Each business has a process for customer intake. Doctors ask what symptoms you’re experiencing; lawyers look at your risk exposure; business consultants look at your challenges and opportunities. And almost universally, they all take some sort of notes. What’s usually missing, however, is the ability to confirm that your service providers heard and understand your […]
Two Types of Information Seekers
Generally speaking, there are low-information people and high-information people. Low-information customers trust their vendors as authorities on a subject and tend to not ask a lot of questions. They don’t see themselves as partners in solving the problem. They are true consumers. High-information users may also have that trust, but they tend to ask more […]
Aesthetics Don’t Often Solve Problems
Everyone has their opinion, and even those opinions can change depending on one’s mood and context. It’s nice to build something so good looking that people say “That’s cool. What does it do?” But it’s usually not the aesthetics of something that solves problems. What isn’t subjective is clarity. Either someone gets the point or […]
Digital Marketing Loves Metrics
If you have a website, you probably know that you can get metrics on number of visits, where people came from, how long they stayed, what pages they visited along the way, etc. This, and much more, is made possible by Google Analytics (among others). Like many things, it’s straightforward once you get into it, […]
Creative Directors and Light Bulbs
Question: How many Creative Directors does it take to screw in a light bulb? Answer: Does it have to be a light bulb? This one’s a joke of course, but once you ask the right question, you’re well on your way to finding the answer. Different answers open our eyes to more different answers, and […]
Be Known for Something
If you’re not known for something, it’s hard to be known at all. I always thought “David” was a boring name. Growing up, I knew so many others with that name. It’s a strong name perhaps, but also plain, common, and already been done. And then there was “Dave”, which just seemed like a lazy […]
The Question Holds the Answer
Q: How many Art Directors does it take to screw in a light bulb? A: Does it have to be a light bulb? It’s a joke of course, but it’s worth asking the question for the simple fact that you might come up with a different answer had you never asked. One of my favorite […]
Naming a Company
Bootstrap Marketing for Startups Naming a Company (part 1 of 4) So… you have a new business. : ) Statistically speaking, you also have a lack of funds to spend on marketing. But fear not—good ideas come in many shapes and sizes. For my friends at CBIC, here’s a quick guide to set you on […]
WordPress, Rainbows and Load Time
Like a wonderland full of rainbows, WordPress has a boundless collection of plug-ins (extensions) you can install to make your website do just about anything. But like the real world, there is a time when you can have too much of a good thing. We just found one of those moments: too many extensions. Here’s […]
5 Steps to Data Visualization
Data is a powerful tool for influencing decisions. If you sell technical solutions, there’s a good chance that you use data to make your points. Readers will make the effort to understand complicated information if it is attractive and welcoming. You may also know that one problem which most readers encounter is that bar charts […]
