Argentum Blog

Lessons from a Spectacular New Product Failure

This month we have a guest blogger, Nancy Goldstein of Compass(x) Strategy. While Nancy’s firm focuses on brand strategy and marketing for environmentally and socially responsible businesses, she just couldn’t resist commenting on the recent launch and subsequent discontinuation of the Microsoft KIN. I thought she makes some terrific...

Customer Appreciation – The Power of Thank You

I was a loyal United Airlines Premier flyer for 15 years. I loved getting on the plane first, sitting towards the front in Economy Plus, and always being able to find room for my bag. Not to mention all of United’s wonderful international locations to which I took many a free flight over the years. However, at the same time, there was no...

Kellogg Technology Conference Recap

The Kellogg Graduate School of Management puts on a great Technology Conference every spring. It’s so good that it actually sold out in two days this year. Impressive! As one of the lucky attendees last week, I decided to really get in to the swing of things by tweeting tidbits from the conference. This was the first time that I have...

Marketing Strategy via Baby Steps: Do

In a recent TV interview, I cited “Do, Reach, Say” as three common marketing mistakes I see companies making. I thought it might be helpful to write a post about each of those elements, starting with Do. How is “Do” a marketing mistake? It is shorthand for the fact that many companies do not stop and think about what they...

Book Review: Switch – How To Change When Change Is Hard

DON’T BE AFRAID OF CHANGE Last month, Dan Heath lectured in Chicago about the premises behind Switch, the new book that he and his brother Chip have written. Their first book was the terrific and useful Made to Stick, and they also write a monthly column in Fast Company magazine. Switch, like Made to Stick, is an engaging read with great,...

Frame The Problem, Don’t Mandate The Solution

Many wise managers and agency partners have taught me over the years that when asking for changes to creative work, framing the problem you want the creatives to solve, versus telling them how to solve it will virtually always get you the best results. For example, instead of saying this: “Can you make the label bright green?” Say...

Three Common Marketing Mistakes

In my recent TV interview with Rebecca Cooper on Washington Business Tonight, I talked about 3 common marketing mistakes I see pretty consistently with my small to mid-sized clients. These mistakes can be boiled down to three words: Do, Reach, Say. 1. Companies do not know what they are trying to DO, i.e., they have no marketing plan. 2....

Travelers make better marketers – 10 Tips for maximizing your experience

Okay, so maybe I’m biased. After all, I do love to travel. And I just got back from another great trip. This time I spent 2 weeks in Egypt and Jordan with two friends. But I have always thought that the best marketers are able to put themselves in other people’s shoes, and traveling is a great opportunity to practice that. When you...

Using existing tools to do new things

I read an article recently in National Geographic Adventure magazine (link below) about how a team of climbers helped with an archeological expedition in one of my favorite parts of the world, Nepal. The gist of the story is that for years, local residents of Mustang have “reported seeing old manuscripts fluttering out of [an inaccessible]...

5 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Web Design Firm

This month, my friend Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media Studios is kindly letting me repurpose a post he wrote for his own blog a few months ago. I think he offers some great advice here, and I often refer my clients to it. From Andy: Full disclosure: I sell websites. Every day, I meet with companies who are looking for a web-design firm, and...

Argentum's blog, Marketing Op-Ed, highlights interesting, real-world examples of marketing with a little bit (okay, a lot) of opinion thrown in. It's written by Susan Silver, President of Argentum Strategy Group, with the occasional guest blogger added to the mix.