Just for Bloggers: I Think, Therefore I Blog.
We decided to take a break from our marketing consulting work today and have some fun. TGIF!
Here’s a new design we created just for bloggers — a stylish, Rodin-inspired t-shirt with a rendition of The Thinker and “I Think, Therefore I Blog” right there up front where everyone can see what you do.
The concept just swooped down on us while we were out walking a few days ago. Along with a huge selection of different t-shirt designs, there are also sweatshirts, hoodies, tote bags and, of course, a mousepad. As soon as we have some time, we plan on adding a few other items.
Got ideas or comments, please leave them here or drop us a line at support@marketingtaxi.com.
Is Your Blog Or Web Site Really Ready For Traffic?
One of the pleasures of writing this blog is scouring other blogs and web sites for marketing news and information that will be useful to you, my readers. Eager to find the “good stuff,” each week I end up reading dozens of blog posts and visit as many web sites.
Now and then I run into a blog that tries to get it right but stumbles here and there. “Stumbling here and there” is what we humans do. To err is human, right?
Most of us with blogs have had this experience: we edit, proofread, spell check, read it again, and feeling we’ve covered all the bases push that “publish” button. Only then do we see the mistake, the name we didn’t get right, the link that isn’t working, etc. So, back we go, hoping we can correct our errors before anyone sees it.
Today I found a blog post that seemed perfect to discuss on Marketing Taxi: “The Important Rules of Business Coaching.” We all want to know what the rules are, how they might complement whatever “rules” we currently follow, or if — as some might suggest — there are no rules.
Here’s the link– the actual blog post is useful. I don’t know if it is original material, but that’s not why I mention it. The problem is that the blog itself is not ready for prime time. In the header it reads, “Let us healp you Earn Some Wealth.” Beneath the blog name, “Earned Wealth,” we have those ubiquitous Latin fill-ins “Lorem/Ipsum/Dolorem.” Not exactly the way to build confidence in the author or the wisdom he/she is trying to share with us.
Certainly this is an egregious example of not being ready for one’s readers. However, it makes a point worth making: sometimes the most glaring mistakes are the ones we miss.
For several weeks I had a blog sidebar that was getting pushed down to the bottom of the page. I never saw it because I always used my main desktop computer to work on the blog. Only when I loaded the blog into my laptop did the error show up. Goodness knows how many readers also saw it. So now I review all my web sites and blogs on both computers, each with a different OS and web browser.
In the spirit of ”what are friends for,” perhaps it would be proper to drop a friend a carefully-worded note if we do see something out of kilter on their blog or web site. Besides being a good reason to touch base, your friend will appreciate your thoughtfulness — after the initial embarrassment wears off.
Why New Product Research Can’t Always Be Trusted.
While many larger corporations often rely on consumer research to predict the response to new products, there are numerous pitfalls with such research. Here are some of the more significant problems:
1. Many consumers who respond to questions about new product concepts are indifferent because the product category is not important to them.
2. When consumers are using their own money, they are more responsible in their decisions than when they are just offering an opinion.
3. Consumers tend to choose conventional and familiar ideas over truly innovative ones because of conservative attitudes. Most innovative products are adopted because of others’ experiences.
4. Consumer motives for choices may be colored by vanity. For example, people may report choosing a small appliance to save space when they really want to save money.
5. Consumers may not have sufficient information to make informed choices in a research setting. They may, for example, have information on the price and physical characteristics of a new coffee maker, but they cannot pre-judge the benefits or problems that will arise in the course of actually using that coffee maker to make and pour coffee.
If consumer research cannot be designed to avoid these kinds of problems, the new product development team must learn to put themselves in the user’s place as best they can in order to develop products that the market will enthusiastically accept.
Let the world know who you are!
