A key to unlocking growth in your writing, startups, marketing, business, or career.

Storytelling is a superpower

The best storytellers always define a clear purpose prior to crafting their story.What is the story trying to achieve? What does success look like with this story?Commit to answering these key questions before doing anything else.

Clarity of Purpose

Every great story begins with a well-defined audience.Who is the audience? What do they consciously (or subconsciously) want from the story?Be deliberate with this exercise.Be honest with yourself. The audience may look different than you expect.

Define the Audience

“People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don’t have a middle or an end anymore. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.” – Steven SpielbergStories need structure.Clear narrative arcs (like Pixar’s “hero’s journey”) work well.

Establish Structure

Playwright Kenn Adams created a neat framework - “the story spine” - for establishing structure:Once upon a time there was [blank]. Every day, [blank]. One day [blank]. Because of that, [blank]. Until finally [bank].Fill it in and watch your story take shape

The Story Spine

Emotion is what makes great stories stick with you.Think about your favourite stories. How did they make you feel?It’s a safe bet that they elicited a strong emotional response.Learn from this. Weave emotion into the foundational fabric of every story.

Weave in the Emotion

Every great story is infused with novelty.Novelty comes in many different forms:Fresh, new perspectives. Surprising insights. Shock-and-awe moments. Unexpected twists.The goal is to make your audience say: “Oh, wow!”If you’re falling short, dig deeper.

Infuse Novelty

Storytelling expert Nancy Duarte coined the “what is vs. what could be” framework.First, describe the reality (“what is”).Next, describe the potential future (“what could be”).This framework forces you to create contrasts to craft a captivating narrative.

Create Contrasts

Disney is the greatest storytelling empire of all time.Walt Disney was famous for his focus on suspending reality for his audiences - allowing them to experience his new reality while still being in their reality.Take a lesson from the best. Suspend reality.

Suspend Reality

“Make it simple, but significant.” - Don DraperA good story may be complex, but a great story is always simple.Try to elevator pitch the story to an uninformed party. Are they able to understand it? If not, you still have work to do.When in doubt, simplify!

Keep It Simple

Shared community is an insanely powerful force.The best stories (and the best storytellers) foster community - they elicit a sense of shared purpose, shared membership in a group, or shared experience.Stories that build communities last forever.

Foster Community

Stories are meant to be shared.The story “K-factor” - a viral marketing metric for growth - should be high.This requires high shareability.To enhance it: Keep it simple and make it easy to “take down” into shorter, alternative versions.

Shareable 

Most great writers and storytellers agree on one thing: starting is the hardest part.There is nothing more daunting than a blank page.So start fast - get a draft down (and don’t worry about how bad it is).Then slow down - write & rewrite as necessary.

Draft Fast, Edit Slow

Inspiration is from Twitter. Found this Twitter thread on storytelling that I think every writer, storyteller or professional should know about. Happy Reading! Thank me later ☺️

career

Career

writing

Reading & Writing

communication

Communication

business

Business

Twitter

E-commerce marketing planning is about formalizing how you intend to drive traffic to a website and convert it from prospective users to customers.The plan specifies exactly how a business intends to use e-commerce marketing channels to attract, convert and retain customers. With an integrated plan aligned to the business vision and consistent with an omnichannel approach, a business can expect to see accelerated results.Nearly half of companies don't have a clearly defined digital marketing strategy. Of those who do, the majority have integrated it into their overall marketing strategy.

Defining An E-commerce Marketing Plan

The <a href="https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/race-a-practical-framework-to-improve-your-digital-marketing/">RACE Framework</a> is the perfect tool to assist the e-commerce marketing planning stage, allowing you to focus on each stage: plan, reach, act, convert, and engage. The model divides the customer journey into clear phases, demonstrating appropriate marketing activities playing a different role in each stage.

