Marketing Strategies

  • Branding (61)
  • eMail Marketing (10)
  • Features and Benefits (4)
  • Market Research (21)
  • Marketing Budget (9)
  • Social Media (10)


    • 5 Marketing Lessons from Celebrity Chefs

    5 Marketing Lessons from Celebrity Chefs

    by | Feb 1, 2023 | Branding, Case Studies, Community & Relationships, Ideal Heroic Client, Market Research

    Except for my client Rebecca Joseph (aka The Rabbi Chef), your goal is probably not to be the Next Food Network Star. But there's a whole lot that celebrity chefs can teach us about working in a crowded marketplace. The successful ones truly excel at building their brands and growing their fan base. How do they do it? Here are five of their marketing strategies that you can (and should) adopt today:
    Storytelling à la Reality TV: What The Next Food Network Star can teach you about marketing

    Storytelling à la Reality TV: What The Next Food Network Star can teach you about marketing

    by | Jan 29, 2023 | Branding, Storytelling, Writing Tips

    I'm normally not drawn to reality TV shows. I'll admit a wee addiction in the past -- especially the early years of American Idol and The Apprentice. But I nipped those habits in the bud after a few seasons. It was easy. I just cancelled my cable. But at the beginning of this year, I moved in with my boyfriend and rediscovered my love of reality TV through The Next Food Network Star. The main idea of the show is to find the next FN "star" (while also promoting FN and its current cast). But here's what you can learn from watching...
    The Remarkable Purple Carrot: A Marketing Parable

    The Remarkable Purple Carrot: A Marketing Parable

    by | Jan 26, 2023 | Branding, Case Studies

    Here in the West, purple carrots aren't a commonly found in your local produce departments. In fact, you'll probably have to go out of your way, by searching for them at the fringes: places like your farmer's market or a specialty grocer. There's a little vegetable stand near my house where I can find maybe 3 or 4 at any given time (mostly because there's a woman who comes in every morning and buys nearly all of them for herself). The shop owner literally can't keep enough of these guys on hand. In short, these guys are special. Remarkable even. And they're almost certainly a topic of conversation when served to dinner guests. They're so special, they make the chef look special, too.
    Add Your Secret Sauce: Five Ways to Add Your Personality to Your Website or Blog

    Add Your Secret Sauce: Five Ways to Add Your Personality to Your Website or Blog

    by | Jan 26, 2023 | Branding, Community & Relationships, Writing Tips

    Your "Secret Sauce" is your personality. It's the flavor that you bring to everything you do. And it comes across in many ways -- your voice, your style and your sense of humor. When you interact with real-live human beings, your secret sauce is pretty evident. Most of the time, people can "get" who you are after just a few brief conversations.
    What’s on Your Marketing Plate?

    What’s on Your Marketing Plate?

    by | Jan 25, 2023 | Branding, Features and Benefits, Storytelling, Writing Tips

    Eating healthy can sometimes be a tricky thing. Especially if you've got a sweet tooth. Or a penchant for all-things-fried. When we don't make good choices, we end up feeling pretty miserable. And not just because we can't see our feet any longer. It really sucks when your bottom line won't fit into your favorite jeans! The same is true for your marketing. Your website (and the other channels you use to promote yourself) need to have just the right balance of ingredients in order to keep a healthy number of customers and prospects at your table.
    The Golden Triangle of Coffee Joints: A Marketing Parable

    The Golden Triangle of Coffee Joints: A Marketing Parable

    by | Jan 24, 2023 | Case Studies, Marketing Strategies

    Locally-based businesses (as opposed to multi-national corporations) are the life blood of any community. And people are beginning to understand the importance of nurturing local economies. But there are still a few hold outs. While it is clearly to our collective benefit to support local businesses, many people still patronize national chains. And the reasons don't all have to do with pricing. If you are a small, locally-owned business trying to compete with the big guys, you might want to consider the following parable.
    No More Marketing: Why I’m Done

    No More Marketing: Why I’m Done

    by | Jan 16, 2023 | Branding

    What I’m about to tell you might kill my business, but I have to say it: I’m done (yes, you can stick a fork in me). I’ve never wanted to build an empire — at least not one whose sole purpose was “bigger, better marketing.” And a...
    5 Ways to Make Your Marketing Stick

    5 Ways to Make Your Marketing Stick

    by | Jan 14, 2023 | Features and Benefits, Ideal Heroic Client, Market Research, Marketing Strategies, Writing Tips

    When I was still a youngster (in the days before the Internet was considered a valid way to get your message out), I spent my nights and weekends at the UC Davis Extension learning the "official" rules of "Product-Price-Place-Promotion." One of my first professors (I think his name was Mr. Aguilar) had a strange attachment to the term "pasta marketing." He must've used this term at least twice in every class. His point was that lots of people do their marketing like they cook their pasta: they throw it against the wall to see if it's done. If it sticks, they think it's good. And if doesn't, well...you go back to the drawing board.
    Features vs. Benefits: The Stories that Produce Sales

    Features vs. Benefits: The Stories that Produce Sales

    by | Jan 10, 2023 | Features and Benefits, Ideal Heroic Client, Storytelling, Writing Tips

    The $64,000 question is: Do your customers want to buy what you're selling? If you've done your homework (i.e., market research), and you know without a doubt that your product or service is something people need and/or want, yet you still fail to generate sales, then there's something missing in your marketing messages. In short, you're not "speaking" your customer's language (either online or in person).