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To Do or Not to Do

Recently there have been a number of industry blog posts about Marketing in 2010. They discuss a variety of what to do and what not to do in the realm of Marketing. 

So here are a few:

A recent article on AdWeek discusses the Five Marketing Principles Brands Should Embrace in 2010. In their opinion the marketing rules we lived by just five years ago are almost obsolete. While you may not agree with all, it makes an interesting read.

Additional tips can be found on Michael Fleischner’s good marketing tips blog.

Laura Lake offers five no and low cost tips in the Marketing section on About.com. Laura has ranked “Network at events” as the first, one of the most important personal marketing tips in my opinion. She also discusses the top five marketing mistakes. 

Further mistakes are currently being collected by Dianna Huff who is compiling a list of “silly B2B marketing mistakes”. You can submit yours until 10th February 2010.

Judy Shapiro listed the nine digital marketing mistakes that she won’t make in 2010 on Advertising Age.  I think she’s provided a great list of “un-resolutions” and un-resolution #9 definitely brought a smile to my face! 

To provide a more visual ending to future marketing, I’d like to share a video created by Keiichi Matsuda, a designer and film-maker. This video titled Augmented (hyper)Reality: Domestic Robocop is part of a larger project about the social and architectural consequences of new media and augmented reality. It provides food (and tea) for thought…

Feel free to add your tips and comments below on marketing dos and don’ts.
 
Choosing a Vendor

As a marcom specialist I need to collaborate with a variety of suppliers and vendors. Over the years, I have been lucky enough to meet and work with excellent suppliers and vendors, although I must admit, there are a few I prefer not to work with again.

I’ve come to work with people who have become project partners. I’ve discovered that working with a successful partner provides excellent results.

Here I share my personal considerations when choosing a business vendor.

  1. The most important in my opinion is to work with someone who comes with a recommendation – preferably from someone whose opinion you trust.  You may want to see if they have recommendations on professional networks such as LinkedIn.
  2. Choose someone who understands your requirements, someone who will listen as well as offering their professional advice.
  3. Check that the provider / supplier can meet your time frame requirements.
  4. Some may consider this consideration as superfluous – however in my personal opinion it can make or break a project. Work with someone you feel comfortable with. The process is usually more productive; the outcome more successful. If a supplier is going to “get on your nerves” as soon as you see their name on your incoming calls – chances are the results will not be as good as you had hoped for.
  5. Sometimes paying a slightly higher price may be worth it. Working with a professional usually results in less wasted time during the process and a superior end result. 
Once you’ve chosen the vendor, try and define as best you can the scope of services in detail. It takes a little longer but is usually worth it in the long run
 
Shana Tova – Happy New Year

Shana Tova from Samantha