The RACE Framework

Plan: Create a digital marketing strategy, mission and objectivesReach: Grow your audience online, situational analysis and competitive landscape, target audience, budget and goalsAct: Encourage brand interactions and leads, media and channelsConvert: Increase online and offline sales through optimization, KPIs and success metricsEngage: Build customer loyalty and advocacy

The Five-Step E-commerce Marketing Plan

Begin your plan by assessing the previous year’s performance. To create an effective digital marketing strategy, you must first have a good idea of what is working as a strength as well as knowing your weaknesses.You should also have a view of the market and your competitors’ activities.<ul><li>Identify all of your current digital marketing activities.</li><li>Work out your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats using the SWOT/ TOWS frameworks.</li><li>Outline your e-commerce marketing goals and make sure you’ve set SMART objectives. </li><li>Understand your target market, their needs, wants and expectations.</li></ul>

Step 1: Assess Current Situation (PLAN)

What is the growth timeline and how do you intend to reach new customers?Reach involves building awareness of your brand, products, and services. After all, no one can buy from your business if they don’t know it exists.ToFu (top-of-funnel) tactics as part of your e-commerce marketing plan should focus on how you can use other websites and offline media to drive traffic to your owned media e.g. website, blog, or social media profiles.

Step 2: Grow Your Audience (REACH)

<ul><li>Define your key brand messages to focus on awareness, familiarity and purchase intent.</li><li>Embed campaign tracking and attribution to adequately review performance.</li><li>Perform keyword research to identify strengths and opportunities (both paid and organic search) </li><li>Identify the appropriate channels to promote the right content to the right people.</li><li>Define a paid and display media budget to reach the correct audience.</li></ul>

Maximize Reach Of Marketing

What channels and content works best to grab attention with the target audience? What makes them take action?The ACT stage in the e-commerce marketing plan is aimed at encouraging interactions that will result in lead generation. It focuses on creating interactions with content rather than conversion at this point in the funnel. MoFu (middle-of-funnel) marketing works to position the company as the best provider to suit the customer's needs.Plan the next year’s activities with appropriate budgets and KPIs specifically aimed at the middle of the funnel.

Step 3: Prompt Interactions, Subscribers and Leads (ACT)

How do you intend to convert a lead to a sale? What activities will persuade your audience to take that vital next step and turn into paying customers? BoFu (bottom-of-funnel) looks at the end of the process; generating the conversion.Today’s customers expect a personalized digital experience. This might be dynamic landing pages, multichannel marketing offering a range of conversion techniques such as email, LiveChat, and product demos, and fully optimized mobile browsing.

Step 4: Focus On Conversion (CONVERT)

It’s important to remember that payment can be made through online e-commerce transactions or offline channels. The customer journey is not linear and a deep dive into analytics and customer data is essential to understanding the path to purchase. You should consider this as part of your omnichannel marketing strategy.Identify conversion funnels and paths to purchase.Plan how you can personalize the digital experience within your current constraints and resources.Establish a communication process between your marketing and development teams.

Points To Keep In Mind For The Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

This stage in the funnel requires you to keep adding value to your brand experience to generate repeat purchases, build loyalty, and improve customer satisfaction.<ul><li>Plan how you can use content to nurture the post-sale relationship. Examples include storytelling, case studies and engaging social content.</li><li>Outline your intended onboarding process using e-commerce marketing techniques and online messaging.</li><li>Establish your multi-channel customer service process e.g. chatbots, social media, call centres.</li><li>Identify post-sale customer data for remarketing opportunities that will build relationships</li></ul>

Step 5: Keep It Going (ENGAGE)

Your e-commerce marketing plan should include a view as to how you will track and report on all KPIs:<ul><li>Customized Google Analytics goals, segments, events and dimensions to reflect campaigns</li><li>A conversion-based forecast model for media ROI</li><li>The conversion rate for different types of leads or subscribers</li><li>A method of assessing the quality of visitors to your website</li><li>Attribution across all digital channels, but also how they influence offline sales</li><li>How to track returning customers and their value</li><li>Email subscriber engagement</li><li>Customer satisfaction and loyalty drivers</li></ul>

Measuring the Effectiveness of your e-commerce marketing plan

Thinking about your e-commerce marketing plan for 2022? Use the RACE Framework to create a focussed and well-structured digital marketing strategy.

How to write an e-commerce marketing plan Thinking about your e-commerce marketing plan for 2022? Use the RACE Framework to create a focussed and well-structured digital marketing strategy In.

