Martech Zone
Martech Zone provides daily articles for business, sales, and marketing professionals to research technology, discover new sales and marketing tools, and learn how to leverage platforms to drive greater business results.
- Content Marketing
Chasing The Tail: Harry Potter and The Long Tail
Saturday begins with my regular stop at the local bookstore. I happened to see the book If Harry Potter Ran General Electric. This isn’t a review of the book (which I would recommend); it’s an article about the utilization of Harry Potter to accelerate this book’s reach and sales. I’m reading The Long Tail, which speaks to the intriguing concept…
- Analytics & Testing
Godin: Intuition vs Analysis
Seth Godin asked a great question that is usually quite a point of contention for SaaS or technology companies and their product managers…. Do you go with Intuition or Analysis? My personal view on this is that it’s a delicate combination of the two. When I think about analysis, I think about data. It could be data regarding competition, use,…
- Marketing Books
My Freakonomics: How To Save Your Personnel Budget By Increasing Wages
I just completed reading Freakonomics. It’s been a while since I couldn’t put down a business book. I purchased this book on Saturday night and started reading it on Sunday. I finished it a few minutes ago. It took up some of my mornings, even making me late for work. At the core of this book is the unique perspective…
- Marketing Books
Jack Welch is Wrong
I’m so glad to finally see an article that questions the methods that Jack Welch evangelizes. I believe he’s inconsiderate, mean-spirited, selfish, and greedy. He was only successful by making customers and employees suffer. He may alone be a winner, but it was at the expense of many others who have lost. New RulesOld RulesAgile is best; being big can…
- Sales and Marketing Training
Never Lose Sight of Who Pays You
Sometimes, we forget that our customers ultimately pay us. Look, I feel bad for my friends and colleagues at GM. But I don’t feel sorry for them. They forgot design, they forgot the customer, they forgot R&D, they forgot they are a car company. Their demise was clearly a choice. Not a symptom of our economy, but a choice made…
- Sales and Marketing Training
Invest in People. You Won’t Be Disappointed!
I’ve joked with quite a few folks that since my divorce (and subsequent dissolution of all of my worldly assets), I have spent my last five years investing in people. That may sound very strange, and hopefully not selfish, but I feel that by focusing my attention on mentors, friends, and family – I will live a much more fruitful…
- Sales and Marketing Training
Proverbs and Product Management
It’s not often that I look to scripture for inspiration for product management and the development of software, but today, a friend sent me some great words of advice: He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray. Proverbs 10:17 This proverb underscores the value of being open to learning and the…
- Social Media & Influencer Marketing
What a Day!
My daughter gave me a call today after receiving a package in the mail from Jones Soda. This company is incredible! As thanks for my work on a custom My Jones Music MP3 player skin, Jones sent out a thank-you package. Wow! It contained a sweatshirt, some bumper stickers, some other stickers, a keychain, lip balm, and a pin!!! I…
- Customer Data Platforms
Digging for Gold with Web 2.0
I was speaking to a good friend of mine, Bob Flores, who is a leader in the Telecom industry. Bob educates companies on corporate leadership and specializes in building efficiencies in the Telecom industry. Bob asked me tonight what I thought the next Internet big idea was. Here’s what my thoughts were: There’s not much money on the internet by…
- Social Media & Influencer Marketing
My Wimpy Skin For Jones Soda Company
I was checking out Jones Soday’s music site last week and saw they used the Wimpy Flash-based MP3 Player. This is the player I had just built a custom skin for on my son’s website. So I dropped the great folks at Jones a line and asked if I could build them a skin. I did, and voila, they are…
