Archive for the ‘Brand Harmony’ Category
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 |
What are your customers doing when your marketing or sales messages show up in their lives? Sitting there waiting, minds clear, all prepared to devote their full attention to what you have to say?
Of course not!
Any time your customers encounter your marketing or sales messages, you can be sure that they already have a deep, rich, personal narrative happening in their minds. Your challenge: Become part of that story without interrupting it. Have a look at today’s newsletter, Don’t Knock Her Story Out Of Her Hands.
Posted in Brand Harmony, Conversation, Customer Encounters, Ditch the Pitch, Marketing | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 2nd, 2012 |
My first newsletter of April, Brand Entropy vs. Brand Harmony, encourages companies to do a little “spring cleaning” to keep their brand from becoming disorganized, confusing and unappealing to customers.
Entropy is the tendency for systems to move progressively from states of organization to states of disorganization– and your brand is not exempt from this powerful force.
Read the newsletter: Brand Entropy vs. Brand Harmony
Posted in Brand Harmony, Invent Your Future, Observations | No Comments »
Monday, November 14th, 2011 |
Do your customers love you?
Do you know why they would love you?
Can you think of a more important question you need to ask related to your brand?
Have a look at today’s newsletter, Why would they love you, and then ask yourself this question. Do you know why your customers would love you?
Read the newsletter: Why would they love you?
Posted in Brand Harmony, Marketing | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 |
Yes. I am telling you to ignore your mission statement! You read it correctly.
I have an alternative for you … read today’s newsletter, Ignore Your Mission Statement, and see how you can ignore your mission statement and feel good about it!
Posted in Brand Harmony | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 |
The direction of marketing has changed 180 degrees.
While marketers are trying to “get the word out,” customers are more focused on what words they let in.
I’d like to invite you to let the words of today’s newsletter in.
Read the newsletter: Letting the word in vs. Getting the word out
Posted in Brand Harmony, Technology +/- | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 |
In 1997 my mentor/guru/client Tom Peters published a ground-breaking article in Fast Company titled The Brand Called You. Let’s take a new look at the concept of personal branding with today’s newsletter, Your Powerful Personal Brand.
What are you doing to reinvent, reinvigorate and renew your personal brand?
Posted in Brand Harmony, Invent Your Future | 2 Comments »
Monday, May 2nd, 2011 |
Which organization is likely to go out of its way for customers, a for-profit business in a very competitive marketplace, or a government bureaucracy charged with catching bad guys?
It depends.
It depends on the individual employees who are interacting with customers. It’s about the people, not the institution.
Read a story in today’s newsletter that shows how close enough for government work can sometimes be closer than you might think … as long as an individual person takes the initiative to look out for the customer.
Posted in Brand Harmony, Customer Encounters, Wisdom from everyday life | 2 Comments »
Monday, January 31st, 2011 |
How do I answer the question, “So Steve, what is marketing?”
Read today’s newsletter, “Definition of Marketing,” to find out … and then please share your comments here.
Posted in Brand Harmony, Marketing | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 |
Why is there such a wide gap between what people say they believe about marketing, and the actual marketing they do?
Why do companies allocate their marketing dollars in ways that they know are counterproductive?
Why do I sometimes feel like much of marketing is stuck in 1973, looking at direct marketing and the online world through an advertising-based lens?
Have a look at today’s newsletter, Do as you say, not as you do, and then please come back here to leave a comment.
And … if you see your competitors marketing in the way I’ve described above, smile. And then go after their customers.
Posted in Brand Harmony | No Comments »
Sunday, June 20th, 2010 |
I was in Staples recently, looking at a shelf that didn’t have exactly the product I needed. So, while standing in the aisle at Staples, I called Office Max.
The Office Max clerk put me on hold to check availability for the product I wanted. Suddenly, I heard a very strange acoustic resonance, noticing that the music my left ear was hearing from the speakers at Staples was the same thing my right ear was hearing in my phone, from the music-on-hold at Office Max. A coincidence? No … the song ended and the next song came on, in both of my ears. Staples and Office Max were using the exact same music source.
I looked in our office closet the other day and noticed that we had paper from Office Max, Staples and Office Depot. Why be loyal to one when the experiences, let alone the products, are completely interchangeable?
Writing this post reminded me of another post from a few years ago, on tompeters.com. The funniest part of that post was my son’s story of hearing an ad for guitar store Sam Ash playing on the radio at Guitar Center.
Customers use brand harmony to evaluate us. Every touchpoint either differentiates you or makes you blend in the marketplace like boring wallpaper.
Posted in Brand Harmony | 2 Comments »
Steve’s Books
"When Steve Yastrow writes, I pay close attention"
- Tom Peters
"I had to buy two copies. The first one is so dog-eared and underlined I couldn't read it any longer."
- Seth Godin
Steve is the author of
Brand Harmony and the newly published
We:
The Ideal Customer Relationship. Learn more and order direct from our
Products
page, or from
Amazon.
About Steve Yastrow and Yastrow & Company
In addition to writing, I spend most of my work time helping companies unleash their potential by creating better connections with their customers. This happens through my speaking events and through Yastrow & Company consulting engagements, where my team and I help companies figure out who they intend to be in the future, and then engage the entire company in creating that future through strong "We" customer relationships.
Before starting Yastrow & Company in the mid-90s I was vice-president of resort marketing for Hyatt Hotels. My experiences in the hotel business showed me clearly that most marketing doesn’t happen in the marketing department. Customers are paying attention to all interactions with a company, not just the promises made in traditional "marketing communications."
For more information, see our About page.
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