Market segmentation and positioning sound dry, and reading about them can be. However, I find this to be one of the most fun and enjoyable aspects of developing a strategic marketing plan.
I'm not talking about what bloggers are wearing when they sit down at their computers or blogging about states of undress, but rather a blogger's willingness to peel back their onion and reveal layers of their lives. We've been talking about naked blogging at BlogHer since the very first conference yet I remain fascinated. Recently I wrote about hitting bottom and I admired how many bloggers were willing to share their stories. And I wondered, how do bloggers decide how naked they are willing to get?
We've all heard of the concept of hitting bottom. Generally it's associated with alcoholism or other forms of addiction. But there are other areas of life in which we can hit bottom. How do we recognize when we've reached the valley and are ready to start climbing back toward the mountain top? Are there some areas for which we have to hit bottom, or is it possible to recognize that we are going in the wrong direction and pull up instead?
I suspect that our popular culture conception of hitting bottom might be a myth. The idea that there is one spectacularly awful moment at which an epiphany of crystal clarity occurs and change becomes inevitable seems to me to be a kind of made-for-the-movies fantasy. I've known addicts who have had to move through repeated cycles of seriously bad stuff in their lives and lather-rinse-repeat the experience of rehab before attaining a substance-free life that remains that way only as long as they do the hard work of making the choice every day when they wake up.
One of the core fundamentals of marketing is the marketing mix also known as the "four Ps." The marketing mix is used to determine your target market and to guide development of your strategic marketing plan. While additional elements have been added and the original ones renamed by those trying to make their stamp and in efforts to update the model for new markets and means of marketing, the classic framework has proven durable and still useful.
Arguably the hottest viral video these days is the "Manmercial" The Man Your Man Could Smell Like. In just a couple of weeks it has garnered over 2 million views -- far surpassing any of the other spots on the Old Spice YouTube channel.
When we are in the thick of frustration, struggle, fighting, or feeling beaten down by life, it can be easy to lose perspective. But when we can steal away for a moment to step back and look at where we have come from and how far we have traveled, the view can be amazing.
Businesses are concerned with making a profit. Very simplified, profit is what you make when your revenue or income exceeds your expenses. When expenses exceed your revenue, you have a loss. These elements are tracked through a profit and loss (or P&L) statement.
Thus there are two ways to make or increase a profit: either bring in more money or spend less. This is often referred to as either top-line or bottom-line growth. Marketing helps you grow your top-line and can be used to manage some bottom-line expenses.
When we work on our computers if things start to slow down or go wobbly we can try and start fresh by hitting a reset button. When it comes to our lives however, finding the reset button can be difficult. When times get tough how can we find that button? I've got six tips for making the search a little easier.
John Mayer is once again under fire for using the [n-word] And, because we seem to be incapable of having thoughtful conversations around race, he will be called a racist. Which I think is too bad, because while apparently his penis might be, I don't think he is racist just for using the N-word.
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