In today’s competitive business landscape, traditional sales and marketing-driven approaches are increasingly giving way to a new paradigm: Product Led Growth (PLG). PLG is a strategy that places the product at the center of customer acquisition, revenue growth, and market expansion, and is rapidly gaining traction among startups and established companies alike. In this article, […]
Category: Marketing
One of the most common problems business leaders face is how to price a product. From entrepreneurs putting a new product on the market to executives at a public company revamping a product line, effective pricing is a key pillar of any successful sales and marketing strategy. Moreover, there are many misconceptions about pricing, with […]
User Experience (UX) has emerged as a critical component of software application development, playing a vital role in shaping the success and profitability of technology based ventures. This article explores the history of UX, the role of software designers, the profound impact UX/UI has on the bottom line of businesses, and the various aspects that […]
Most entrepreneurs and product managers (PMs) know that they need to find out what people want. In this article, we will look at how to conduct what is called ‘customer development’ – the process through which a business comes to understand the needs, pain points, and behavior of potential customers through direct conversation and feedback. […]
Business development and sales are two of the most critical components of any successful business. They are closely related, with business development focusing on identifying new opportunities and building relationships, and sales being the process of actually closing deals and generating revenue. In this blog post, we will explore the key elements of business development […]
Charles R. Swindoll wrote, “first impressions never have a second chance”. The first time you interact with an individual they will form a perception of you. Although this opinion may be biased and untrue, once established it takes on a life of its own, and will require a lot of time and effort to change. […]
Product managers have a dynamic role within companies, sitting at the intersection between business leaders, customers, engineers, and designers. They help to organize the development process so that products meet customer needs and business goals. In this article, I will examine the nature of products and the product life cycle, and break down a bit […]
If you are running a tech startup, you probably spend most of your time focusing on your product to make it lean, easy to use, and able to solve people’s problems. However, if you want to be successful you need to reach a lot of people, and so it is important to increase your conversion […]
To succeed in sales, you must know your customer. This means understanding their wants and needs, habits, values, and anything else that can help you close the deal. It also means being able to correctly classify your market. Selling a high-tech piece of equipment to a large corporation can be very different from selling a […]
MMM assists marketers in optimizing future spends and maximizing effectiveness (i.e. it establishes which mediums are working better than others). Then, budget allocation is done, by shifting money from low ROI mediums to high ROI mediums, thus maximizing sales while keeping the budget constant. Types of MMM MMM can be built using regression methods and […]
It’s a great challenge to accurately measure the effects of advertising, packaging, distribution channels, media expenditures, social media Likes and Tweets, and sales organizational structure on brand share or sales revenue. Is marketing solely a game of chance, or might there be a way to bring scientific methods to the table? Let’s draw a distinction […]
This is a continuation of Part 1 where different types and benefits of customer segmentation were introduced. In this article we will focus on three customer segmentation methods that use statistical techniques: cluster analysis (K-Means), cluster analysis (Latent Class Analysis), and Tree analysis (CHAID). Let’s first define a problem and see how each method approaches it. […]
Customer segmentation is the practice of segmenting customers based on common characteristics. It is a critical step towards identifying growth opportunities in business and should be carried out before undertaking any of the following actions: Developing customized marketing programs (e.g. campaign optimization) Designing an optimal channel distribution strategy (e.g. brick-and-mortar vs online) Determining appropriate product […]
“If it weren’t for these customers, we would be doing just fine!” We have seen this pattern repeat itself far too many times. Few people are in the habit of looking for a gap in the market or trying to identify an unsatisfied need. Successful startups grow by building a product or service that meets […]
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PM vs PMM: Where do you fit?
In technology and software companies, there are product management (PM) and product marketing management (PMM) roles. People often ask, what is the difference between the two roles? They both focus on a product, so how do they divide the tasks that need to be done? Responsibilities of PM and PMM When you think about a […]
Does a hospital really need a branding strategy? If you had asked that exact question 15-25 years ago most hospital administrators would have said: “No.” That was arguably because patients were going to their nearest hospital not necessarily choosing a specific location. Years ago, being a physician meant you were most likely one of a […]
All organisations engage in marketing activities: you have to show your customers you have something they want, after all. For top-tier consulting firms, there are two primary marketing efforts – the first, marketing to attract entry-level recruits, is quite visible. Firms regularly visit target school campuses, and buy online advertising on LinkedIn and Facebook to […]
Your website is live and you’re ready to sell, but you just can’t seem to attract enough customers. Even when you get shoppers to your site, they’re just not converting. Sound familiar? Don’t give up hope for a bustling business. Here are 7 e-commerce marketing techniques to boost your online sales. 1. Leverage Email Email […]
So, you’ve put together your blog or product website – now all you need is visitors. You blast your website on social media pages, telling your friends to share and subscribe. Your views … trickle in. Slowly. This won’t cut it. How do other blogs get so much traffic so quickly? Easy: They’re being more […]
Facebook’s own marketing team make running a business page and using Facebook Ads sound simple and effective. Well, while there’s definitely a huge gulf in the reach between paying for boosted posts versus simply setting up your page and hoping for the best, a Facebook ad campaign without a strategy will be just as hopeless […]
If you’ve been turning your nose up at the idea of advertising on Facebook, you’re missing out on a fantastic opportunity. It may not exactly be ‘old school’ – even by internet standards – but Facebook Ads have a way of integrating themselves into your customer’s daily lives in an unobtrusive way that puts them […]
Most young entrepreneurs have a pretty good handle on social media. The same business people most likely have a healthy understanding of customer care. However, put the two together, and the results are not always intuitive. Dealing with complaints and enquiries via social media is a game with its own rules – neither as informal […]
Life has changed drastically over the last several years, yet human beings have stayed inherently the same as they were thousands of years ago. The same things stimulate and excite our brain as they did when we were cavemen. In a time where we have 24/7 news websites and free information literally at our fingertips, […]
Business owners know that they can’t attract customers if those customers don’t know that they exist. That is why they rent buildings in high traffic areas and pay large sums to place ads where people are likely to see them. There are many ways that companies can get the word out, and with all the […]
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Design is about Function
(Source: Techradar) Design is about function. Every product has a job to do, as Professor Clay Christensen enjoys telling his marketing students at Harvard Business School. If a product is designed properly, then the job will get done well. Apple’s new debut wearable technology, the Apple Watch, has a sleek yet distinctively square shaped design. This seems […]
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Just A Game?
