Marketing in Real Life

“WE WILL NOW BE CLOSED ON SUNDAYS DUE TO LACK OF CUSTOMERS” That is what the sign said in the window of a new barber shop around the corner from my house when I walked by with my dog last week. It’s a sign that has stuck with me since seeing it, even though it was gone by the time I came back the next morning. The message is clear – they feel like they aren’t making any money on Sundays because they have no one coming in, which may be true. I have no problem with the concept, but as a marketer it pains me when I see a better solution to a situation than this. Here is the situation… The barber shop opened less than three months ago There was no banner or otherwise attention grabbing sign outside to announce its opening (just one door down from a hair salon I might add). They were open 7 days a week. I never received an announcement about their opening or why I should go there and only knew about it because it is on my morning walk. Nothing stated above is that out of the ordinary, so ma...

Much to the chagrin of my number loving colleagues, one of the things that always perks up prospective clients is the fact that my firm, Chadwick Martin Bailey, has a graphic designer on staff to help make reports easier on the eyes. (Chagrin is too strong a word, they just wish that advanced analytics perked prospects up more!) Clients love this because it means less work for them after a report is delivered and shows a commitment to making sure deliverables are easy to share internally. As we move more and more towards increased visualization – and interactivity of research data, I have been having fun playing with some of the interactive tools available online for free. Fast company had a great write-up recently of some of the new offerings from Google, Tableau and others. Play around and let me know what you think has the most potential. As a Fantasy Football junkie, I particularly enjoyed this one in Tableau Public. (or see it more clearly here .) Powered by Tableau

Brand tracking research usually focuses on how customers and prospects get brand impressions through market communications. However, research shows that once a person begins interacting with a brand, their actual experiences have a far greater impact on their perceptions and likelihood to shop, buy, or recommend. Too often companies' brand tracking research doesn't account for this dynamic in any significant way, thus missing the opportunity to tell a more complete story. That's why I believe that the most effective brand tracking research incorporates both: Impact of the Brand: The extent to which market communications are delivering the most compelling brand promises; and Impact of Experience: The extent to which people's experiences at every touch point (e.g., the product, the store/purchase, personnel, problem resolution) match up with what the brand led them to expect So where does social media fall into the equation? Obviously social media has both a brand elemen...

If you missed the recent CMB webinar on The Marketing Performance Advantage conducted with our friends at CMG Partners , one of the top challenges facing marketers we discussed was a perceived lack of the right data or processes to make informed key decisions. In fact, 40% of the 400+ businesses we interviewed saw getting the right data as a challenge that needed addressing: "We don't really have a formal insight gathering process" "We're not sure what the right data is and the data gathered is not trusted" Furthermore, many marketers struggle to connect the data they do have from market research and internal systems to their current decision making process or to the rest of the organization: "We don't often tie the results of surveys to action plans" "We don't have senior level buy-in due to the lack of hard data results against programs" "It is difficult to find talent who can think strategically and manipulate data" ...