Latest News from Rebel Brown

Whose Got the Power?

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:00:33 EDT

79% of the buying cycle is now completed without a vendor directly involved.If you're still thinking like a funnel or a pipeline - I'd strongly suggest you step beyond your gravity thinking and shift into the 21st century reality.

Conversation is the New Campaign

Sat, 05 May 2012 12:52:37 EDT

Our buyers no longer need us to get the information they need to make purchasing decisions. Today's buyers can research, compare and select products without our ever even knowing they were looking. In fact - buyers spend over 79% of their purchasing cycle without ever engaging us... only if we make the cut during their research do they invite us into their process. That's a huge shift that puts buyers in control - and it means that we need to shift our thinking about how we engage with our audiences. That's why I believe that conversations are the new campaigns.

The Marketing Reality Gap

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:04:00 EDT

We all lose our objectivity. That's part of being human. The question is - are you willing to make the effort it takes to remain in your buyer's reality?

Your Story has Two Faces

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:47:26 EDT

Every story has multiple faces....some enticing, some threatening. When we choose the threatening aspect of a story, we risk alienating our audience. Who wants to hear about scary things they're doing? Would you???

ReName, ReBrand or ReSign?

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 06:04:01 EDT

How about you? Do you own your brand? How are you feeling right now? Are you passing the test? Have you googled yourself and your brand lately? Are you listening into brand and product mentions? Owning a brand comes with some big responsibilities. Are you ready?

Leading with Humanity

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 07:50:18 EDT

Technology doesn't drive success. It never has and it never will. Our success comes from the human side of our business. Even when we're surrounded by the best technology in the world - the human element drives all the decisions.

Leading with Humanity

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:42:43 EDT

Long Live Content Marketing

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:00:13 EST

Everywhere I turn I see some new article proclaiming the death of content marketing. What a crock... Content marketing is not the problem!

Simply KICKBUTT Marketing

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:00:00 EST

Compelling, audience-focused, simple and....brilliant. How do your campaigns compare? Think about it.....

Dear Pinterest

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:00:07 EST

Dear

Desperately Seeking Simple

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:01:47 EST

Complex marketing may turn on the technologists - but it only confuses the buyers with the cash.

Deadly Leadership Sins

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:46:37 EST

Deadly Leadership

How to Use Questions to Drive Marketing Results

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:17:32 EST

We are all humans and business. When marketers recognize and leverage that fact - we achieve increased success. Questions are just one of the approaches that leverage human nature to drive powerful marketing and sales results.

Lipstick on a Pig

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:27:07 EST

Why would anyone think that the key to powering breakthrough success is a new logo and color palette?

Are You Captain Ahab?

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:50:36 EST

Why on earth would anyone directly attack a huge in-place competitor, much less try to shift an established market in one big swoop?

Marketing Think for the 21st Century

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:30:01 EST

Never before has it been so important to transform our Marketing Think. Our economy changed, our markets shifted, our targets and their buying patterns advanced, access to information became ubiquitous.... even as many marketers held on to the way we've always done it.

Ego, Gravity and TweetDeck

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:54:32 EST

We grow successful businesses thanks to our Value as it is perceived by our buyers. When we move to force our brands, our ways, our limitations on our users and promote that as Value - that's ego. And above all other Gravities, Ego will create the downdraft that begins a downward spiral. Ego helps us create major Gravity by focusing on ourselves instead of our markets.

The Woolly Marketing Mammoth

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:40:28 EST

The Woolly Mammoth stuck to his ways and look what happened to him..... are you ready to evolve to attract your Digital Buyers?

When Less is Best

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 03:00:12 EST

It's great to want to be expansive in our businesses. That's how we grow. That's how we become market leaders. But true market leaders do anything and everything they can to mask their complexity from their buyers. They know the secret to success is simplicity. How simple are you?

You'd Better Damned Well Know Why!

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 13:17:06 EST

If you want to be a profitable market leader, you'd damned well better know WHY your buyers buy.

Are you Chasing the Rush?

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:40:12 EDT

Show how easy it is to self deploy (simply Zafe all your docs, Import LDAP settings and you’re running/ System will automatically prompt users to download Zafe opener for first doc – and then they are all set.

It's ALL about Them!

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 17:17:56 EDT

Marketing, the way we’ve always done it, doesn’t work anymore.

The Squeaky Wheel Syndrome

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:00:00 EDT

Listening to too many diverse perspectives can be a problem too. And that's the Gravity thinking that social media has created. I call it the Squeaky Wheel Syndrome. Here's how it works.

Please Don't Drink the Koolaid

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 03:00:56 EDT

The transition to focus on what our customers need, instead of what we want to sell them, was a positive step. Yet today that customer- focus has become a curse for many businesses. Here's why.

Does Popularity Power Profitability?

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:43:36 EDT

Do you believe that social media popularity powers business success? I think that's one of the most dangerous pieces of Gravity Think around. Why? Because social media popularity doesn't equate to revenue.

