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Monthly Archives: March 2012

Integrated Biased

Posted on 2012/03/20 by admin2012/03/20

We’re all biased, even those who allegedly are not. We come by it innocently enough because our biases were taught to us. Some we picked up listening to our parents. Weaker minds are warped by politicians and pundits. Instincts are actionable biases learned through Darwinian selection. Brand marketing’s primary job is to teach bias to buyers and cause customers to favor one brand over others. But then again, I’m a little biased on the subject. Stripped of fluffy pseudo-psych speech, biasing is a Maslow tool, designed primarily to avoid risk and in more rare cases obtain self actualization or esteem.  Marketing’s job is to determine which direction (safety or self) will motivate buyers and then teach customers their newfound bias. Apple is masterful at instilling self-esteem bias in gadget buyers. IBM remains very good at selling safety bias to CIOs. Donald Trump is biased about his ego, and that manages … Continue reading →

Posted in Branding, Communications, Marketing, Messaging, Product Marketing, Promotions

Trust Me

Posted on 2012/03/13 by admin2017/11/15

Trust me, I’m in marketing. If that line made your skin crawl, then you experienced an important aspect of marketing, namely a lack of trust (even Seth Godin noted an inherent instinct to distrust marketers). Where trust is lacking, so are sales. Mistrust prevents people from taking promotions, products and sales people seriously. It is an ancient survival mechanism adapted for modern ages. (Mis)trust involves balancing risk and rewards. For example, locales where gun ownership is low tend to have higher burglary rates, which demonstrates that even the dumbest of criminals weigh risk and rewards. If risk is low, humans will accept nearly any reward. Where there is any risk, escalating degrees of mistrust develop. You may hesitate a second before spending a dollar on a soda brand you have never tasted, but you’ll hesitate forever when encountering a pushy car salesman who guides you directly toward $70,000 Escalade when … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications, Marketing, Messaging

Founder Delusions

Posted on 2012/03/06 by admin2017/10/07

“Can you help us break past our plateau?” was what the tech company founder asked me … the first time. This eventually became an enjoyable question after a decade of marketing consulting. Every so often, a founder calls the Silicon Strategies Marketing offices with a plateau complaint. I noticed various patterns with one uniting theme; that founders were all nearsighted and unable to focus on anything but the tree directly in front of them. Those different founders were at different points in corporate growth, and yet they all suffered from market myopia. If your revenues are stuck and no amount of money seems to move them higher, then ask yourself if you might suffer from one of these founder delusions. Primary Founders Delusion — the untested idea: Most tech products come from a founder identifying a feature or product niche through their insights into technology and some aspect of business … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Strategy, Marketing Mistakes
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