Collaborations Archives - Page 7 of 9 - McLellan Marketing Group

BrandingWire: Why are we losing business?

October 8, 2007

This month’s BrandingWire offering asks an interesting question. A B2B consultancy that works primarily with high-tech and health care clients is losing market share. What should they do?

Here’s their current situation:

They are losing contracts to lower pricing and bigger firms.
They’ve stopped growing.
If they do land a client, they usually only buy one project and don’t return.

Here’s how they describe their client profile:

Revenues: $1 million to $25 million
Employees: 150 or fewer
Verticals: High-tech and health care
Location: North America

Sometimes the best advice we need to offer a prospect or client is — you shouldn’t market anything right now. To jump into marketing tactics at this stage with this particular client would be putting lipstick on a pig.

There are questions that need asking long before we pull the trigger on any attempt to help them attract new clients. They have problems that marketing cannot fix. And it would be irresponsible of us to encourage them to spend money that’s just going to perpetuate the problem.

This is a classic mistake many businesses make. They’re struggling so they throw more marketing dollars at the problem. But what if the problem has little to do with marketing? Here are some harsh realities that this client needs to face before they launch any new marketing initiatives.

Your target market is too big

The range between $1 million and $25 million is huge. Companies on each side of that size spectrum behave completely differently. My guess is that our client needs to drastically narrow that range to find their sweet spot. Right now, they are aiming at much too wide a target.

You don’t know how you are perceived

We need to have some in-depth conversations with past clients, current clients and those clients who opted for a competitor. We need to understand, from their perspective, how this company is coming across.

The biggie: You can’t sustain business

But, without a doubt the most glaring problem we need to solve is the company’s inability to keep current clients happy and coming back for more.

If you can’t earn a current client’s trust and more business, then you are destined to fail. No business can be profitable with a revolving door or clients. The costs of acquisition is just too high.

Bottom line:

This year’s marketing budget is going to be dedicated to identifying and fixing the problems that have gotten our client into this situation. We can’t market them out of the hole they’ve dug.

As is the BrandingWire tradition, there will be several other marketing pros who will weigh in on this scenario. Check out their posts as well!

Olivier Blanchard
Becky Carroll
Derrick Daye
Kevin Dugan
Lewis Green
Gavin Heaton
Martin Jelsema
Valeria Maltoni
Drew McLellan
Patrick Schaber
Steve Woodruff

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Join us for breakfast and some branding tomorrow?

October 2, 2007

As you know, we MMGers are passionate about branding. So much so that we want to share it with the business world. That’s why two years ago, we started hosting our monthly Branding Breakfast.

October’s Branding Breakfast is tomorrow. Other than the fact that it’s at the crack of dawn — it’s a good time. You can enjoy a hot breakfast and a lively discussion about branding and how it could be applied to your business.

Here are the particulars:

Wednesday, October 3rd (7:30 am – 8:30 am)
Workforce Development Office
430 East Grand
Downtown Des Moines

We hope you can join in the fun!

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Come mix and mingle

September 30, 2007

One of the things I love about big cocktail parties is the mixing and mingling. It's a smorgasbord of conversations and you can drift in and out, sampling a little bit of each one.

So, imagine all the Age of Conversation authors standing around, drink in hand, chatting. Wouldn't it be fun to flit from group to group, engaging with each author?

Well, until we can make that happen, David Brazeal of JournaMarketing (and an AoC author) is doing the next best thing. He's vowed to create a podcast with each author and share them with all of us.

He's got three done and you can check them out on his site.

Gavin Heaton
Me
Becky Carroll

This will be a series worth watching for. Thanks to David for putting the spotlight on each author!

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My next cover? Rolling Stone.

September 28, 2007

I've always thought of myself as cover boy material. But I was okay with starting small. Not any more!

Thanks to Age of Conversation and Arun Rajagopal, Gavin Heaton and I have hit the big time! Stealing straight from Arun's announcement:

We are the cover story of the Dubai-based Khaleej Times ‘Weekend’ magazine today! What an awesome way to celebrate ‘AOC’. KT’s feature writer Pratibha Umashankar pulled out all the stops to write ‘Mind Blogging’, a brilliant story on ‘AOC’ that also explores the following questions:
o What are the advantages of blogging?
o The implications of ‘blooking’ both commercially and from a readership point of view vis-à-vis conventional publishing
o The future of blogging and citizen journalism
o Implications of blogging in terms of news value

Several of the other AoC authors are also shown, holding their copy of the book.