How to Change the Game

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:23:28 EDT

Every business is on the hunt for the next big thing – that game changer that will hit the market, soar to success and make the company great forever after. But what is really game changing in today’s market?

Control is an Illusion

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:33:36 EDT

Do you think you have control of your brand? If you answered Yes, you might want to think again. That's one of the biggest Gravity beliefs around.

How to Create KickButt Positioning Stories

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 03:00:03 EDT

People often assume that there is some paint-by-numbers approach to creating the strategies, positioning and stories that are part and parcel of business success. They couldn't be more wrong. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to strategy and positioning.

3 Social Media Steps to Customer Intuition

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:00:00 EDT

Wanna be a market leader? Apply your intuition.

You know what I mean, that feeling that tells us a product idea has legs, a story is going to sell, a customer segment is going to love our new idea. You just know when you're on the right track. If you think like your customers.

Custom intuition makes or breaks our business. When we're in sync with our customers - we soar. Just look at Apple. When we lose our gut feel for our audience, we spiral downward.

Customer intuition used to be an easy thing. Not anymore. Customer intuition is a tricky thing in today's warp speed world. Our intuition can go from 'right on' to outdated' in a matter of months. We have to stay in touch with our customers to keep our gut feel tuned to their thoughts and needs.

We get lots of chances to tune our customer intuition.

We’re involved with our customers on a daily basis. We interact with our markets and competitors and partners all the time. What better way to tune our instincts than grounding our intuition in pure market reality. How?

1. Talk with customers and partners often. This is a no-brainer but too often we forget. We get stuck in the office for week after week. Before we know it we get stuck in a rut, assuming what our audiences want based on history. That's a sure way to let intuition go stale. What was true six months ago could be on its way to ancient history today.

2. Speaking of history - study it. Just don’t wallow in it. Great strategies leverage lessons from yesterday's successes, and failures. Note, I said ‘leverage’ not 'repeat'. What happened in the past won’t work today. Apply that experience, tune it to match today's customer reality.

3. Talk to Objective Experts. No matter how hard we focus, we can still be stuck in the status quo. That’s where experts come to the rescue. Find an expert who eats, breathes and lives the intricate details of your market and customers. Use them as your eyes and ears.

Numbers and facts will tell you the same thing that everyone else, including your competition, knows.

Your customer intuition is what sets you apart. Find it, and use it!

How to Make Your Market Launch Sizzle

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:00:23 EDT

Today's buyers don't care what you think, what your press release says or how big the launch party is. They care about value, expected results and demonstrated evidence of those results.

4 Steps to Rise Above the Noise

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:44:53 EDT

When you sound just like everyone else – you’re creating noise – not buzz.

3 Steps to Profitable Innovation

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:00:52 EDT

Innovation is the key to growth in the new economy. Thing is, our dollars are tight, so that means we have to really focused on where we invest for the future. So here's a question for you. How often do you invest in a technology, feature, product packaging, advertisement or whatever - so that you can keep up with a competitor?

5 Questions to Power Position your Company

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:47:38 EDT

Are you positioning your company based on it's technology "cool" factor? Cool doesn't compel in the new economy. Of course we're proud of those technical feeds ‘n speeds - after all, we are all about the innovation! The problem is - everybody has the cool factor. Or they will - soon.

3 Steps to Clarity in Marketing

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 03:00:30 EDT

Forcing your audience to read between the lines, thinking they'll take time to decipher your message, is a bad idea. When positioning your technology business, you want to resonate with the perspectives, language and problems of your audiences.

"So What?" is a Power Marketing Question

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:00:43 EDT

We technology marketers tend to fixate on what we know and love about our technology value - which may or may not be attractive (or even understandable) to our audiences.

Killer Perfection

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 03:00:46 EDT

Killer

Gravity as a Marketing Advantage

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:10:46 EDT

Here's how Marketing and Sales can use the presence of Gravity to create stickiness for our brands and products.

The Death of the Plan

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:16:05 EDT

In the 21st Century - plans are short lived. That's because everything changes so quickly. Market leaders know that even the best plans must adapt in real time. What we decided to do six months ago as part of our overall product development, marketing and launch plan may not work today. It certainly wont work a year from now. So what's with that 3-year plan?

The View Never Changes

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 03:00:19 EDT

Have you ever watched a herd of cows as they follow the leader? Not one cow questions where they are going - they just follow. And the view never changes for any cow except that leader. Why? Because that's the way they've been programmed. It's part of being a cow. Humans were given the power of free will - the ability to make our own choices.

Are you Stuck in Failure?

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:10:04 EDT

Are you operating from that feeling of success, the exhilaration of knowing that you can (and will) create magic in your business and personal life? Or are you like me, stuck in survival mode, lowering your expectations after a long and hard battle in our new economy?

Viva la Difference

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 03:00:26 EDT

Rebel's Soapbox is Out!

