Archive for February, 2009
Marketing Strategies for Tough Times
Presented by Dan Droz, CEO of Droz & Associates and nationally recognized marketing strategist
Thursday, February 26, 2009
12:15 PM - 1:00 PM
Carnegie Library, Downtown Pittsburgh
While many businesses cut back on marketing during slow times, smart businesses know that “tough times” can be a great time to evaluate marketing programs and increase market share. Mr. Droz will discuss five marketing strategies that can be put in place now to make your company more competitive when economic conditions improve.
Free and open to the public. Seating is available for 40 people on a first-come, first-seated basis.
Event Web site
Location:
Carnegie Library, Downtown
612 Smithfield Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
For additional speaking engagements featuring Dan Droz, visit our Web site.
Dan Droz is Chairman and CEO of Droz & Associates: Marketing, Branding, Design, Public Relations, Advertising, Web Design, Interactive Marketing for Pittsburgh and surrounding regions.
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Marketing, Pittsburgh No Comments
Until a few years ago, “Getting Physical” was strictly the domain of designers, who regularly build models, prototypes or ‘mock-ups’ of concepts. Technology now allows neophytes and professionals alike to create options more easily. Word processing is the most ubiquitous form, where changes can occur as a seamless part of the writing process. Similarly, for documents and Web sites, easy to use software make it possible to modify graphic design and interface options in real time. And, now a variety of technologies have evolved for prototyping physical products and experiences.
Physical models used to be a painstaking effort, cutting wood or foam into complicated shapes to simulate actual use. Now, a variety of technologies allow companies to create both virtual and physical models quickly and with a high degree of accuracy, so much so, that even tooling can be ‘prototyped.’ A process called “3D Printing” for example, allows developers to translate a virtual model into a physical model.
Even ‘experiences’ can be prototyped using avatars, similar to those used in the virtual world. Before a building is constructed, many physical models are built, and today, virtual models can simulate how light, temperature and various materials will impact the experience in a building. In industrial design firms, hundreds of models are often built that help designers understand the tradeoffs, before extensive engineering is considered. Early-stage modeling can help team members identify possible features and forms that can guide the next stages of development.
Further, testing has become much easier in online environments. Imagine, 10 years ago, trying to test the relative effect of one typestyle over another. The underlying assumption is that valuable learning takes place in the process of simulating use and that simulation is best done with a physical representation of the product. Simple artifacts enable team members to experience the possibilities of use while there is still time to define the product in terms of the user experience.
This method contrasts sharply from traditional product development methods which favor a deductive approach to solutions, beginning with “objectives” or “product specifications.” The deductive, “Ready, Aim, Fire” approach, uses product development as a way of implementing corporate goals or strategies. It assumes that product development is a process for envisioning what has already been defined.
Early stage modeling is a way to define parameters which may not be known when the team begins its work. It is an inductive approach to strategy definition. Through the activity of making and rejecting successive approximations, user needs and product “category” may be defined. It is a “Ready, Fire, Aim” method of development, where modeling is a vehicle for product definition and strategy. It is a way of learning about the experience of use by doing it.
Dan Droz is Chairman and CEO of Droz & Associates: Marketing, Branding, Design, Public Relations, Advertising, Web Design, Interactive Marketing for Pittsburgh and surrounding regions.
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
Design, Marketing, Pittsburgh No Comments
With February 14 approaching, there is no better time to show a little L.O.V.E. in your most important relationships: your customers and clients. Try the 4-step L.O.V.E. Read more.
Dan Droz is Chairman and CEO of Droz & Associates: Marketing, Branding, Design, Public Relations, Advertising, Web Design, Interactive Marketing for Pittsburgh and surrounding regions.
Friday, February 13th, 2009
Marketing, Pittsburgh, Public Relations, Sales No Comments
Sure, people say a change will do you good, but when it comes to actually changing, it’s just not that easy. People are actually hard-wired to resist change. That is what makes marketing so challenging. You are either trying to get people to try a completely unknown product or service, or asking them to move from the established provider to you, the great unknown.
The most common reason for resistance: the potential value is counteracted by a perceived risk or switching cost. Irresistibility is the condition you create through strategic marketing to reduce risk and increase the perception of value. Eight “Rules to PERSUADE” can help reduce buying resistance that leads to easier and faster commitment.
The 8 PERSUADE Principles
Marketing is the process of diffusing the natural resistance that prospects and customers have for committing to a decision to act, whether that’s picking up the phone, going to your Web site, or making a commitment to buy. To create a ‘Condition of Irresistibility,’ marketers generally employ one or more of 8 strategies for reducing resistance, thereby increasing the propensity to PERSUADE:
Pain Principle
Endorsement Principle
Reframing Principle
Steps Principle
Unavailability Principle
Appearance Principle
Dollars and Cents Principle
Exchange Principle
To learn more about how you can incorporate the 8 PERSUADE Principles, click here.
Dan Droz is Chairman and CEO of Droz & Associates: Marketing, Branding, Design, Public Relations, Advertising, Web Design, Interactive Marketing for Pittsburgh and surrounding regions.
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Pittsburgh No Comments
Dan Droz is Chairman and CEO of Droz & Associates: Marketing, Branding, Design, Public Relations, Advertising, Web Design, Interactive Marketing for Pittsburgh and surrounding regions.
Monday, February 9th, 2009
Branding, Design, Marketing, Pittsburgh, Public Relations, Sales No Comments