Business

  • Domain Names

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    Owning your own dotcom has become more and more difficult over the years.  There are several hosting companies around, and it seems like it would be easy to own any address you want, but that’s not reality.  The truth is, finding the perfect dotcom has become almost an impossible task! Just like in real estate,

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  • Brandology

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    Some of my latest posts have been regarding a brandologist, who has traveled back through time to study us “milennials” at the apex of marketing theory and thought.  I’ve noticed, though, that I haven’t really stopped to explain what I consider “brandology” to be. Branding, as I usually define it, is the practice of managing

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  • Outlets

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    I still think “outlets” are a horrible idea for name brand retailers.  If your product is high-end, high-quality, and high-margin, the last thing you want to do is provide your customers with a reason to doubt your product.  Selling a computer for $1,500 in your high end store and for only $300 in an outlet

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  • Branding Habits

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    I mentioned a few days ago that I’m reading a new marketing book about habits.  As I’ve moved through towards the end of the book, the author has started getting into branding.  His argues that branding is really just a way to identify habitual behavior (You pick the Apple computer not because of the brand

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  • Habits

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    Every morning when I first get on the computer, I point the browser to a few web comics I enjoy.  Starting the day with a nice dose of funny helps me be happier, more productive, and more fun to work with.  There are three web comics I really enjoy, but they all have different update

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  • Consistency

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    How consistently do you manage your brand? Do you invest heavily in brand development when times are down in order to stay ahead of a tough market? Do you invest heavily when times are good because you have extra capital to spend? When exactly do and should you focus on brand building? The answer is:

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  • Branding a phenomenon

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    Global warming … arguably, one of the most important challenges of our time.  Whether or not the concept is real, though, everyone knows what it is and most people are concerned about it.  Politicians stake their campaigns on fighting global warming, non-profits build reputations collecting money to stave of disaster.  We teach the idea in

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  • Bureaucracy

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    Humans are messy creatures.  We create piles of work that needs to be done, piles of work that’s already done, and piles of work that we never want to do.  Our work spaces are cluttered, ineffective, and downright … comfortable.  Let’s face it, we like to be surrounded by a little disorder once in a

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  • Tradition

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    One of the many defining aspects of a brand is tradition. What kinds of things does your organization always do?  Many traditions seemingly have no reason, but they play a defining role in the customer experience.  When a traditional aspect of your brand’s customer interaction is missing, people notice. The interesting thing about traditions, though,

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  • How to execute a brand

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    Probably not the kind of “how-to” article title you expected to see, is it?  Nevertheless, I want to give you a short lesson. Step 1: Build up a stellar brand and either push your competitors out of business or buy them up and leverage their core competencies. Step 2: Having eliminated all of your competitors

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