I had lunch with a friend the other day and as always when two people who both own their own businesses get together talk came around to work... In the course of the conversation we discussed how two of my core areas of expertise are in the luxury and juvenile markets. Now these two areas are not as far away as many people might think- at the end of the day the both cater to the same need- the consumer's desire to purchase something (be it a product or a service) that calms them, gives them great satisfaction and helps their family in some way. This could be a custom piece of furniture that is the perfect addition to their library or a new snuggly sweater for the baby - the actual item is often not the point.
What is interesting is how similar these two seemingly disparate areas are in terms of marketing, PR and business development. While the actual customer may not be the same in terms of demographic details the emotional drivers for the product are often the same. While I have known this for some time it is always invigorating to discuss with someone outside of the industry- gaining new perspective on what might make customers tick is always a blast. The conversation reminded me that it is very important to get out of your bubble and make time for lunch with colleagues from outside your world -- they can sometimes shine the spotlight on an idea (and make you focus on it) that you have been kicking around in your head but could not see clearly due to all the other business of life and work. Thanks G!
Monday, April 9, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Care & Feeding of a Blog
I just read a very interesting article in this months Washington CEO magazine all about marketing and the ways in which blogging, YouTube and other viral methods can build buzz and help grow your business. While I am in complete agreement with this idea I see often that companies (mine included) do tend to neglect their blog when they are extremely busy. As you can see I have not posted in well over a month - all due to a crazy travel schedule and some very tight deadlines. The question is - do you strive to make time to blog or do you go the super corporate route and hire someone to write your blog for you? If you do that you are assured of daily posts- some funny, some enlightening and some downright odd but are you also assured that your blog is really speaking with the voice of your firm and your mission? Personally I believe that no matter how busy we are it should be the principals and employees of a firm that write blogs for the firm- how can an outside source have the intrinsic knowledge needed to write what makes sense for the firm? I am committed to the idea of the blog, now if I could just find the time to write what pops into my head when I think- aha- that is a great idea and one that I should share - my blog would grow by leaps and bounds. Let's see what comes of my new commitment to writing - I will keep you posted.
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