GB Today Archive
The Power Of Diversity
We like people who remind us of ourselves.
It might explain why some married couples almost look like twins.
It’s probably the reason why we find it comfortable to recruit people who think like us.
Sameness, however, can be out of place in the workplace.
It results in everyone thinking the same, acting the same and marching to the same tune
Diversity on the other hand encourages creativity, originality and effervescence.
If you embrace diversity, it’ll cuddle you back!
New Ideas – The Acid Test
New ideas are not always good ideas.
But how do you separate the good from the bad?
You can do it by applying the test of logic and the wisdom of experience.
Before implementing a new idea, ask yourself the logic question – does it add up commercially?
As a final safeguard ask those wiser and more experienced than yourself – will it work?
Only go for it if you get a double yes.
The Power Of Deadlines
To achieve the impossible set a deadline.
If you need something done – set a deadline.
If you need a big idea – set a deadline.
Zero hour deadlines ensure you clear the clutter and concentrate on what’s critical.
Nothing inspires motivation more than desperation.
Start Experimenting
If you keep doing the same things you’ll continue to get the same results.
If you bravely go where you’ve never gone before, you may get better results.
Fresh thinking and experimentation are what changed the world.
It brought about the industrial revolution, the internet and remarkable advances in medicine.
That’s why every company should set aside a small investment pot each year for trialling new products, new services or new marketing ideas.
The secret is getting out your comfort zone and thinking radically.
Success Breeds Success
So often the team at the top of a sport league enjoys an unbeaten run.
The fans, players and coaching staff come to expect victory after victory.
It can be tough to turn things around after a bad result.
A decline can set in and the team can tumble down the league.
Nothing has changed except for an infectious lack of confidence.
Resolve to inhale confidence and exhale doubt!
Pay Attention
Big marketing ideas are sparked by two elements – knowledge and inspiration.
To develop a killer idea you have to immerse yourself in a brand and develop an intimate knowledge of the sector in which it operates. That allows you to spot remarkable opportunities that others have missed.
Inspiration comes from eyeballing the competition at home and abroad. It also means paying attention to what leading brands are doing in industries outside of your own.
Inspiration comes from listening to employees, consumers and industry experts.
Last but not least, it comes from actively observing the world around you. Look and you will see!
Small Can Be Big
Behavioural economics is a powerful weapon which allows brands to harness the power of psychological insight to understand how consumers buy products.
By first understanding the economic decision-making process and then improving the buying procedure, brands can add millions to their bottom line.
In a well-documented study known as “The $300 Million Button”, an online retailer in the US struck gold by changing the wording on one button on their website from Register to Continue.
Before the change, shoppers encountered a Register button after filling their shopping carts. Hundreds of thousands of frustrated customers abandoned their carts at that point because all they wanted to do was pay – not register.
By changing only one aspect of the buying process and allowing shoppers to pay without registering, the company added $300 million in annual sales.
It’s amazing how a small change can make a huge difference to the fortunes of a brand.
Price Cutting – The Road To Ruin
You know a brand is in trouble when it cuts its price.
Anything is better than buying market share.
Here are three reasons why you should back-off discounting and improve marketing:
Dropping the price is the easiest way to sell more of a product – but it’s also the most expensive.
A Tip From A Comedian
They say Glasgow is the hardest place in the world to do stand-up comedy.
Glasgow audiences are not backward at coming forward.
If they love you, you’ll know it. If they hate you, you’ll feel it.
Most of us don’t do stand-up comedy but we often have to address an audience – our boss, colleagues or clients.
The secret is to look at your audience, watch their body language and react to it.
Read the room or you’re dead in the water.
Beattie, the integrated communications agency, has more offices in the UK than any PR, digital, social, advertising or creative agency.
Only is our ultra-specialist marketing brand. Our boutiques include Only Health, Only Digital and Only Crisis.
11ten is our international student recruitment and education marketing brand.
Beattie Tartan is our integrated communications brand serving Canada and the United States.