The lesson? Never ever underestimate the power of collaboration and the spirit of giving first. Thanks to all the AoC authors and especially Arun for making this possible. Hopefully it means we will break a new milestone for our Variety donation!

What do you think I should wear for the Rolling Stone's cover shoot?

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It doesn’t have to be fancy…or star Tom Cruise

September 26, 2007

Video is a powerful medium. It's a storytelling medium. We've seen that with the explosion of YouTube.

There's been a lot of discussion about production quality. Now do not misunderstand. I firmly believe there is a time and place when you need high end production and wouldn't allow a client to skimp.

But sometimes, you can capture the spirit and the story telling…and not spend a fortune.

Check our The Marketing Minute's friend Phil Gerbyshak tell us about a webinar series. It makes you smile. (Had me actually laugh out loud) It gives us a hint of what the webinar series might be like.

It's the first chapter in a story…

For more information about the webinar series, follow Phil's instructions and head to the website.

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Want to tune up your sales savvy?

September 17, 2007

In terms of sales strategists, they don't come much smarter or more engaging than Jill Konrath. I've shared some of her ideas here before. She's got a great blog and has written the best selling book Selling to Big Companies.

One of the marketing/sales concepts that I preach all the time is give a little first. If you want someone to give you their valuable time or attention, let alone their money — you give first. A free sample to let them taste what they can have for themselves.

Jill, as you'd guess, is a master at this technique.

In launching her sales conference (November 5-6, Mpls) geared specifically for women, Sales SheBang, she has put together an incredible Goody Bag, filled with free e-books on the art and science of selling, all written by Jill herself.

I'm no fool so I downloaded each and every e-book. Each one is an excellent primer on a different aspect of selling. Check out this grid of insights from one of Jill's e-books.

There's content for staff meeting or two right there!

In a recent e-mail exchange Jill said something that I think is very indicative of who she is as a person. She said, "I am in my "mentoring" years and willingly share what I have to help others in any way that I can."

Take Jill up on that offer…grab those e-books and soak up the smarts.

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Who is in my conga line? YOU!

September 15, 2007

And boy, look at what we've been able to do together!

Today is this blog's first blogiversary and so I've spent this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn't get here alone!

But without a doubt — the biggest thanks go to you. The people who come here to teach, talk, ask and share.

Anniversaries are, by their nature, about numbers. Technorati rankings, subscribers, etc are important but what I'm really proud of it are the numbers we've generated together this year.

There's not one thing on this list I could have done alone. I am so honored and grateful that you've been a part of it all.

Age of Conversation
103 authors
Over 1,300 copies sold
Over $10,000 raised for Variety, the Children's Charity

Giving College Grads a Fighting Chance
50 pages of sage counsel from 50 different professionals
2 downloadable PDF versions
Thousands of downloads

New Blogger's Toolbox
57 resources (blogs and articles)
15 contributors
Thousands of hits (and hopefully helps!)

Marketing Lessons from Walt
11 pages of Disneycentric marketing wisdom
Thousands of downloads

Conversations
446 conversations started
2,835 comments
Many more to come!

So my friends….in the end, the conga line has gotten pretty long. And I couldn't be happier. Thank you for enriching the conversation. I hope you'll stick around for year #2!

Thank you to all commenters, including the following:

Aaron M. Potts, Aaron Davidson, Adam Brucker, Adam Kayce, Adam Steen, Adrian Lee, Adriana, Al, Aldian Prakoso, Alex Bellinger, Alvin Borromeo, Amelia, Amy, Amy HVG, Andrew Clark, Andrew Flusche, Anita Bruzzese, Andy Beard, Andy Brudtkuhl, Andy Drish, Ann Handley, ann michael, Anna Farmery, Anne Simons, Art Dinkin, Arun Rajagopal, Bart, basketer, Becky, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Becky-Joe, Ben Yoskovitz, Beth, Bill Gammell, Bob Glaza, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brett Duncan, Brett Rogers, Brett Trout, Brian Clark, Bryan Person, C. B. Whittemore, Cam Beck, Caroline Melberg, Carolyn Manning, Char, Charles Brown, Charlie, Charlie, Chris, Chris Brown, Chris Clarke, Chris Cree, chris gribble, Chris Kieff, Chris Punke, CK, Chris, Christine Kane, Chris Newlan, Christopher, Trottier, Chuck, Clara, Claire Celsi, Claire Walter, Clyde Smith, Connie Reece, Copywriting Services, Cord Silverstein, Cory Garrison, Craig Harper, Dan, Dan Scwabel, Dani, Daniel Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Dario, Darren, Dave Forde, David Airey, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Dalka, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Reich, Dawud Miracle, Debra Murphy, Delaney Kirk, Dennis Bjørn Petersen, Derek Tutschulte, Donna Konley, DotMySpot, Doug, Doug Karr, Doug Meacham, Douglas Mitchell, Dustin Jacobsen, Easton Ellsworth, Elizabeth Anderson, Elizabeth, Elizabeth Saunders, Ellen Weber, Elysa, Eric Brown, Eric Kintz, Erin Blaskie, Fran, Gabriel, Galt, Gavin Heaton, gianandrea facchini, Graham Hill, Guy Kawasaki, Hannah, Heather Gallegos, Helen, Howie, Ian, Irene, JG Richards, Jaap Steinvoorte, Jack Hayhow, Jackie Cameron, Jackie Shervington, Jake Nudge, Jamie Shiels, Jane, Jane Greer, Janet Green, Janice, Jay Thompson, Jaynie, Jeff, Jeff Morris, Jeff Weinberger, Jennifer Espeland, Jessica Colleen, Jeremy, Jim Durbin, Jim Kukral, Jim Lane, Jim Tobin, Jim D Walton, Joan Schramm, Joanna Young, Joe Raasch, John, John, John Dawson, John Jackson, Jon Burg, Jonathan Lenhart, Jonathan Treiber, Josh More, Josh Spaulding, Kami Huyse, Kammie K., Katie Cummings, Katie Konrath, Kevin Dugan, Kevin Hillstrom, Kim Klaver, Kirsten Harrell,, Kristin Gorski, Kristen, Kristen Walker, Larry Hendrick, Larry Lehmer, Laura, Leesa Barnes, Leslie Tane, Lewis Green, Leon, Linkerjpatrick, Lisa, Liz Strauss, Lord Matt, Loren Nason, Lori Grant, Lori Magno, Lou Hampton, Maartje, Mack Collier, Madena M Burman, Marcus Brown, Mark, Mark Riffey, Marie, Mario Sundar, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair , Mark Goren, Mark Stinson, Mark True, Martin Jellsema, Mary Schmidt, Mason, Matt Dickman, Matt Hamilton, Matt Haverkamp, Matthew Hooper, Michael Libbie, Michael Morton, Michael Wagner, Michel, Michelle Lamar, Mike Pearce, Mike Sigers, Mike Sansone, Mike Smock, Mike Templeton, Mike Thomas, mindblob, mitch matthews, Moda di Magno, Nathan, Nancy, Nancy, Neil Sanderson, Nettie Hartsock, Nicholas Gill, Nick Darling, Nick Rice, Nikole Gipps, Pat McGraw, Patrick, Patrick Schaber, Paul Enderson, Paul McEnany, Paul Paetz, Penina, Pete Deutschman, Peter Kim, Phil Gerbyshak, Pieter Ardinois, Rachel, Ray Edwards, rishi, Rob Cuesta, Roberta Rosenberg, Robert Hruzek, Robyn McMaster, Roger Anderson, Roger von Oech, Rosa Say, Rush Nigut, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Healy, Ryan Karpeles, Sacrum, Sam Beckwith, Sandy Renshaw, Scott, Scott Ginsberg, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Sean Carter, Sean Howard, Sean Woodruff, Seth Godin, Sham, Sharon Sarmiento, Shaping Youth, Sherry Borzo, Simon, SimonStudio, Soni Pitts, Stephanie Sheaffer, Stephanie Weaver, Stephen Denny, Steve Farber, Steve Harper, Steve Lovelace, Steve Miller, Steve Roesler, Steve Sisler, Steve Woodruff, Susan Gunelius, Susan F. Heywood, Susan Martin, Susan Weiner, Sustainable is Good, Suzanne Obermire, T.J., Terra Anderson, Terry Starbucker, Thomas R. Clifford, Tim Jackson, Timothy L Johnson, Toby Bloomberg, Toby Getsch, Todd And, Tom Guarriello, Tom Swartwood, Tom Vander Well, Tony D. Clark, Travis, Tshombe, Uwe Hook, V. Michael Santoro, Valeria Maltoni, Vanessa, Vernon Lun, Will Humphrey, Xander, Zane, 4MySales

Who is in my conga line?

Mike Sansone
CK (Christina Kerley)
Gavin Heaton
The smiling faces
My other blog homes
YOU!

