Author Interview
| Q. | What do you think is the most common marketing mistake made today? |
| A. | Boy, it's tough to choose just one! Unfortunately, there are lots of companies out there, big and small, who really do a lot of damage to themselves without even realizing it. I'd have to say that the most damaging of the mistakes made is that many organizations have a very narrow definition of marketing. They think of it in terms of advertising or maybe public relations. But they forget that anything they create that interacts with anyone else, is marketing. It's how you answer your phone, what your lobby looks like...your return policy. You name it. Because they don't have a more "global" view of marketing, they are incredibly inconsistent in the messages they send out. That makes their consumers uneasy, as if the company is trying to put one over on them. |
| Q. | Is branding a lot of hype? |
| A. | No, branding is critical if a company is going to be successful. But most companies think of branding as sort of a tagline of the month. True branding is about finding your company's purpose -- its soul. Every company has a true brand. It is the essence of the company. And that's something that shouldn't change. It's evergreen. When a company takes the time and invests the resources into discovering their true brand, all kinds of amazing things start to happen. The employees are energized. The sales team sells differently and exceeds their goals and new business just starts to happen. There's nothing magical about it. It's just that knowing who you are and where you're trying to go makes getting there a whole lot easier! |
| Q. | What makes your book different from all the other marketing books out there? |
| A. | I worked very hard to make my book an easy read. Each random act is no more than 300 words. So you can get a fresh marketing idea in just a couple minutes. I cover a huge range of marketing topics from looking at the psychology of consumers to very pragmatic tricks to break through writer's block. Whether you are an old marketing pro, a business owner or someone just getting started in marketing, there will be "a ha" moments for you. You'll be reading something and the light bulb will just go off. If someone can read my entire book and not find something they can apply to their business, I want them to call or e-mail me for a refund. |
