AI is the new industrial revolution and unlike the linear change in the market during the industrial revolution, the AI revolution is causing change at an exponential rate. Those businesses who embrace this change will be far better off than those who are a bit late to adopt this innovation mindset. Possibly those that do not make innovation as part of their core strategy will not survive.
In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins creates a clear metaphor by comparing a business to a bus and the leader as the bus driver. He emphasizes that it is crucial to continuously ask “First Who, Then What?”
You are a bus driver. The bus, your company, is at a standstill, and it’s your job to get it going. You have to decide where you’re going, how you’re going to get there, and who’s going with you.
Most people assume that great bus drivers (read: business leaders) immediately start the journey by announcing to the people on the bus where they’re going—by setting a new direction or by articulating a fresh corporate vision.
In fact, leaders of companies that go from good to great start not with “where” but with “who.”
When you are out fishing and only have one line over the side, you limit the number of fish you can catch in the time available. The same applies when marketing your business. Use only one marketing channel and you still may catch a customer, but if your channel goes unnoticed, you can come up empty handed.
The answer, just like when you are fishing, is to use several baited hooks in your marketing. Also, make sure the bait is enticing and kept fresh.
I often see small companies approach their marketing on a random, suck-it-and-see approach, therefore waste a lot of money and time going nowhere. They will try one channel, after being approached by a slick salesperson with a “deal”, put a quick campaign in place and more often than not, be disappointed by the results. Thinking…
Thanks to one of my builder clients, Dan for this post. He sent me a link to a very interesting infographic about modern trends in marketing, and I have included that link below. One aspect was not new at all, but maybe is coming back into vogue a bit. Focusing on customer satisfaction. Why? The…
A recent study for the construction industry by Hinge, a US based branding and marketing firm, found that buyers listed good reputation as the most important criteria for purchasing, and the good news is that most sellers already recognize this fact. www.hingemarketing.com They also asked buyers about the best way to market to them (Figure 1).…
The customer is always right. Correct? Wrong! The RIGHT customer is always right for your business. Unfortunately most of us don’t know who the right customers are for our business. So we take on board anyone who has a heart beat, without ever identifying the right customer profile for our business. But who is the…
Your “purple cow” is also known as your unique selling position, or USP. It is a sentence or phrase that explains what makes you special. It gives your prospects a reason to do business with you rather than your competitors. A good USP that is properly used makes your marketing a lot more effective, because…
Anyone who saw Fair Go on the 21st of May would have seen the segment on the Certified builder from Smith & Sons and the unhappy client. The client was complaining about a bad outcome on a building project and also unhappy that Certified Builders was backing the builder and not brokering (read, paying for)…
I started this blog with the intention of focusing on ways in which a business can improve its competitive advantage. To keep on this track this post is about one of the fundamental strategies that provides the cornerstone of developing a sustainable competitive advantage over your competitors. That strategy is, FOCUS. Jim Collins in his…