Leadership Thought #259 – Branding Is Not Optional
I wish I could tell my clients and colleagues that the best company always wins but that isn’t the case. Over the years I’ve met quite a few leaders who think that doing a good job should be sufficient for success and that money spent on adverstising and marketing is purely discretionary. However, it’s not enough be good at something. People need to know you exist and have to be reminded why you are the preferable option. Sure, you can try to grow your business through word of mouth referrals but this strategy only has a chance if you have low growth objectives and/or your prospective client base is relatively small and/or there is minimal competitive pressure.
Leadership Thought #235 – Sometimes A Business Needs to Fish in Another Pond…
One of a leader’s primary jobs is to constantly pay attention to the marketplace and make changes as needed. Markets are dynamic not static and as a result are constantly reinventing themselves. What worked yesterday won’t necessarily work tomorrow. Especially in the current economic environment you need to keep your options open and be flexible and opportunistic as needed. Sometimes you need to be willing to fish in another pond, try another rod and/or use different bait.