What kind of marketing is the most effective?

sneezr.ca Have you ever asked yourself that question? I did. In fact, many years ago I spent countless hours trying to figure it out.
The answer turned out to be quite simple: word of mouth marketing. Or as I call it: the art of cultivating recommendations.

Surprised? Probably not. With recommendations, there is no sales pressure and no credibility issues. When your friends, family members or trusted co-workers recommend something or someone to you, they are genuinely trying to help you. That means a lot, which is why you usually remember it for a long time. But here is the catch: recommendations must be earned. How do you do that? Where do you start? How do you give people a reason to talk about your products/services? How do you nudge your story into every day conversations? I launched sneezr.ca to help you answer those questions.

The Apple of Your I.

First, you convinced your friends to try a Mac. Then, you convinced them to get an iPhone. Then, if you’re a really good friend, you convinced continue reading

Stop storytelling like it’s 1999.

Will people engage with your product/service in 2015 if they aren’t excited by it visually? If you had to use a version of Google that looked like this today, would you?

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Jan continue reading

Malcolm’s “secret weapon,” episode II

A few years ago, I wrote a story about Malcolm’s “secret weapon.” You can read it here. continue reading

Are you trying to boil the ocean?

It’s often those who narrow their focus right off the bat – way more than an average person would want to — that end up being the brands that continue reading

Is this the best you can do?

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Are the experts you’re working with experts on this world, or an earlier version of the world?

Jan 3, 2015

A word on your currency

Facebook, Instagram, etc. — sure, pictures are part of the appeal of those services. But you can only say so much without words, no? Words continue reading

Can a great offer be summed up into a single sentence?

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You bet. Case in point, Western Union. Here’s how I would likely position Western Union’s offer:
Your money flies first class with Western Union.

Why? With Western Union, you can literally send money to over 100 countries around the globe in minutes. Right now, someone in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan can go to a Western Union agent and within minutes have money literarily in the hands of a friend or family member in the Philippines, Italy, India, etc. The alternatives? Bank transfers, PayPal, etc. — all taking usually a lot longer, from one or two days to up to two weeks. (Image via i.stack.imgur.com/EOsm1.png) The takeaway:

More continue reading

The quickening art

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Your favourite songs are one of those rare things that can encompass you completely, and that make you exist solely in the moment. A good continue reading

Quick question

Have you ever noticed how stores such as Walmart, Gap, Future Shop, etc. take so much care in making sure that they have enough cans (or whatever continue reading

The opposite of courage

In his wonderful book “Man’s Search for Himself,” Rollo May, the distinguished psychiatrist, says that “The opposite continue reading