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Economics

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Marketing & Sales

How to write an e-commerce marketing plan | Smart Insights

Intellectual property is a broad categorical description for the set of intangible assets owned and legally protected by a company or individual from outside use or implementation without consent. An intangible asset is a non-physical asset that a company or person owns.
The concept of intellectual property relates to the fact that certain products of human intellect should be afforded the same protective rights that apply to physical property, which are called tangible assets. Most developed economies have legal measures in place to protect both forms of property.

Intellectual Property: A Primer

Companies are diligent when it comes to identifying and protecting intellectual property because it holds such high value in today's increasingly knowledge-based economy. 
Also, producing value intellectual property requires heavy investments in brainpower and time of skilled labor. This translates into heavy investments by organizations and individuals that should not be accessed with no rights by others.

The Idea Behind Intellectual Property

A patent is a property right for an investor that's typically granted by a government agency, such as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent allows the inventor exclusive rights to the invention, which could be a design, process, an improvement, or physical invention such as a machine. 
Technology and software companies often have patents for their designs. For example, the patent for the personal computer was filed in 1980 by Steve Jobs and three other colleagues at Apple Inc.

Types of Intellectual Property: Patents

Copyrights provide authors and creators of original material the exclusive right to use, copy, or duplicate their material. Authors of books have their works copyrighted as do musical artists. 
A copyright also states that the original creators can grant anyone authorization through a licensing agreement to use the work.

Types of Intellectual Property: Copyrights

A trademark is a symbol, phrase, or insignia that is recognizable and represents a product that legally separates it from other products. 
A trademark is exclusively assigned to a company, meaning the company owns the trademark so that no others may use or copy it. A trademark is often associated with a company's brand. For example, the logo and brand name of "Coca Cola," is owned by the Coca-Cola Company (KO).

Types of Intellectual Property: Trademarks

A franchise is a license that a company, individual, or party–called the franchisee–purchases allowing them to use a company's–the franchisor–name, trademark, proprietary knowledge, and processes.
The franchisee is typically a small business owner or entrepreneur who operates the store or franchise. The license allows the franchisee to sell a product or provide a service under the company's name. In return, the franchisor is paid a start-up fee and ongoing licensing fees by the franchisee

Types of Intellectual Property: Franchise

A trade secret is a company's process or practice that is not public information, which provides an economic benefit or advantage to the company or holder of the trade secret. Trade secrets must be actively protected by the company and are typically the result of a company's research and development.Examples of trade secrets could be a design, pattern, recipe, formula, or proprietary process. Trade secrets are used to create a business model that differentiates the company's offerings to its customers by providing a competitive advantage.

Types of Intellectual Property: Trade Secrets

Attached to intellectual property are certain rights, known as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), that cannot be infringed upon by those without authorization to use them.1 IPRs give owners the ability to bar others from recreating, mimicking, and exploiting their work.Patents infringement occurs when a legally-protected patent is used by another person or company without permission. Patents filed before June 8, 1995, are valid for 17 years, whereas patents filed after this date are valid for 20 years. After the expiration date, the details of the patent are made public.

Intellectual Property Infringement

Many forms of intellectual property cannot be listed on the balance sheet as assets since there aren't specific accounting principles to value each asset. However, the value of the property tends to be reflected in the price of the stock since market participants are aware of the existence of the intellectual property.Some intangible assets are recorded as property, such as patents because they have an expiration date

Special Considerations

Generally, the creator of a work is deemed its owner. However, intellectual property ownership can be determined differently for different types of property and under varying circumstances. 
For example, if work is created for an employer, the employer is the owner of that intellectual property. Also, ownership rights can also be transferred to other parties.

Intellectual Property Ownership

Intellectual property can be used for various reasons, such as branding and marketing, as well as to protect assets that give a competitive advantage.

Intellectual Property Usage

Intellectual property is a set of intangibles owned and legally protected by a company from outside use or implementation without consent.

startup

Startups

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Intellectual Property

Corporate culture is more important than burnout or compensation in predicting which companies lost employees at a higher rate than their industries as a whole. A toxic corporate culture is the single best predictor of which companies suffered from high attrition in the first six months of the Great Resignation.
The failure to appreciate high performers, through formal and informal recognition, is another element of culture that predicts attrition. A failure to recognize performance is likely to drive out a company’s most productive employees.