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Who is in my conga line? My other blog homes

September 14, 2007

As we dance our way to my first blogiversary (Saturday the 15th) I want to spend this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn't get here alone!

With their endorsement and encouragement, some of the most supportive people in my conga line are the other blogs that invite me to be one of their authors.

It started with Small Business Branding. To be invited to write about one of my core professional passions was such a thrill. Then, I was blown away when I was adding to the All-Star line-up at Marketing Profs Daily Fix. And closer to home, I get to help Iowa Businesses wrap their arms around marketing at IowaBiz.com. More recently, I was asked to be one of the inaugural bloggers in BrandingWire which of course, I quickly jumped at.

It's one thing to start your own blog. It was scary and fun but all along, I knew if I bombed…it was okay because it was just me. But, it's something all together different and remarkable to be considered good enough to write for someone else's. On all four blogs, I am surrounded by smart, talented pros who make me look good just by being in their midst. It's heady stuff and I'm grateful to write along side them.

My way of thanking those trusting editors? Just keep adding value to the conversation as best I can.

Who is in my conga line?

Mike Sansone
CK (Christina Kerley)
Gavin Heaton
The smiling faces
My other blog homes
YOU!

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Who is in my conga line? Those smiling faces!

September 14, 2007

As we dance our way to my first blogiversary (Saturday the 15th) I want to spend this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn’t get here alone!

Without a doubt, some of the warmest, most genuine people in my conga line are the bloggers I have met in person.

It started with Iowa bloggers. Mike Sansone, Sandy Renshaw, Mike Wagner, Mark True & Cory Garrison, Claire Celsi, the Steens, Tim Johnson, Tom Vander Well, Michael Libbie and many more. When we gather on the first Friday of every month, we are 40+ strong and pack a Panera.

Then, Terry Starbucker came a calling to Des Moines. Shortly after that, I got to go to NYC and dine with CK. Then, SOBCon in Chicago and a very special meet up in NYC again.

With each and every meeting, there is one absolute. Each blogger is exactly as I knew they would be. You cannot blog several days a week and hide your humanity.

I’ve made some very good friends since launching this blog. And many of them, like Gavin, I have yet to meet in person. But I know that every on-line relationship I have forged grows stronger once we’ve sat across from other another and shared laughter, stories and a little bit more of ourselves.

My way of thanking those smiling faces? Working on creating as many opportunities for face-to-face encounters as possible. There is no substitute for a genuine smile and a warm hug. That’s why I’m so excited about the Blogger Social. I hope to share a smile and a hug with many of you there.

Who is in my conga line?

CK (Christina Kerley)
Gavin Heaton
The smiling faces
My other blog homes
YOU!

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Who is in my conga line? Gavin Heaton and 101 of our friends

September 12, 2007

As we dance our way to my first blogiversary (Saturday the 15th) I want to spend this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn’t get here alone!

Without a doubt, one of the most prolific in my conga line is Gavin Heaton.

I don’t really remember how I first “met” the Servant of Chaos. I just know that I immediately was drawn to his way with words and ideas. His blog became one of my must reads.

Then, on fateful day in March, I posted. Gavin commented. And 2 weeks later, Age of Conversation was born. A few weeks after that, we had over 100 authors lined up. Hard part done, right?

Boy, were we clueless! What followed were 3 and a half months of constant communication, literally thousands of e-mails, a bazillion edits and design tweaks. Working through issues with 100+ authors is a little like herding cats. Wonderful creatures, each and every one. But not always on the same page.

Oh yeah, and we both had real jobs and families to tend to. Through it all, Gavin was like the calm after a storm. Always patient. Always willing to listen. Always looking for ways to make the project succeed and everyone involved to feel good about it.

About that time, Gavin’s blog hit 1,000 comments and ironically, the 1,000th commenter was me! I had the honor of being his guest blogger to commemorate the milestone.

On July 16th, we launched Age of Conversation and less than 2 months later, we have earned $10,000 for Variety the Children’s Charity. Do you have any idea how huge that is? How remarkable?

And how impossible it would have been without Gavin?

My way of thanking Gavin and our 101 co-authors? Doing it all over again next year as we try to top Age of Conversation’s success. And that is no small task! But…I’m glad to give it my all, along side my co-publisher and friend!

Special thanks as well to the Age of Conversation authors. Without them, Age would be an incredibly short book!

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiel s
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
S. Neil Vineberg

Who is in my conga line?

Mike Sansone
CK (Christina Kerley)
Gavin Heaton
The smiling faces
My other blog homes
YOU!

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