Using gamelike elements to engage customers can produce real business value We are currently taking an online course on Gamification with Wharton’s Professor Kevin Werbach, which provides a fascinating insight into the world of games and how gamelike elements can be incorporated into the customer experience. The basic concept is that games provide a structure within which […]
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Simple, Appealing and Delicious
Fish and chips at the Golden Union Fish Bar WHEN it comes to project delivery it is said that the customer always wants it “fast, good and cheap”, but they can only have two. A project can be delivered quickly and cheaply, but the quality will suffer. It can be shipped cheaply and to perfection, but it will take a long time. Or it can be supplied quickly and with quality, but […]
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Prize Inside
HAVE you ever wondered why cereal boxes often contain a free toy, prize or collectible? The answer is simpler than you might think. The children are the target audience, while the parents fund the purchase. The kids want the toy, while the parents want cereal for their children but are largely indifferent about which sort of cereal because they’re not going to eat it themselves. […]
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Loyalty Games
If you are there for them, they will be there for you WHEN it comes to marketing, you have a choice. Chase new customers, or care for the ones you already have. Buy a million dollar Superbowl ad, or do the hard work of creating remarkable products for the people who care. Pursue the glittering promise of untold wealth by […]
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Getting Your Point Across
Be engaging, have something to say, don’t have a stick up your a$$, make people laugh, and never generalize
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Selling is a process, not an event
Large consulting firms like McKinsey, Bain and BCG have huge marketing budgets and strong alumni networks that they can tap into to ensure a steady stream of work. This is not a reality for most people. If you are a small firm or a solo consultant then you might just need to pick up the […]
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Facebook Marketing: Should You Use It?
Veritasium concludes that advertising your page on Facebook is a waste of money VERITASIUM is a popular educational science channel on YouTube, created by Derek Muller, which tries to uncover misconceptions about science. While not technically “science”, Veritasium has released an interesting and insightful video about the worth of Facebook marketing. In short, Facebook marketing appears to […]
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Who Is Your Customer?
When you try to please everyone, you please nobody There was a recent incident in Australia where Aldi, a German supermarket, decided to pull a product from its shelves after receiving racism complaints. The product in question was a t-shirt with the slogan, “Australia EST 1788”. The shirts were produced for Australia Day 2014, which […]
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6 Ways to Overcome Loss Aversion
Loss aversion can lead people to favour the status quo, and so clever marketing is sometimes needed to convince people to buy new products LOSS AVERSION can lead people to favour the status quo. How so? Well, when a consumer considers replacing a good, the presence of loss aversion can lead her to experience more pain […]
When adversity strikes, branding gives you resilience This guest post is by Ryan Currie. Ryan is a product manager at BizShark.com with 5 years experience in online marketing and product development. He is on the cutting edge of developments in emerging technologies and open source projects. IN BUSINESS, branding is crucially important. If your business doesn’t have a […]
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Under Promise and Over Deliver
Keep expectations low, and exceed them
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The Transmutability of Desire
Desire can change from one object to another YOU are most likely familiar with the marketing adage, “Sex sells”. The concept is a fairly simple one. Sex is a topic of interest because humans have a biological and instinctive desire to reproduce. This hard-wired desire is exploited by marketers to attract people’s attention and, at […]
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Are you creating remarkable products?
REMARKABLE products are products that are worth making a remark about. Case in point, the latest version of the NAO humanoid robot. Earlier editions have been sold to researchers for more than $14,600. That being said, I only have one thing to say: “I want one”.
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Do you have an app?
Creating an app is not that hard, for a 12 year old DO YOU have an app? Well, do you? … Many leading companies have already jumped on the app-store bandwagon (e.g. New York Times, Twitter and Facebook) but most businesses can still confidently answer this question in the negative: “no apps here.” Given that the […]
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6 Steps to Blogging #WINNING
YOU may wonder whether you should blog. Stop wondering. You’re either on the Internet or you’re with the trolls. Here are the steps: Search Digest Synthesise (hint: this is were all of the competitive advantage comes from) Polish Publish (hint: this is where all of the value comes from) Repeat #WINNING
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Are you doing something remarkable?
Loyal customers provide repeat business. Do something remarkable, and they will spread the word CUSTOMER loyalty is an important asset for any business for two reasons. Firstly, loyal customers will give you repeat business, to quote Tom Peters “all business success rests on something labelled a sale”. Secondly, and more importantly, loyal customers are the people who […]
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Target people’s forgotten needs
WE ALL know the old marketing adage, “sex sells”. The marketing approach is quite simple: link sex directly or indirectly with the product or service that you are selling. It may be a certain brand of cola that we end up buying, but it was sex that we were after. Sex is a base level […]
1. The golden ratio THE golden ratio is believed to have aesthetically pleasing properties. The golden ratio is a naturally occurring number that has been the subject of interest since ancient Greek times, and has been used in architecture, art, books and music since at least the time of the Renaissance. For example, artists have […]