areas of a business. However, conducting a customer … Continue reading Customer Journey Mapping
Amazon can be a real tease
Amazon can be a right tease sometimes. I signed up for a free 30-day Prime membership over Christmas and decided to keep it. Free next day delivery (I concluded) was absolutely worth paying for so long as I used Amazon for more of my shopping. However, it can be rather a tease. Have a look at these screengrabs I took. I’ve just purchased a CD. It’s a gift and I really need it for tomorrow. Amazon [Prime] tells me that if I order in the next hour I’ll have it by tomorrow. Perfect. I use one-click buy and am immediately … Continue reading Amazon can be a real tease
Retailer tactics to make online price comparisons harder
Maybe it’s slightly conspiritorial of me, but it appears that in an attempt to make online price comparison as difficult as possible some online electrical retailers are using web/java script to disable the “highlight / copy” function on parts of their website. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has browsed through a retailer’s website, looked at a product and then copy and pasted the [typically superfluous] product name to perform a price-comparison elsewhere. Far easier than retyping AcmeTech F657xc7A-UK, for example. Well, go to pcworld.co.uk or currys.co.uk (two of the UK’s biggest electrical retailers and both owned by … Continue reading Retailer tactics to make online price comparisons harder
Marketing: Repaving the Yellow Brick Road
Technology and telecommunications companies have, for too long, relied on three increasingly obsolete business principles. That population expansion will ensure their growth, that R&D investment will protect their futures and that creating uniqueness in their offers will insulate them from … Continue reading Marketing: Repaving the Yellow Brick Road
“Disruptive”. Investor-pleasing rhetoric with little substance?
In an interview with the Financial Times this week, HTC CEO Peter Chou talked of the company launching a tablet in the near future. He stated that the product would be disruptive. Disruptive. What a nebulous statement that has become. I’m sure it resonates well among the investment community keen to see HTC’s fortunes reenergized, but for folks within the technology space it’s difficult to see the form in which HTC’s tablet disruption will manifest. Industrial Design: HTC has some pedigree here. The HTC One smartphone is a beautiful piece of industrial design, milled from a single block of aluminium, … Continue reading “Disruptive”. Investor-pleasing rhetoric with little substance?
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