Archive for September, 2009

Here’s this week’s “Ask Mike” question:

Q: Do you have any recommendations for marketing services to service companies? I am often in a position of trying to address the client’s needs but not getting to meet the ultimate client—I feel at the mercy of a client with whom I don’t have contact.

If you’re like most executives you manage a global team. But what’s the secret of running a team that cuts across time zones, cultures, and languages? How do you create a strong culture that balances centralized control with distributed authority? What metrics drive the right behaviors and business outcomes when you [...]

Apparently, if you are a manager, the answer is yes.

If you’re someone updating your status and telling people your home will be unoccupied (and ripe for a burglery) the answer is no.

Two studies were recently released and I find the results ironic.

When it comes to white papers, the last thing you write is just as important as the first.

The very last line of text in any white paper should be a call to action. The call to action is really a specific instruction to your reader. If you’re conjuring up images of a video of grandpa [...]

While chatting with a client recently, she told me that she had just met with her third new boss this year to explain the company’s new lead nurturing process.

The problem was that her boss felt their current integrated marketing campaigns qualified as lead nurturing. We discussed the challenges of communicating what IS and ISN’T lead [...]

It’s no secret that many brands are embracing social media. From international heavyweights like Ford and Coca-Cola to local ice cream shops, everyone is trying to figure out “how to get social media done.” In several client meetings recently, the discussion has turned to the subject of staffing up for social media and to then [...]

Lately I’ve been advising a couple of different companies who are either introducing a new product or contemplating a new market.

Invariably the question comes up how should we think about which markets to enter.

Simple answer: wherever you can maximize your opportunity! Well not so simple really, when you start thinking about it.