It's The Toxic Culture

The Great Resignation is affecting blue-collar and white-collar sectors with equal force. Some of the hardest hit industries — apparel retail, fast food, and specialty retail — employ the highest percentage of blue-collar workers among all industries we studied. 
Management consulting, in contrast, had the second-highest attrition rate but also employs the largest percentage of white-collar professionals of any Culture 500 industry. Enterprise software, which also suffered high churn, employs the highest percentage of engineering and technical employees.

Blue And White Collar

Companies with a reputation for a healthy culture, including Southwest Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and LinkedIn, experienced lower-than-average turnover during the first six months of the Great Resignation. More-innovative companies, including SpaceX, Tesla, Nvidia, and Netflix, are experiencing higher attrition rates than their more staid competitors. The pattern is not limited to technology-intensive industries, since innovative companies like Goldman Sachs and Red Bull have suffered higher turnover as well.

A Peak At The Specific Companies

Much of the media discussion about the Great Resignation has focused on employee dissatisfaction with wages. 
How frequently and positively employees mentioned compensation, however, ranks 16th among all topics in terms of predicting employee turnover. This result is consistent with a large body of evidence that pay has only a moderate impact on employee turnover.

The Compensation Factor Is Overhyped

A toxic corporate culture is by far the strongest predictor of industry-adjusted attrition and is 10 times more important than compensation in predicting turnover. 
Research found that the leading elements contributing to toxic cultures include failure to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion; workers feeling disrespected; and unethical behavior.

Toxic Corporate Culture

Employment instability and restructurings influence employee turnover. Managers frequently resort to layoffs and reorganizations when their company’s prospects are bleak. Previous research has found that employees’ negative assessments of their company’s future outlook are a strong predictor of attrition. 
When a company is struggling, employees are more likely to jump ship in search of more job security and professional opportunities. Past layoffs, moreover, typically leave surviving employees with heavier workloads, which may increase their odds of leaving.

Job Security And Reorganization

Staying at the bleeding edge of innovation typically requires employees to put in longer hours, work at a faster pace, and endure more stress than they would in a slower-moving company. The work may be exciting and satisfying but also difficult to sustain in the long term.
When employees rate their company’s innovation positively, they are more likely to speak negatively about work-life balance and a manageable workload. During the Great Resignation, employees may be reconsidering the personal toll that relentless innovation takes.

Innovation Means Longer Hours

Employees are more likely to leave companies that fail to distinguish between high performers and laggards when it comes to recognition and rewards. Companies that fail to recognize and reward strong performers have higher rates of attrition, and the same is true for employers that tolerate underperformance. High-performing employees are the most likely to resent a lack of recognition for their results, which means that companies may be losing some of their most productive workers during the Great Resignation.

Failure to Recognize Performance

Our analysis identified four actions that managers can take in the short term to reduce attrition:<ul><li>Provide opportunities for lateral job moves.</li><li>Sponsor corporate social events.</li><li>Offer remote work options.</li><li>Make schedules more predictable for front-line employees.</li></ul>

Short-Term Actions to Boost Retention

Data analysis reveals the top reasons behind the Great Resignation and actions managers can take to reduce attrition.

corporateculture

Corporate Culture

Toxic Culture Is Driving the Great Resignation

Companies are increasingly ramping up their focus on social responsibility, whether its championing women’s rights, protecting the environment, or attempting to obliterate poverty, on local, national, or global levels. 
From an optics perspective, socially responsible companies project more attractive images to both consumers and shareholders alike, which serves to positively affect their bottom lines.

It Pays To Be Socially Responsible

Embracing socially responsible policies goes a long way towards attracting and retaining customers, which is essential to a company’s long-term success. 
Furthermore, many individuals will gladly pay a premium for goods, knowing that part of the profits will be channeled towards social causes near and dear to them.

Customers Matter

Socially responsible companies tend to attract employees who are eager to make a difference in the world—in addition to simply collecting a paycheck. 
With large companies, there is strength in numbers, where collective employee efforts can achieve substantial results, which increases workplace morale and boosts productivity.

