Gray Matter at White Space

If marketing is so simple, why are marketing decisions so hard to make?

Creating a viable communications plan requires strategy—that fuzzy word that conjures up images of a 40-page PowerPoint deck, which ultimately ends up just sitting on a shelf. But, in its best application, strategy is the grease that puts goals into action.

Creating strategy is especially important when introducing a new channel or tactic in your marketing efforts. Without clearly identifying the action you expect, and the impact you hope it will have, a tactic is just a shot in the dark.

I confess: I’ve been reading Brené Brown on gratitude.

To give a little background, Dr. Brene Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation–Brené Brown Endowed Chair at the Graduate College of Social Work. Per her bio, “She has spent the past 16 years studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of five New York Times bestsellers. Her TED talk—The Power of Vulnerability—is one of the top five most-viewed TED talks in the world, with more than thirty-five million views.”

There are 12 weeks left before Thanksgiving. That’s the nominal end of 2019. What does that mean for you?

Complex businesses with multiple product offerings and audiences often lead us down the road to convoluted websites, multi-pronged sales processes, confusing messaging, and bored-to-death email campaigns.

And if we can’t figure it out, how do we expect our customers to?

I first heard this rather dated concept at a recent Storybrand live training. How could I have missed it? I missed it because I’m blessed with an extra dose of this communications scourge.

The concept was conceived back in 1989 in an economics publication, and supported by research in developmental psychology and human behavior. It has been played out in the markets, entertainment, and even charades (why don’t my teammates understand what I’m pantomiming?). Look it up on Wikipedia for more fun references.

If you’ve ever had to go to a physical therapy clinic or rehab center, it’s most likely because something has already happened to you. You broke a bone, strained a muscle, or had surgery on your rotator cuff because you’ve been playing tennis since you were three.

Let’s not forget the constant threat of carpal tunnel or “tech neck,” as we use keyboards and mobile devices to communicate.

Did you know Gen-Xers account for about 25 percent of the population but control 31 percent of total U.S. income? That’s some serious spending power.

Knowing what I know about this cohort, that statistic makes me stand up and shout: Let’s stop treating Gen X as the middle child of marketers!

(Apologies to all the middle children out there. I’m on your side!)

“Women are multitasking monsters.” It’s one of the statements that stood out to me in a recent NY Times article featuring activist Shannon Watts.
I couldn’t agree more.

Shannon runs Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, an anti-gun violence (not anti-gun) organization, which she formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.

In the article, she journals “a day in the life” and what it takes to keep going.

Growing a company is a constant lesson in growing pains. New business isn’t guaranteed, and when you’ve tapped out your referral network, the next steps can be uncertain.

I am religiously opposed to spammy sales outreach. You know, those emails that cast a broad net, with no clear message. I don’t like to be the recipient of those communications, and I certainly don’t want to be the perpetrator.

I am not an artist in the typical sense of the word. I don’t paint, I’ve never made anything out of clay (at least not since elementary school), and the closest I’ve come to sculpting anything was helping my girls glue macaroni together.

Where my artistry shines is in words. Words can incite design.