“Dunkin’ – The “No Holes Barred” Donut Trusted by Homeland Security"

“Dunkin’ Coffee and Donuts– A Joint Task Force That Gets The Job Done” 

“Dunkin’, The Only Coffee With a Security Clearance”

“Dunkin’ – First Caffeinators for First Responders…” 

When "Opportunities" Are Not That At All...

For those of you not from New England, Dunkin' Donuts is an iconic Brand in the region, one which you will see in some densely populated areas even more frequently than you will see a Starbucks in the Northwest. Just how important is Dunkin' Donuts in New England?

The Trouble With C-Suite Titles

With no offense to my CMO friends out there, the corporate world has a problem with defining your role and understanding how to generate the most benefit from creating it. While valid discussions are going on in regards to the value of many of the new C-Suite titles out there over the last twenty years, I often find myself perplexed by the lack of discussion on the role of "Chief Marketing Officer" common in businesses big and small (and without a doubt, if you run across a company with a "Chief Ninja" or "Chief Customer Magic Officer", turn and head for the hills without hesitating to even receive a business card).

It's Not Easy Being Cool...

Anyone paying attention to the news this last week may have seen the blurb that some Orbitz users discovered that those among them who were Mac users were being charged higher prices than their PC-using brethren. In what can only be described as a shameless and cynical technique to exploit customers by making assumptions about their sensitivity to pricing, Orbitz has shown a special kind of disdain for its customers in an age where many of us still wrongly assume that the businesses we patronize are constantly looking for ways to keep our loyalty. Oops.

This week we're taking the easy road to writing - by re-publishing a piece I provided as a guest blogger two weeks ago for Earl Bell of Island Crest Financial (with an original section added for today). Like me, Earl is a business strategist but with a great deal of experience in the financial side of things. You'll find Earl to be a great resource and someone I find very easy to work with.  Now, for today's post, let's get back to planning:

Inspired by a recent client question about the need for a new agency model, yesterday in Part I we delved into the changes going on in the world that have been responsible for driving new types of innovation in the agency business. Today, we'll look at some of the innovative things going on out there that impressed me during my recent visits with seven different agencies from Tokyo, Boston and Seattle.

I had the privilege last night of attending a talk given by Hollywood veteran and long-time Seattle resident Tom Skerritt (Profile, Filmography) at a monthly meeting of The Executive Network of Seattle (see TENS). The theme of his talk was about "storytelling", and during the evening he had some very relevant lessons to share.

Technology has evolved to not only allow the world to create, manage and observe billions of transactions online, but to provide unlimited new business metrics to track them all. With the mantra of "ROI" being the main driver of investment and decision making in many companies, there is a danger that comes with all forms of "management by buzzword" that the holistic perspective gets lost and the ball gets dropped on other things that matter more to your success.

"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken..."

This is a favorite quote (and book title by Mike Robbins) I have heard frequently in 2011 at one of the networking groups I belong to, quoted by our moderator at the start of most of our meetings. While I have always had a personal philosophy loosely organized along those lines, this quote sums it all up very neatly and reflects where I  intend to dedicate more time and effort to in 2012.

How Will Your Business Be Remembered For the Holidays?

You may have provided many things to your clients and customers in 2011, but did you remember to provide "Peace of Mind"?

This week’s “Customer-First Conversations” starts a three-part discussion that focuses on building the org model that positions your business to be truly customer-centric.