Douglas Karr's Articles on Martech Zone
- 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…
