Rocket Fuel

Launch the Business Year at the Sales Meeting Annual meetings are for team alignment and building momentum for the year — consider it a launch of the business year. Annual national sales (or training) meetings are a highlight…

People think about value in many ways, but the common denominators tends to be emotions and money. When you calculate the benefit from a service compared to its cost, the difference is value. That’s not wrong. But if…

You’ve probably heard us talk about how it’s essential to own a space in your audience’s mind. But it’s not just about the words you send there. It’s the sum total of every interaction they’ve had with you.…

In a hyper-competitive world, it’s more important than ever to stand out from the crowd. But with so many touting similar benefits, how do you do that? You make your way apart from the crowd, to a place…

You love your brand. You live your brand. And you wish others would, too. But while you’re the center of your own world, you’re not in the world of your customers. Not yet, at least. Because you have…

We’ve all been there. At the airport, next to the guy with ear buds pacing back and forth, seemingly talking to himself as he prattles on about “synergistic asset allocation for seamless transparency.”  Uhhh…we have questions. First, why…

In product launch, a genuinely new and different or complex product can be tough to market, because your audience just doesn’t get it. They don’t know what it is, let alone why they want it. They need a…

In our last blog, we talked about Avoiding the Vanilla Umbrella—messaging so generic and blah it could apply to everyone, without really saying anything, or exciting anyone. In this installment, we’re back with another strategy you can put to…

In an earlier blog, we talked about the importance of being emotional. Once you get on an emotional footing, you’re up for the next task: Keeping it simple. But here’s the rub: That’s hardly simple to do. Keeping it…

We’re extremely fortunate to get to work with brilliant people—recognized thought leaders in their fields, people who take on extraordinarily complex challenges with mindboggling intelligence and insight. But all that brainpower can sometimes be a burden. Bright people with…

Here’s a test. Name a safe car brand. If you’re like the majority of people, you thought of Volvo. And Volvo does indeed make safe cars. But are they really any safer than other comparably ranked brands, like…

As marketers, it’s natural to want to find answers to problems. We’re in the solutions business, after all. But searching for a solution before clearly defining the problem isn’t just putting the cart before the horse. That’s a…