I reviewed a prospective client’s website last night, checking on their positioning and messaging as well as products, customers and overall company highlights. Then I popped to a couple of their competitors’ sites to cross check the value and differentiation for myself.

It didn't take long to realize I couldn’t tell the difference between these vendors if their logos dropped off their websites. Think I'm exaggerating? Fine, you try.

I give you three opening positioning statements describing the vendors' leading offerings:

Vendor 1’s product ‘delivers unsurpassed customer value, with breakthrough reliability, scalability and manageability, all within a highly cost efficient and green platform.'

Vendor 2’s product ‘offers clients unmatched performance and scalability, simple manageability, industry leading reliability and the lowest cost of operations available.’

Vendor 3’s product ‘powers real-time performance and scalability while delivering unmatched reliability, availability and serviceability – all in an economical green package.'

OK – so at least the last product has a green paint job. That’s different!

Come on folks, is this the best we can do? The best and brightest supposedly work in the technology industry. So is this is the most compelling, clear way we can position our solutions and why customers should care about them? Do you see a customer 'So What?' in any of these statements?

Yes, for those technically inclined marketers,these are some of the areas buyers care about when investigating and acquiring technology solutions. But can’t we communicate our value in a way that's more relevant and compelling to the customer, rather than thumping away at our chests about our tried and true ultimate 'abilities’? By the way, those same abilities have been claimed since I sold my first mainframe in 1982. If I'm 'mature' - those 'abilities' are from the ancient marketing scrolls!

Any of the following approaches would make one of these three positioning statements standout above the crowd - and compel customers in your direction. Think about it.

Add quantitative evidence, and spin it in your favor. If you don’t have the exact numbers, give relative percentages. Rather than ‘increased reliability and performance’, how about "Systems continuously operate 25% longer with no downtime, while you complete transactions 3 times faster." I know - that's still a bit nebulous. But you get the idea. Apply the value in a way that maps to your customers' concerns and business results.

Apply the ‘ability’ to a customer scenario. Apply your value in customer language. Frame the benefit. ‘Customers can process 2x the transactions in half the time thanks to….’ Then tell a story of how a customer did just that - and the impact it had on their bottom line results. Make it easy for your audience to quickly find customer stories that mirror their world - their business, their markets, their problems and challenges - and how you helped them find the solutions. People understand value when it’s applied to something relevant to them. When it's not applied - they don't get a clear picture. That leaves the door open for the competition to do a better job of communicating - and grabbing the customer's interest.

Get specific. Find a better way to talk about the value. Stop using the same industry claims every one of your competitors use. Instead of that nice 'green packaging', how about '4 out of 5 customers reduced power costs by 40% over 18 months'. That sure got the green claim across, didn’t it? Better than the paint job!

The bottom line is that to truly communicate with our audiences, we need to stop using the same words that everyone drags along, and start thinking creatively, originally and most of all – think and talk like a customer.

Oh, and while I'm on my Soapbox, I think phrases like ‘industry leading’, ‘breakthrough’, ‘unmatched’, 'revolutionary' and the like should all be stricken from the marketing dictionary.

Do You Think Like Your Customer?

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:23:54 EDT

Pay attention to the words customers use to describe their business. That's the language you want to learn - and use.

Doing and the New Economy

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 03:00:57 EDT

A crisp, well-defined goal helps us focus our doing. With a specific goal in sight, we can leverage all of our actions into a coordinated effort. Each step of doing becomes a building block for reaching our ultimate goal. We're more efficient, we get more done and we're more successful.

5 Critical Shifts for New Economy Success

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:09:17 EDT

Here are a few critical shifts that power success in the new economy. I've been sharing them with clients and audiences lately and thought I'd share with readers too.

The Grass is Always Greener

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 03:00:20 EDT

Greener pastures are like the sirens of the sea - they lure you in with promises of ease and opportunity - and then leave you wondering what happened as you find youself starting over in a strange land.

Don't Get Bit in the *&^%&

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 03:00:07 EDT

There are always nuances to every situation, important nuances that can make the difference between success and failure. Those same nuances can make our expertise old news - if we don't update our thinking to include the specifics of our situation.

The Fear We Face

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:17:53 EDT

What if everything we fear was only in our minds - and the opportunities for business growth and success (personal too) are out there waiting for us to take that single step - beyond our fear?

My Own Personal Storm

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 03:00:42 EDT

On Monday I chatted about the storms we know - and avoid anyway. Until they run us down. Today I want to share a story about my own storm - and how I ignored it until it was staring me in the face, ready to blow me over.

The Storm We Know

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:00:36 EDT

We all know there are storms around our businesses. We can name them and describe them. But how often are we looking them straight on?

What Do You Expect?

Thu, 26 May 2011 15:23:26 EDT

Often we get so used to the way we've lived, done business, spent money and more - that we are stuck in the expectations of the past - and can't see the new opportunities all around us.