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The Emperor’s New Value Proposition
October 28, 2011 by Cindy Barnes
Most of us remember the story of the Emperor’s new clothes. For those who need a refresher – the story tells of the Emperor who cared for nothing but his appearance and attire and who hired two tailors who promised him the finest suit of clothes from a fabric invisible to anyone who is unfit [...]
Value Proposition: 6 essential need-to-knows
October 19, 2011 by Helen Blake
Now we all know rationally that nothing in life is easy and that a bit of blood, sweat and tears usually pays off with a good result. But as humans, secretly and emotionally we hope for (and are always on the look out for) the quick answer and the short-cut solution – the infamous ‘silver [...]
Are you mad? Choose your markets well
August 19, 2011 by Cindy Barnes
The ‘Value Proposition Builder’ has six phases, or inputs, that lead to the creation of your Value Proposition, the output of which can be a statement, a full template or a range of high level messaging which is then used as the internal ‘blueprints’ for all your sales and marketing communication. This first Market phase [...]
Online value proposition
August 18, 2011 by Cindy Barnes
How do I create my online value proposition is a question I get asked often. When I say that it’s still about strategy and planning, I can see people’s eyes glaze over. I know they’re thinking, “but this is too hard, will take too long” or “yes, but, I want to do stuff now, not [...]
Are we too obsessed with customers?
June 8, 2011 by Iain Lovatt
by Iain Lovatt, Executive Chairman at Blue Sheep. Don’t worry (or be disappointed) – I’m not about to commit a Gerald Ratner classic. We love customers – don’t we? In fact, so much so, that they’re becoming an obsession, but does this obsession strengthen or weaken your value proposition? I have recently encountered a number [...]
“Weak people in business are a waste of space”
May 6, 2011 by Helen Blake
“Weak people in business are a waste of space.” “I’m cold, hard and unstoppable.” When I saw the latest trailers on the BBC for The Apprentice, with these macho, posturing quotes, I found my skin growing clammy. I know it’s popular and makes good television, with its sharp-dressed contestants and all their dramas and rivalry, [...]
Social media or narcissism – where’s the line?
April 12, 2011 by Cindy Barnes
The message starts, “Dear Cindy, I’d like to arrange a time to speak with you…..”. It then goes on to tell me how wonderful the company is at doing xyz and how their core competence is abc. You get the idea. I receive at least five such emails or messages via LinkedIn every week. Not [...]
Can you Tweet your Value Proposition?
April 11, 2011 by David Quaid
How Social Media is enforcing companies to value their Value Proposition By David Quaid, SEO Director at Primary Position “We’re rapidly becoming “Generation Now” – we want news, information, data and fun – now. Right now, right this very minute. We can’t wait. News on the hour every hour doesn’t work – we need it [...]
How to generate social media leads
April 10, 2011 by Cindy Barnes
The rules of marketing and selling have changed because buyers have changed. Today’s buyers want to be educated and not sold to and if you are not educating them then you can bet your competitors are. The new social etiquette of social media marketing, inbound marketing, online marketing, whatever you call it is that you [...]
The worst and best voice of the brand is yours
April 9, 2011 by Helen Blake
If you enter the arena of social media, you can’t help but embody your brand. In fact, you become your brand. Having said that, there are three things you need continually to do well to play in the social media space, and they are: • Building an audience • Developing a community • Managing your [...]