What’s New
Podcast: Linda Popky appears as a guest expert on Technically Speaking to outline your steps to launching and promoting your book! - Listen
Podcast: Linda Popky and Dan Weedin (Shrimp Tank Podcast) talk with Brett Clark from BC Fitness about the importance of staying active and doing resistance training to slow down muscle loss as we age. - Listen
SAC® Press Release: "Companies Eye Innovation and Disruption in Volatile Economy" – Read Release.
Video: Just a Moment for Marketing: One-minute marketing tip videos. – View over 100 videos.
eBOOK: Top of Mind: 101 Insights to Transform Your Business
Purchase PDF or ePub book.
Subscribe to the Top of Mind Thursday Newsletter
Free articles download with sign up
Marketing Above the Noise
Introducing Dynamic Market Leverage™, an approach to help cut through the clutter, stand out, and effectively build business.
Available in Hardcover and eBook formats
Top of Mind Thursday Memo Archive
Top of Mind Thursday – May 4, 2023: What Happens When You Believe Things Are Real
When my daughter was young, we had a “Magic Closet” where we put candy on Halloween night. In the morning, all that candy magically turned into a non-sugary treat, like a book or toy.
After a number of years, she asked us if the Magic Closet was really magic. So I told her the truth: It’s only real if you believe.
Unfortunately, this is true in other places in our lives. If enough people believe something is real and they act on that, it’s quite likely they can transform that belief into reality.
Take the recent banking liquidity crisis. After Silicon Valley Bank failed, several other banks were in danger of failing, too. First Republic Bank was known for offering outstanding service targeted to more affluent customers. The problem is many of those people have accounts holding more than the FDIC insured limit. When those customers began to fear for the bank’s safety, they pulled their money out, which in turn caused the exact effect they were trying to avoid. This past week, the bank was taken over by JP Morgan Chase.
Here’s the problem. When enough people take action based on fear, they feed that fear, which can spiral into a full-fledged panic. Then we’re all in a worse situation than we had before (Another bank is rumored to be in a similar situation today, so the panic continues.). Add in new AI tools that create content that might, sort of, in a way be real (or not) and that just makes things more complicated.
We can’t manage the actions of the masses, but we can control our own responses. Staying cool and calm in the midst of a potential crisis shows true leadership.
How well prepared are you to face potential crises in your industry? Will you be part of the problem or the solution? Can you separate out the fact from fiction? Or, will you be waiting for magic to come in and save you?
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – April 27, 2023: Above and Beyond
This week, household retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy.
This was not unexpected, as the company had been fighting declining sales and limited financing for several years. Less inventory in the stores led to fewer sales, which in turn aggravated the cash flow situation.
This was a chain that for many years had a legion of devoted fans. There was a time when one could find almost any kitchen gadget or bath accessory imaginable at a BBB. There were lists to help college students set up dorm rooms and registries to allow newly-married couples to furnish their new abodes.
But then new management decided to invest in stock buybacks, rather than merchandise, and to eliminate the well-known 20% off coupons shoppers had come to expect. For years, the store had even ignored expiration dates–accepting coupons that were several years out of date.
Was it a good idea to get shoppers hooked on 20% off any item at BBB? Maybe not. But once that pattern was established, eliminating the coupons didn’t win back consumers or increase sales.
Interestingly, several competitors are now accepting BBB coupons (even the expired ones!) in an effort to woo the chain’s shoppers to their own stores. Without BBB in the picture, shoppers will need to make new choices.
Is your business making decisions that will strengthen customer loyalty and drive new buyers to you? Or is a focus on the customer above and beyond your thinking?
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – April 20, 2023: Outfoxed
This week, Dominion Voting Systems settled its $1.6 billion lawsuit with Fox News for $786 million on the morning the trial was about to begin.
Dominion charged Fox had knowingly aired false and defamatory statements about Dominion’s role in the 2020 election, including that Dominion machines had been used to steal the election away from the former president.
The first amendment protects the right to free speech. To win a lawsuit like this, the plaintiff needs to prove not only that false statements were made, but that they were made with actual malice. In most cases, this is impossible to prove, but here there were statements made by Fox on-air personalities and owner Rupert Murdoch that indicated they knew what they were saying was false. If ever there was a case that could pass muster in this area, this was it.
So why did Dominion settle? There was no guarantee a jury would find Fox guilty and, if they did, that the settlement would be this large. Even if Dominion won, there would likely be costly appeals and delays. One could also argue they proved their point by publicly exposing what went on behind the scenes at Fox.
Some are saying Fox got off easy. Yes, this was the largest known settlement in this type of case, but Fox revenues are nearly $3 billion per quarter–this won’t bankrupt them.
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Another voting machine company has an upcoming suit against Fox, and they can use all of the material from this case in their suit. Furthermore, Dominion has pending lawsuits against other right wing media outlets, as well as some of the individuals who made the defamatory statements, like Rudy Giuliani and Sydney Powell.
In the end, who won? Did truth prevail? Fox outlets buried the story, but it’s unlikely their core viewers would want to hear it anyway. Perhaps for an organization with as deep pockets as Fox, the lesson is lost. But most of the rest of us couldn’t afford to absorb a settlement anywhere near this size.
Today, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was ordered to pay the $5 million reward he offered for anyone who could debunk his stolen election theories. Someone did prove his information was incorrect, he refused to follow through on his promise, and a court has now ordered Lindell to pay up.
There are repercussions to knowingly spreading false information. What is your organization doing to make sure you’re not caught in the proverbial henhouse? No better time to clean up your act than now.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – April 13, 2023: Knee-Jerk Reaction
Last Wed, I had surgery on my right knee to fix a torn and disconnected meniscus (Disclaimer: That’s why there was no Top of Mind Thursday last week).
All went well, and I am recovering nicely–but much more slowly than I anticipated. It takes much longer to get from Point A to Point B, and my single flight of stairs has grown to be as difficult to navigate as Mount Everest.
A few lessons from my recent experiences:
- It really takes a village. When some of your abilities are taken away–even for a short time–it becomes apparent how much we need to rely on others to help out.
- Pre-planning is necessary, but not sufficient. Knowing this was coming, I tried to be as prepared as possible, but still there were things that didn’t work as planned: The surgery was delayed for hours, my mobility was more limited than I expected, etc.
- Priorities need to change in real time, based on what really needs to be done, vs. what we thought we could accomplish.
- Don’t believe the most optimistic predictions. It would have been wonderful if I could have immediately hopped up and down the stairs, like I did last time I was on crutches 35 years ago, but in real life, things don’t happen that way.
- The better shape you’re in to start, the easier these things are. This was the main argument from my surgeon about why to do this surgery now, vs. putting it off a couple of years. Though I wasn’t terribly out of shape, I could have started from a better point.
- Progress comes in bits and pieces. You take what you can get and build upon it.
All these points apply beyond this situation to our personal and business lives. We can’t know what unexpected situations life will throw at us, but we can be pretty sure there will be something sooner or later.
Are you as prepared as you can be for what might be lurking around the corner? Time to get in great fighting shape now, to be better able to handle those bumps and bruises that might hit when we least expect them.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com