I have often had conversations with business owners who use variations of the same, but “we cant afford to….” theme We cant possibly afford to provide a warranty We cant afford to provide delivery services We are only a small company, we cant possibly afford to create a customer friendly environment We cant possibly afford to just give a one-to-one … Read More
Upselling food.
The food industry is interesting. Lets do a simple theoretical exercise. Assuming that the population of the earth grows at 2% per annum. 100% of people need to be fed. Therefore, the gross food consumption increases by 2% every year. In theory, the food industry can also grow at 2% a year. However, in this day an age, 2% growth … Read More
Of Apples and Berries, and other communication devices.
My very first mobile phone was a Nokia 6110. There were other built in functions for sure but it was a phone, designed as a communications device and shaped like how people perceive a phone handset to be like. No one thought much of it, we chose phones based on form and function and went on with our lives. … Read More
Commodities and Commoditization
com·mod·i·ty [kuh-mod-i-tee] noun, plural -ties. 1. an article of trade or commerce, especially a product as distinguished from a service. 2. something of use, advantage, or value. 3. Stock Exchange . any unprocessed or partially processed good, as grain, fruits, and vegetables, or precious metals. 4. Obsolete . a quantity of goods. 5. A product whose only differentiation to others … Read More
What are you selling?
How would you answer the question “what do you sell?”. Having asked that question many times to different business owners and the answer is usually a list of items that they carry or services they provide. They usually reply with something like. “I sell, curtains, or speakers, or sound systems, or cars, or tyres.” These are products and commodities. Yes, … Read More
Everything I needed to know about marketing, I learned from a storyteller.
I have very vivid memories of this program about storyteller. He had a distinct voice and I remember watching the program as a child and singing along. Just yesterday I decided to go search for the song and found it on youtube (Of Course). I’d like to share it here. The lyrics go: I’m a storyteller, and my stories must … Read More
Marketing – The Power of the story
I have been known at times to pick up a camera and go to weddings. There have been people who have given me the privilege of sharing the most important day of their lives. People always ask me, (Me holding a huge DSLR, flash, additional lenses, sometimes tripod) ” Are you a photographer?” My reply is always ” No. Im … Read More
Marketing, a working definition
What is Marketing? It does seem like everyone has a vague idea of what it means, usually involving 4 or more Ps. Well, I personally feel a need to jump into the mix and drop in my own working definition so as to form a framework to build the rest of this blog upon. Of course, all the economics I … Read More
What is your business?
The main concern of most businesses is, How can I get my customer to spend more on my (insert industry) product? This is probably the wrong question. I’d like to write for the record, You are NOT in the Trading business. You are NOT in the construction business. You are NOT in the retail business. You are NOT in the … Read More