Key Practices

Socially responsible companies improve their brand, attract and retain top talent, and improve relationships with their customers and their communities.

Why Is Social Responsibility Important to Some Businesses?

How to manage your time fixing up your work and doing your job efficiently and in a effective way. There are tips to manage your tone and workload and how to perform your tasks attentively and be consistent.

How To Manage Work Load

Have a list of all your jobs and odd jobs and other workshops webinars or other micelleneous activities for the day and maintain your list according to you preferred alloted time frame and stricly adhere to that.

Have A List Of All Your Work For The Specific Day(1/10) 

Always identify the most important task of the day Or the most hard job to start off Or as per your convineance and maintain your worload accordingly. The most you focus on your

Identify The Important Once (2/10) 

Maintain specific time limits for your work. If you love to do something you cannot transfer your whole time channel to that work and be unproductive for the whole day. Divide your work and work for each section as designated

Have Special Sections For Each Of Your Job(3)/10) 

Refresh your list midday to consider your laggings and proceedings. This will help you to analyze your work position or structure and your progress. Always highlight what's important in that day and which work is necessary for you to do.

Refresh Your List And Highlight Whats Urgent(4/10) 

List down 25 goals and then select your top 5 and cut out the rest. Thus will help you choose the direction to work .

Specific Goals And Cut Out "Good Enough " By Buffet Theory(5/10)

Having distractions throughout your day is normal, whether you have shifted focus to another task or are responding to a coworker. You might also need breaks during the day to relax and refocus. When you accept that distractions will happen, you might have an easier time including them in your schedule. You can even schedule your breaks, such as a 10-minute coffee break mid-morning and a 15-minute walk late afternoon.

Account For Distractions!! (6/10) 

Be realistic. You probably can’t get to everything on your list. After you prioritize your tasks and look at your estimates, cut the remaining tasks from your list, and focus on the priorities that you know you must and can complete for the day. While cutting your prioritization list down, focus on the main things that will bring you feelings of accomplishment for the day. Then take a deep breath, dive in, and be ready for anything.

The Rest Theory For Managing Workload(7/10) 

It may be tempting to multitask to accomplish more, but it is often better to focus on one task at a time. This strategy can ensure your full attention is on that assignment so you can efficiently complete it before moving on to the next item on your list. You could have a higher chance of turning in quality work when you are not distracted by other tasks.

Multitasking At Your Convenience (8/10) 

One of the steps in the five-step “Get Things Done” (GTD) methodology from productivity consultant David Allen involves critical reflection. Frequently reviewing your task list and priorities is key in “regaining control and focus”, Allen argues.

Consistent Reviews (9/10) 

Always have a plan and an overview of all your tasks for the dayRemember, the purpose of prioritization is to spend time working on the important tasks, those things that will make a difference in the long run and move you in the right direction. When prioritization is handled well, you’ll feel less reactive and more focused and intentional. The aim is to complete work that signifies true progress, and let all the rest—all the “busyness”—fall to the wayside.

Planning Is The Key (10/10) 

It's important on how you take up your daily tasks as to how you build your day and turn it into a productive one

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Entrepreneurship

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Leadership & Management

How to prioritize your work? 

Experts in diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) agree that the long-term success and sustainability of a DE&I initiative depends on an organization's ability to create an environment in which everyone's voice is heard and every employee is treated fairly and with respect.The relationship between diversity and inclusion is both circular and interdependent. While diversity without inclusion can create a toxic culture, inclusion without diversity runs the risk of creating a stagnant and unimaginative organization.

Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

Many organizations need to redefine what they mean by diversity. We tend to think of diversity in terms of demographics. While demographics are one part of diversity, diversity goes beyond demographics to include diverse opinions, thoughts, perspectives, experiences. Focus more broadly on "psychographics." This means taking a closer look at individual beliefs, values, aspirations and other psychological criteria.

More than Demographics

Find out how employees feel about the diversity practices currently in place. Their feelings, mindsets and behaviors all shape the diversity climate. The best predictor of success is employee sense of belonging.

