Blog

This article was written by Joanne O'Gorman and Laura Klebanow. Business strategy and brand messaging are often developed in separate rooms. Then everyone wonders why the story doesn’t quite work. “We need better messaging.” It sounds like a straightforward request. Rewrite the homepage. Tighten the value proposition. Develop an elevator pitch....

I left the recent  Boston Product Management Association (BPMA) and Lokalise event thinking about Data from Star Trek. An extraordinarily capable android, curious about people, still working to understand the subtleties of human life. Humor. Social cues. The distance between what someone says and what they mean. That feels like a useful way into...

Helping buyers carry product value into the conversations that determine a decision is what your business depends on.  Your buyer needs to explain this to someone else. Why are you making it so hard for them? They understand the product. They can see where it fits. They may already want it. Now they have to explain it to someone with a different...

You don’t need to know exactly what your business will become to give people a reason to believe in it. You do need to decide what you’re building toward, and which parts of that conviction can survive a change of plans. “I don’t want to go public with a message we may have to change tomorrow.” Fair. You’re still learning which customers will...

A company decides to enter a new market, acquire a business, launch a product, or change its leadership. The strategy is agreed upon, the timeline is set, and then someone says, “We should probably bring marketing in.” Usually followed by: “We’ll need a press release by Friday.” I’ve seen this sequence many times. It assumes the hard decisions...

Too often, creativity as a part of the solution is treated like dessert. A bonus. Something you sprinkle on once the real work is done. Not necessary.  This is not just an outdated mindset but a risky one.  In a deficit economy where differentiation is currency, attention is scarce, and the pace of change is relentless, creativity isn’t...

Yesterday's antitrust ruling against Google could be the starting gun for a new era in digital marketing. For years, we’ve been conditioned to think in a binary: organic traffic versus paid traffic. We need to move beyond the narrow obsession with the channels that bring us traffic and start focusing on the traffic itself. I'm interested in what...

We’ve all heard the mantra “Less is more.” In life, that can be a beautiful principle. But in marketing, I’m not so sure. The idea that being quieter and more intentional automatically gives your words more impact runs counter to what actually works. What works is surround sound. I’m not talking about being the loudest person in the room, or...

In today’s government marketplace, features and functions don’t drive decisions — mission does. And the only way to earn trust with federal buyers is to speak directly to that mission. That was the central takeaway from a compelling session led by Caitlyn Lewis, Director of Market Research at Carahsoft, and Katie Hanusik, Executive Vice President...

Joanne O’Gorman & Laura Klebanow At Show & Tell, we have a soft spot for sharp women and sharper ideas. So when Dr. Karen Hathaway Viani, Chief Innovation Officer at The Catalyst Coalition, moderated a fireside-style panel with Brinda Jadeja (Senior Partner, In-Q-Tel) and Meg Vorland (Founder & CRO,...