What won't you do for your brand?
- Written by: Martha Bartlett Piland
Many organizations have spent a significant amount of time thinking—and talking—about what they will do.
“We will deliver excellent service every time,” or “we will always be at the forefront of innovation.”
But what won’t you do?
Stop talking about a sales funnel and think of it as a chain instead
- Written by: Martha Bartlett Piland
Old school sales guys will tell you sales is just a numbers game. Get enough prospects into the funnel and they’ll dump out X% of customers at the bottom. Easy.
News flash, Herb Tarlek: your lack of a system is as outdated as your plaid polyester coat.
"Not a problem" for lazy brands—and what to do about it
- Written by: Martha Bartlett Piland
“Not a problem,” the customer service person said to me on the phone as we were wrapping up my transaction. What!? Not a problem? For who—you!? Wait a minute. Who is the customer here?
The delivery man and dark tales: a beastly lesson for your brand
- Written by: Martha Bartlett Piland
Last week, a hot, tired delivery man came into our office with some much-needed supplies. He delivered more than just packages. He delivered angry, ugly opinions about someone else’s brand.
The customer journey starts with your employee journey
- Written by: Martha Bartlett Piland
Marketers are spending a lot of time talking about the customer journey. We’re not hearing the same talk about the employee journey, and that’s a shame. Because the customer journey with your brand will be bumpy at best if the employee journey isn’t thoughtfully mapped out and put into action first.
An ad campaign won't fix what's wrong with your team
- Written by: Martha Bartlett Piland
It’s an all-too-common malady: sales are flabby or fundraising goals are lagging, so leadership determines that a fresh new ad campaign is just the thing to make everything right.
When we start asking questions to diagnose the situation, we often discover something else: an internal problem.
Stop driving with your parking brake on
- Written by: Martha Bartlett Piland
If you ever put your car in drive with your parking brake engaged, the car lets you know it right away. Ignore the warning at your own peril.
You know not to do it to your car. So why let it happen to your brand?
A crisis is not the time to be handing out business cards
- Written by: Martha Bartlett Piland
Have you put off planning, budgeting and—dare I say it—dreaming? If so, you’re probably working too much in the business and not enough on the business.
Don't wait for a crisis. Plan now.
How gossip amplifies (or muffles) your brand
- Written by: Martha Bartlett Piland
Amazon Chairman Jeff Bezos has famously said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
If you take this to heart, you need to understand all the people who talk about you when you’re not in the room.
4 tips for your intern's first day—according to an intern
- Written by: Alexandra Reilly
Special blog submission by Moriyah Ramberg
I was lucky enough to be selected for MB Piland’s internship program this summer. Now that I’ve had time to reflect on it, I'd like to share tips on how to make an internship a valuable experience for both boss and intern, starting with the first day.
