Frontline Perspectives

There’s an old saying that says you should never “assume” anything because it makes an “@$$ out of you and me.” While trite, this is particularly important for us marketing folks to remember. The best copy or the most powerful visuals won’t take the place of really understanding what your target market’s pain points are, and offering the solutions they need. And the best way to know this is to ask. Read more »

At MarketSense and MarketEffect, we keep a copy standards manual for every client. We reference these standards whenever we write and refer to them while proofing, to make sure we stay consistent in our messaging. Beyond grammar and spelling, we check for things like hyphen and comma usage, trademarks and special phrasing around products and services. Whenever a client doesn’t have a preference on a particular style issue, we defer to the AP Stylebook. Read more »

Business writing is a lot like housebreaking a puppy. I came to this conclusion at four o’clock this morning while standing outside, coaxing my Wheaten Terrier, Red, to do his business. I filed the idea away for later, thinking there’s no way it would make sense during the decent hours of the day, but even now I think there’s something to it. At a basic level, business writing and potty training are both arts of persuasion.

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Speeding prevention promotion.

I got a speeding ticket on my way back from visiting my daughter at Indiana University. I was more than a little ticked when the officer pulled me over- as I was convinced that the “other” cars on the road were going faster than I was (which they were).

Before the officer handed me my ticket, he handed me the paper shown at left and waited for me to read it. “In the United States alone, there is a death related to a traffic crash every 12 minutes. That adds up to nearly 44,000 deaths a year.” I made the connection to my speeding – what if I had caused one of those fatalities? As I looked back at the officer, he handed me my ticket ($125). Read more »

Never stop asking "why?"

I think of this when I talk to marketing teams that are going to the same trade shows year after year and coming back with 40 leads, or placing print ads in the same publications that generate 0 leads, or using brochures that are five years old, or haven’t put new content on their Web sites in over a year….. Why? Why are you doing these things again and again when they obviously don’t produce tangible results? Read more »

Winning moves for 2010.

Based on everything I’ve read and the discussions I’ve had with our clients, it’s going to be another difficult year. Some of us will see sales decreases, some of us will drag along the bottom, and a few lucky ones will start to see our bottom lines change from red to black.

2009 was a year filled with frustration, and for many, fear. The companies that proactively analyzed where to make changes (and invariably cuts) are in a much better position than the ones that chose a wait-and-see approach.  None of those were easy decisions, but making them also provided clarity as to the true strengths and weaknesses of an organization.

Many marketing budgets were cut deeply  for 2009. For 2010 we are seeing a mix of holding to the 2009 budget, 5% decreases and 15-20% increases.  The question I am most asked now is…where do we spend the marketing dollars this year? What will make the biggest impact? Read more »

I’m getting ready for a week of vacation – to a family cabin with no internet connection (a blessing and a curse).  On this vacation, I’m taking two months of publications to catch up on (I’m a little behind). The stack is about 27 publications high. Read more »