Author, Speaker, Consultant: Ideas on Creating Profitable Customer Relationships

Don’t Knock Her Story Out Of Her Hands

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.

Brand Entropy vs. Brand Harmony

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

Why would they love you?

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?

Ignore your mission statement

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!

Reinventing the Brand Called You

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?

Definition of Marketing

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.

Do as you say, not as you do

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.

Let’s Make Some Complementaral

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

As we were helping a client on a marketing plan, Amanda said, “I really don’t like the word ‘collateral’.” Collateral, as most of you know, has traditionally referred to all of those ‘other’ marketing activities, such as brochures, flyers, posters, etc. that act ‘in collateral’ to  all-important advertising.

“So,” I asked, “what should it be called?”  We decided, for the sake of our own amusement, to think of a word that made sense from a Brand Harmony perspective.  We came up with ‘complementaral.”

I am not, of course, suggesting anyone use that term. (It really sounds silly!)  The point is that the purpose of these kinds of marketing efforts is not to act as something that is collateral, or parallel, to advertising, but to act in complement of all other touchpoints the customer has with the company.

If we think of all of our marketing efforts has acting in a parallel, but non-integrated, fashion, they will fizzle into the ether. If we want our marketing efforts to be effective, they need to complement each other, and blend in Brand Harmony.

Is your company doing good marketing? (continued)

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

In today’s newsletter, I focus on Question 3 of the 6 questions I use when I begin to evaluate a company’s marketing efforts.

Question 3 asks, “Are you clear about the rich story you want your customers to understand?“  Many companies look at their brands in a very cursory way, while their customers are willing to create rich brand stories in their minds.  One step to great marketing: Create a rich brand story that encourages customers to think, “I get it, I want it and I can’t get it anywhere else.”

Theme for the day: The connection between customer belief and profits

Friday, October 30th, 2009

There is a direct connection between what your customers believe about you and how much money you make.

What your customers believe about you – consciously or sub-consciously – influences your customers’ actions.  If customers’ beliefs about you are clear, compelling, powerful, motivating and differentiating, they will act in ways that improve your business results.  If, on the other hand, their beliefs about you are not clear, compelling, powerful, motivating and differentiating, their actions will not improve your business results as much as is possible.

Advertising, PR, customer service, product development … everything you do … is secondary.  What you do only matters if it helps customers do things.  And what influences customers to do things?  What they believe.

books

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.