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Featured

August Blog

Cool Ideas
for Making
Use of the
Summer
Slump

DON’T PANIC

— Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

STEP ONE: Similar to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, KEEP CALM AND DON’T PANIC! Downtime can in fact be rather productive as you are suddenly free of the ‘tyranny of the urgent’, you now have time to clean and purge your workspace, your computer, learn a new skill on-line, organize your digital archives, focus on self-promotion and basically everything you have been meaning to do but haven’t gotten around to yet.

STEP TWO: Start with an agenda, the lack of pressing deadlines can leave you somewhat floundering if you are accustomed to thriving in chaos. Make a list of all you aspire to accomplish and prioritize items with a timeline. (Highlighters and stickers optional.)

STEP THREE: Get inspiration, find your spark, slip in some ear buds and summer tunes and get going. Just do it, especially if you feel the need to procrastinate. Feed your mind with creative fodder, good stuff won’t come out if good stuff doesn’t go in.

STEP FOUR: Go for ice cream, invite a client.

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May I have your Attention?

This is the holy grail of modern marketing.
Getting noticed [click] getting read [pause]
and getting action with results [click].
How many seconds do you have?

Has consumer behaviour changed drastically? Marketing platforms have certainlychanged but has the consumer? Has the decision-making process really changed? Have I got your attention or are you thinking about googling the web? What do you think? David Ogilvy said

“I notice increasing reluctance on the part of marketing executives to use judgment; they are coming to rely too much on research, and they use it as a drunkard uses a lamp post for support, rather than for illumination.”

There are some ground rules that never change.

  • ONE: Build a better mousetrap and tell people about it.
  • TWO: Don’t confuse your audience, inform with clarity. Know the message you want to convey and front-load the unique selling point, attention spans are short.
  • THREE: Don’t bore your audience, be clever and get to the point.
  • FOUR: Use research for illumination.
  • FIVE: Slip on your target audience’s shoes. If you make hair products and the labels list key identifiers like ‘Shampoo” and “Conditioner” so small that half the population can’t read it or tell the difference in the shower they will not buy your product again.
  • Plan ahead to meet your consumer’s needs and adapt when at risk, stagnation never ends well.

Modern consumers may have real-time information at their disposal to comparison shop, check reviews, and place orders but their behaviour hasn’t changed, resources just became faster and more accessible.