Diagnosing the Problem 

This includes the following steps: <ul><li>Create diverse interview panels. Identify the most effective recruiters for different markers of diversity.</li><li>Use structured and unstructured interviews with candidates to manage bias among recruitment team members.</li><li>Provide job candidates with the position's salary range and avoid asking about salary history.</li><li>Have candidates perform a sample work test so you can test the quality of the candidate's work versus subconsciously judging them based on their traits.</li><li>Write job descriptions that inspire and are balanced, inclusive and fair.</li></ul>

Diversify Your Recruitment Strategy 

When organizations make perfunctory or symbolic efforts to give the appearance of inclusiveness, employees (and candidates) from marginalized or under-represented groups often perceive those efforts as performative and insincere. Here's how to start the p

Beyond the Numbers: Creating a Truly Diverse Organization

Knowledge workers with a hybrid work profile have two workplaces to maintain – one in the office and one at home. It involves planning and a stop-start routine: taking the laptop to and from the office every day, and remembering what important things are left where.
The problem is the psychological shift – the change of setting every day – the constant feeling of never being settled, always stressed and the earlier productive 'always at home, working' routine being disrupted.

Hybrid Work Is Exhausting

<ul>
<li>Many workers report that hybrid is emotionally draining. In a recent global study by employee engagement platform Tinypulse, more than <a href="https://www.tinypulse.com/state-of-employee-engagement-q3-2021">80% of people leaders</a> reported that such a set-up was exhausting for employees. Workers, too, reported hybrid was more emotionally taxing than fully remote arrangements – and, concerningly, even full-time office-based work.</li>
<li>Optimism among workers soon gave way to fatigue. In Tinypulse’s survey of 100 global workers, <a href="https://www.tinypulse.com/state-of-employee-engagement-q3-2021">72% reported exhaustion</a> from working hybrid – nearly double the figures for fully remote employees and also greater than those based fully in the office.</li>
</ul>

The Impact of Hybrid Work: The Statistics

Hybrid can also come with a greater risk of digital presenteeism, compared to fully remote jobs which imply employer trust from the get-go. If an employer sets up hybrid without trusting their workforce, it can become little more than a token gesture: workers feel pressure to show their boss they’re not taking advantage of home working.
That could lead to overwork and burnout, the effects of which can be devastating but take a long time to show up.

Digital Presenteeism

For some workers, frustrations with hybrid mean they’re gravitating towards jobs that allow them full control over their schedules. It comes down to what organisations mean by ‘hybrid’. 
It’s a broad definition that can be interpreted in many ways: from going into the office three days a week, to once a month. Hybrid can still be the future of work and represent the best of both worlds – but it still needs refining.

Defining Hybrid

<ul>
<li>Hybrid can be successful when managers liaise with staff, likely on an individualised basis, about how the set-up would work best for them. It’s both employer and employee who need to set boundaries, but there needs to be autonomy for the worker to self-manage their schedule – flexibility needs to be dictated by the individual, not the boss.</li>
<li>If workers are allowed a degree of choice and control over their working patterns, the rewards could pay dividends. Both people and organisations claim they want hybrid, so there is a great opportunity to change how we work. But it has to go further than the hours the bosses set – it has to be a mindset that works for both employer and employee.</li>
</ul>

A Successful Hybrid

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Teamwork

How to Manage a Hybrid Team

A part-remote, part-office schedule has been hailed as the future of work. Yet in this hybrid set-up, some employees have never been so tired.

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Human Resources

Why hybrid work is emotionally exhausting

The term “marketing” appeared in the 1900s to describe activities and institutions taking place in markets, and early marketing textbooks were largely descriptive of these activities and institutions.
Marketing Management, which was published in 1967, was the first text to use an analytical approach to marketing and include findings of scholarly studies.

The History Of Marketing

One of the key underlying ideas advanced in the very first edition of the book was that company actions must be driven by customers and their needs. This core principle of customer-centricity has remained the central idea across all editions of the book. 
The rise of big data, social media, and sophisticated e-commerce has not changed the fact that a key purpose of any company is to create value for its customers.

