• Why Your Small Business Needs KPIs That Actually Mean Something

    Why Your Small Business Needs KPIs That Actually Mean Something

    If you run a small business, you’ve probably heard about digital marketing and analytics, things like website visits, social media likes, maybe email open rates. But here’s the problem most small business owners run into when it comes to understanding marketing and its goals for their business. Metrics like website visits and social media likes…

  • The Hub and Spoke Model in Digital Marketing 

    The Hub and Spoke Model in Digital Marketing 

    Steven Jackson in his book Cult of Analytics: Data Analytics for Marketing defines the hub-and-spoke model as a network design where a central core, the hub, connects to multiple outlying points, the spokes, rather than having every point connect directly to each other. Logistics companies use it to route shipments through a central warehouse. Airlines use it to route passengers through…

  • Crocs and the Power of Positioning: When a Brand Fights Its Own Reputation 

    Crocs and the Power of Positioning: When a Brand Fights Its Own Reputation 

    I remember when Crocs first showed up in my school hallways. A few classmates started wearing them, and they got mocked constantly, flamboyant colors, holes punched all over a rubber clog, the whole thing looked more like a slipper than a shoe. I remember thinking the same thing everyone else did: this looks weird, and…

  • How the Marketing Mix Builds Brand Equity at Every Stage of a Brand’s Life 

    How the Marketing Mix Builds Brand Equity at Every Stage of a Brand’s Life 

    Most people have never heard of the term marketing mix, but they use it every time they decide whether to trust a brand. Does the product solve their problem. Is the price fair. Does where they buy it align with what they value. Does the promotion feel honest or does it feel like a pitch. These are the same four elements’ marketers have studied for…

  • Learning to Choose Intentionally 

    Learning to Choose Intentionally 

    Recently, I have been thinking more seriously about what kind of marketer I want to be.  Not in the abstract sense of picking a job title or a niche, but in the practical sense of asking what type of work I actually want to do, who I want to do it for, and what skills…

  • Less Volume, More Value: How Personalized Storytelling Wins in a Crowd of Content

    Less Volume, More Value: How Personalized Storytelling Wins in a Crowd of Content

    Open any platform today and it feels like standing in the middle of a crowded marketplace. Everyone is posting, promoting, and hoping that someone will slow down long enough to listen. Attention has become one of the most limited resources we compete for. Research on today’s attention crisis shows that digital overwhelm continues to grow, while the…