The good news? You’ve just created a shiny new positioning statement. You’ve labored over how to frame your target market. You’ve wordsmithed your competitive differentiation. You’ve detailed the how those differences make your product better. Now you’re ready for the market to respond and pay off all that hard work. The bad news? It probably […]
Branding & Messaging
How to Message Your Milestone – EP:100
When you try to message your milestone, it’s easy to mistake the milestone for the message. It’s important to realize that what’s meaningful to us internally isn’t necessarily meaningful externally. You still need to show your audience, clients, or customers that you’re helping them get a goal that they want: achieve something, solve a problem, […]
Four ways people react to messages (and how to get the one you want)
You have a message. You want to get it heard. That’s all good. (I mean, people have to hear your message to act on it, right? Right.) Except that’s not enough, is it? Nope. Because after someone hears something, they react to it, and it’s that reaction that determines what happens next. You can’t get the action […]
The Red Thread of the Waffle House Index – EP:092
Waffle House stays open no matter what, and the Waffle House Index represents their Red Thread. Even though this chain of southern restaurants is committed to keeping their doors open, there are times when a disaster or national emergency makes that impossible. But this is where the Waffle House Index comes into play. Because Waffle […]
Who (or what) are you choosing to be?
If you could choose to be anyone, who would you choose? I chose “the Dread Pirate Roberts.” Perhaps I should explain. The Princess Bride is and has always been one of my favorite movies (and books), and the Dread Pirate Roberts is one of the main characters. He kidnaps the heroine, Princess Buttercup, after killing […]
Are Branding and Marketing the Same? – EP:086
What’s the difference between branding and marketing? Branding is about meaning, but marketing is about method. Brand is something that you already have that you’re trying to distill and communicate. Marketing is how you communicate that message, which comes down to the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion (Tamsen adds a fifth P for […]
Why you need to write your own rules
For years, Content Marketing World—the world’s largest content marketing conference—was the one conference I couldn’t get on the schedule for. Tom, my husband, went year after year and was loved and adored (as he should be). Five years ago, I peevishly asked him, “Why don’t people love me on stage as much as you? Why […]
When communications failures drive marketing failures
In 1987, the Walt Disney Corporation and the government of France signed a deal to build a new Disney theme park in the suburbs outside of Paris. France fought (!) to have Disney come. They wanted the theme park. They beat out Spain to get it (another first!)… and so Euro Disney was born. And […]
How to handle negative feedback
Do you remember your first negative performance review? I do. I was 10. I was hot off a victory at the King’s Grant Elementary School Holiday Door Decorating Contest. Our winning door had a fully functioning fake fireplace, replete with mantle and stockings. It was, to say the least, a thing of beauty. And it was all […]
How to Make Sure Your Target Audience Hears Your Message – EP077
The Universal Paradox of Messaging The narrower your focus with your message, the broader your reach with your target audience. If that sounds counterintuitive to you, you’re not alone. However, this is often referred to as the universal paradox of messaging. The most effective messages feel like they were made just for you. Unfortunately, most […]