Here’s something we know from research: when you give people more ways to respond, response rates go up. No one really knows why, although the usual explanation is that, by offering multiple ways to respond, you change the prospect’s choice from “respond or don’t respond” to “which way do I want to respond.” But regardless…

If you found an old painting in the attic or basement, you’d probably consider selling it in a yard sale. But if you found that it was a rare Cézanne, you’d sell it very differently, via expert appraisal and art auction. When we market products or service, we often focus on the features of what…

Most people would say that they find political advertising distasteful. But politicians know one thing about positioning that a lot of companies don’t. One of the most effective ways to establish your position in the marketplace is to create a position for your competition. In the 1960’s, Pepsi built a campaign around “The Pepsi Generation,”…

The chromosomes, not the generations. Here’s an example. When it comes to clothing, women generally have a particular size they consider “their size.” Say a woman finds a dress she loves, but when she tries it on in her size, it’s too small. What does she do? Try on the next size up? Nope. More…

A third of consumers buying something online now begin with Amazon, to read product details and reviews and compare options. And Google says that those same shoppers will look up more than 10 sources of product information before buying. This has the effect of pulling buyers into a brand-agnostic buying mode where price, quality and…

True or false: the physician who makes the most mistakes is the one who gets sued for malpractice. Sorry. Malpractice suits tend to get filed, not against the doctor who makes the most errors, but against the one who treats his or her patients poorly. If a caregiver listens to the patient and invests even…

Imagine this. A bank or credit union holds a regular breakfast for its front line staff. The food is always from a place people really like. While they enjoy the meal, someone from another area — lending, auditing, business development, trust, HR — talks about what they do. And here’s the fun part. They don’t…

Why is networking so hard for so many people? Because few of us are truly wired for wading into a crowd of strangers and starting a conversation. But when someone approaches us, we do just fine. So how can you make that happen? By raising your visibility. Give a talk to a local organization. Write…

Time and again, companies learn that what customers often value most is consistency. They want to know that every time they call, visit or otherwise engage with you, the experience will dependably, reliably the same…in a good way. Think about your favorite brand, especially one that involves food or drink. You want this Pepsi (or…

The first time you heard a car alarm go off, it got your attention, didn’t it? What happens when you hear one now? If you’re like most people, you just continue doing what you’re doing. Unfortunately, that happens with companies, too. We learn to tune out the alarms and go about our business…until we go…