Driven By Customer Needs

Marketing is all about understanding, designing, communicating, and delivering value. This is the foundation of marketing strategy and has not changed with time. What has changed are the tools that companies use to create value. 
Data analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence are very powerful tools in managing value, but they are just tools. Without a sound strategy guiding their use, they can become a distraction from a company’s core mission.

Delivering Value

One important change that affects the business philosophy of many companies is redefining their ultimate purpose. As a result, an increasing number of companies include the creation of societal value in their mission statements.
This is an important development that is likely to have long-term consequences on the way these companies act in the marketplace and the way they structure their business processes.

The New Focus: Societal Value

In the old days, a brand simply told you what the product is and does and how it’s priced. But today, a brand is the company’s promise to deliver a specific benefit that addresses a particular need of its customers.
Moreover, the promise of many brands extends beyond functionality and reflects certain aspects of customers’ identity.

The New Approach

As more and more products are becoming commoditized, customers are looking beyond functionality for something that is meaningful. It is no longer just about the product. 
It is also about who the company behind this product is and what this company stands for. As companies understand this, they realize that to be successful in the market, they might have to reinvent their culture and realign it with the values held by their customers.

Countering Commoditization

Having a purpose also helps companies attract and retain employees. If you stand for something, you have a better chance of getting and keeping the right people, which ultimately will enhance profitability. 
This also extends to a company’s partners. For example, companies like Whole Foods prioritize suppliers that employ environmentally friendly and socially responsible business practices.

Having A Purpose

The ultimate goal is to create value, what has changed is the proliferation of information. In the past, advertising was the main tool to inform customers about products. Now, customers can get detailed product information from a variety of sources, both from the company as well as from other customers. 
And the same goes for companies. The proliferation of social media and the advancement in data analytics enables companies to know in real-time not only what customers are doing but also how they are feeling about their brands.

Same Goal, New Approach

It’s important to realize that today’s consumers are different. They are connected with so many people from so many other parts of the world and can find information with a simple click, without needing a salesman or an ad. 
Anyone who’s going to buy a car will probably end up seeing a salesman in the dealership, but most will have done a lot of their own work to know about their options. We have to recognize the existence of such an intelligent, well-informed consumer, which means companies have to make big changes to their traditional marketing tools.

An Intelligent Customer

People tend to go shopping in brick-and-mortar stores for different reasons. 
<ul>
<li>Some go for purely utilitarian reasons. They appreciate the fact that they can see what the product looks and feels like in reality and will eventually be able to buy it instantly and take it home. </li>
<li>Others go for more hedonic reasons; for them, it is more about the shopping experience. They don’t go to brick-and-mortar stores to save time but to spend time. </li>
<li>For many, it is also a chance to socialize with friends and family.</li>
</ul>

Going To The Store

In the past, marketing was not part of the development of the product. It was only called in after the product was made. Then it was the marketers’ job to sell as much as they could. 
But now marketing participates in product development. Marketers can offer design ideas and features. Engineers are the masters of the possible, but it is marketers who can best assess value because they are better at understanding the customers’ criteria for buying a product.

Customer-Centric Job Roles

Phil Kotler’s groundbreaking textbook came out 55 years ago. Sixteen editions later, he and coauthor Alexander Chernev discuss how big data, social media, and purpose-driven branding are moving the field forward.

How Has Marketing Changed over the Past Half-Century?

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How to write an e-commerce marketing plan | Smart Insights

Intellectual Property

Toxic Culture Is Driving the Great Resignation

Why Is Social Responsibility Important to Some Businesses?

How to prioritize your work?

Beyond the Numbers: Creating a Truly Diverse Organization

Why hybrid work is emotionally exhausting

How Has Marketing Changed over the Past Half-Century?

Sensemaking for Sales

It's time to
Read like a Pro.

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How to write an e-commerce marketing plan | Smart Insights

Intellectual Property

Toxic Culture Is Driving the Great Resignation

Why Is Social Responsibility Important to Some Businesses?

How to prioritize your work?

Beyond the Numbers: Creating a Truly Diverse Organization

Why hybrid work is emotionally exhausting

How Has Marketing Changed over the Past Half-Century?

Sensemaking for Sales

It's time to Read like a Pro.

It's time to
Read like a Pro.