Good Examples
A marketing novice wondered whether a direct mail ad he received from a restaurant was any good. He described the ad in an online discussion board and waited for responses. Dozens of people replied with all sorts of marketing advice. Lots of them said they liked the ad. Some asked to see the advertisement so…
Last month, a networking group that I help manage contacted 18 former members to learn why they quit. Three of the 18 said they quit for no particular reason. They just let their commitment lag. Prompted by the phone call, they committed to resubscribe. Three out of 18. That’s 17 percent. That’s pretty good. Many…
In 1774, King Frederick II of Prussia was ruling over a land ravaged by famine. He urged farmers to plant potatoes to end the famine. But back then, potatoes were considered livestock feed in Eastern Europe, not suitable for human consumption. So farmers defied the king and didn’t plant them… …until King Frederick changed marketing…
Our company made a marketing mistake. I’m going to tell you about so you don’t repeat it. We sell email marketing software to many schools and school districts. So we recently ran a print advertisement in the membership directory for the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA). The ad included the address for our website…
As I entered a quick shop yesterday, I noticed a guy walking out who looked down on his luck. He stopped by the door and pulled from his shirt pocket a half-smoked, crooked cigarette butt. He bent it back into shape, lit up and took a long drag. When I walked out of the store,…
Last week, my twin children turned 22. I’m still Dad, but my hardest parenting work is behind me (I think/hope). That got me thinking about parenting lessons learned. Here’s a big one: When the kid does something bad, that doesn’t mean the kid is a bad person. As parents, we need to help our kids…
My friend Richard Terry asked me to help him with some marketing copy. He’d heard one of my presentations recently, and he thought he might benefit from my expertise. We met earlier today, and here’s what I told him… …Richard, you don’t need my help. I was honored he asked. I welcome new business. I…
Last month, I told you about conspiracy theorists who tried to “prove” that the moon landings were a hoax. (Here’s that email.) In that email, I noted that many marketers remind me of the conspiracy theorists. They take a couple of facts and paste them together to create a wacky, inaccurate picture. A few weeks ago, my…
I was planning to send a different email to you today. …until I checked my inbox this morning and opened one of the best cold-call emails I’ve ever received. I wanted to share it with you because it’s sooooo good and you can learn so much from it. It begins: “Hey Tom, Curious if you’re…
I was cleaning out some old files and found the “Dress Code Policy” for one of my early jobs. Coat and tie required. No jeans. Closed-top shoes. No sneakers. Etc. Etc. Etc. Blah blah blah. That was 1998. Times have changed. I remember the first time I worked at a place with “Casual Fridays.” It…