Content, Strategy, Marketing & Business | A consultant’s view » Christine Thompson
Lately most of the newsletters delivered to my in-box at work seem to be breathlessly touting some aspect of content marketing or an upcoming conference on the subject. Because the senders tend to be technology providers, marcom agencies or others with vested interests, I take their pronouncements and special offers with a large grain of […]
Like other Mac users eagerly awaiting 4G LTE service in the US, I was angry to learn that Verizon’s initial 4G modems will support Windows only. There’s no official word when the service will be extended to Mac and iPad users… Initial Reactions from a Long-time Mac User How could that be possible, I fumed: Mac and […]
I stumbled upon an intriguing way to think about innovations and predict their likely success, thanks to some blog posts by a Canadian consultant, John Sutherland. Although his ideas are a bit abstract, they offer useful constructs for thinking about or assessing potential innovations. Sutherland’s blog explores behavior space and relationship space, and their implications […]
How to Increase a Business’ Chances for Success By now you’ve probably heard about a new framework that enables organizations to describe their business model on a single sheet of paper. It’s a 9-box model for synthesizing the key components of a business and the relationships among those components. This framework has been popularized in […]
Clients often ask me, as a former Apple employee, for insights into Apple’s amazing success. I’ve provided some answers in prior blog posts — but Apple’s strategies are hard to emulate, because the secret sauce is in the combination of ingredients. Having said that, there’s a lot businesses can learn from their approach. So here’s […]
Marketing Transformation Like many traditional or industrial age enterprises, until recently GE had no strategic marketing function to speak of. Leaders tended to believe that GE products would sell themselves, so marketers were relegated to sales support or marcom functions. The CMO role did not exist (until recently). Skeptics didn’t believe that marketing could make […]
When it’s time for high-stakes business planning, my clients ask for help with strategy offsite facilitation or coaching on fast-track strategic planning. They want a strategy consultant who understands how to facilitate strategic planning, is a quick study about business dynamics, knows how to get the best out of their people, and can help them […]
Apple has earned the reputation as one of the most admired brands — and envied companies — in the world. For the third year in a row Apple ranked as the world’s most admired company, by the highest margin ever. But this didn’t happen overnight, and it’s not just because Steve Jobs is one of the world’s most admired CEOs. There are several factors that account for Apple’s continuing success as a market innovator.
A key element of Apple’s strategic playbook is
25 years ago Apple and a handful of partners ignited the digital publishing revolution. I was there, a senior member of Apple’s pioneering team, along with visionaries and change agents from Adobe, Aldus, Quark and others. Our work laid the foundations for digital content and publishing, key milestones on the road to the Web, social media, blogging, and other 21st century communications.
Businesses can stumble badly in their financial projections if they over-estimate customer adoption rates. And if you work in product marketing or sales environments where everyone must “drink the Kool-Aid,” you’re potentially at risk, especially in B2B markets.
In consumer markets, where the decision maker and the end-user are often the same person, motivational issues are less likely to affect post-sale adoption rates (unless the product is a “lemon”). Here’s why.
