Irecently interviewed Tim Pearson, author of The Old Rules of Marketing are Dead: 6 New Rules to Reinvent Your Brand and Reignite Your Business. Tim believes that the greatest challenges for businesses of all sizes today is rebounding from the “great recession” and properly embracing the new technologies that have drastically changed the way products and services are bought and sold.
For a high level overview of what Tim shared, read this post, using the time stamps to find what interests you most. To go beyond listening and start applying his insights to your life, scroll to the bottom of this post, click the gray arrow, turn up the volume and enjoy my interview. You can also download the podcast to your favorite mobile device or via iTunes.
- Focus on what really matters (7:50). Your core is everything, so be focused on it. Your business has a brand essence. It's intangible because it's really the emotional connection your business has with your customers. Find it, and then focus on it. It will be the game-changer for your business.
- Build your foundation (14:40). Mind your P's: (1) Penetration of your product and brand; (2) Relationship of price to perceived value of your product; and (3) Preference, as in what you do that causes people to prefer your offering over similar alternatives.
- Many choices, one customer (22:06). While you use multiple channels to engage customers, you are still dealing with individuals. Resist lazy marketing. Use technology to reach the masses, but don't treat people like “masses.”
- Do the right things (25:00). Avoid making decisions to do things for the wrong reasons. For example, the question, “How can I get my company on FaceBook?” is different from the question, “Does our company need to be on FaceBook?”
- Technology is not a savior (27:43). Instead of getting lost in technology, get lost in exploiting technology.
- Lead and others will follow (25:23). No business can be successful without a strong leader. Leadership is active. It is vibrant. Leadership is a verb, not a noun.
Oh! And don't miss the part starting at 17:30 where Tim and I discuss the importance of resisting the temptation to compete simply by lowering your prices.
About Timothy Pearson
Timothy Pearson is the author of The Old Rules of Marketing are Dead: 6 New Rules to Reinvent Your Brand and Reignite Your Business. He is founder and president of Pearson Advisors || Partners, a marketing management consulting firm serving Fortune 1000 companies. Tim's specialty is helping is companies merge new marketing rules so their businesses can succeed. Visit Tim's website and follow him on Twitter here.
How to Listen to the Show
This post contains my paraphrases of the information Tim shared. To hear it from the horse's mouth yourself, listen to the entire 30-minute show using one of these options:
- Download it on iTunes. (It usually takes a day or two for iTunes to feed the show there.)
- Click on the arrow at the bottom of this post to listen now!
- Because I have not had a chance to load all of my shows to this blog, you can listen to hundreds of interviews from 2005 to 2010, each one as relevant today as it was when I recorded it, at my Indie Business Radio site.
Question: What rules resonate most with you? Which ones challenge you the most?