Witmer Group Marketing Blog

Hearing is not listening. Don’t make the mistake of confusing the two. Hearing is a passive action that occurs with or without your consent. Listening requires a conscious choice that demands your attention and concentration.

It’s that time of year when I pause to reflect on what has been and what I want to happen in the coming year. It is an exercise I strongly recommend to all and one that I know I should do more frequently than once a year. Quarterly seems like a good idea.

I recently read that goals are more likely to be realized if you set the deadline for the same month, or at least the same year. The idea was that it’s better to set goals on Jan 1 versus at the end of Dec – some kind of research has proven this to be true.

Recently, I’ve been listening to podcasts while I do other mindless tasks like laundry. And, I stumbled across an episode of This American Life, called “Except that One Thing”, that has stuck with me. The premise of the episode is: what if something was just as it should be, perfect even, except for that one thing. In the story, the examples were a blind date that was dreamy – except that he was a warlord, and the heartbreaking tale of a family man who gets picked up for jail time he never served more than a decade later.

No doubt, you have already mapped out your marketing plan for 2015. But on the off chance that you have not, here are some important, high-level tips that align with a successful rollout for the coming year.

I recently went to downtown Dallas to volunteer for and attend some of the Dallas StartUp Week sessions. This event is pretty exciting for our local community. I expect great things for the upcoming years’ events.

It’s much more exciting to plunge into new ideas that you and your marketing team have brainstormed for three months than it is to first sit down and take a serious look at the problems. But is it really an option if you want a successful outcome? No. Analyzing and really deep-diving into the problems must be your first priority. Identify the problems and prioritize them. Do the heavy lifting and you can enjoy the fun part later. Here are some fundamental questions that, when answered, will reveal a valuable marketing strategy for your organization’s change and growth.

This may sound familiar. You’re in the final stages of reviewing, proofing and tweaking content for the client’s website. The much anticipated ‘go live’ day is near. Now it’s time to bring the internal team together for a final sign off – before the client sees it. My experience (one from which I have learned much) has been challenging, especially when people forget what the client wants and often inject personal opinions.

I recently had the opportunity to attend Toyota’s Power of Exchange event. An event where they demonstrated (not just stated) their commitment to supplier diversity.