Rethinking the Customer Journey Funnel

Graham Birkenhead, September 17 2024

8 Ways to make it 'More Real' Today’s customers don’t follow a predictable path through the funnel. Instead, they hop backwards and forwards between stages as they are influenced by a variety of factors such as overwhelming choice, emotional stress, and time and money constraints. And so, the actual customer journey is something far more...

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Looking for Inspiration?  Look Somewhere Else!

Graham Birkenhead, August 27 2024

We’ve all been there. Sitting in your familiar office, surrounded by the same walls, the same desk, the same view out of the window all while looking for some inspiration (maybe for the next blog), an idea, or solution to a problem. And the harder you concentrate and the more you stare at those familiar walls, book-cases, furniture, objects on...

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Help!  I Need to Make a Decision

Graham Birkenhead, August 20 2024

I seem to be surrounded by people who have some big decisions to make - some about their lives, some about their business - some early in their careers - and some later.  To varying degrees, some of these people have a history of making hasty decisions that at times worked out well, and other times not - and some of these people struggle to make...

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All Models are Wrong, but Some are Useful

Graham Birkenhead, August 13 2024

While waiting to place my order - I noticed a notice - which made me chuckle: We don't have Wi-Fi You'll have to make conversation Pretend it's 1995

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There was an Old Woman who swallowed a fly ....

Graham Birkenhead, July 30 2024

A friend was telling me of an unfolding story that was happing in his neighbourhood over the last 2 years.  His neighbour had kept chickens, but because they didn't control or store the chickenfeed properly, they started to get large numbers of rats and mice.  In order to deal with the rats and mice, they got a couple of female cats - but they...

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Not all Squeaky Wheels can be heard

Graham Birkenhead, July 16 2024

We all know the old adage 'the squeaky wheel gets the oil (or grease)' which means that often, the loudest or most noticeable voices or complaints are the ones that get addressed. And while we think we are attuned to this particular effect, when we are immersed in the day-to-day operational reality with a need to keep things moving, our natural,...

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Lessons from a Marketing Pioneer

Graham Birkenhead, July 10 2024

I recently visited Fulford Place in Brockville, Ontario. Fulford Place was built in the early 1900s by George Fulford as his rather grand family residence, and was situated in 10 acres on the shores of the St Lawrence River.  It is now a museum - and very much worth a visit if you are in the

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The Elephant in the Echo Chamber

Graham Birkenhead, June 25 2024

Consider the story of the blind men and the elephant. Each man touches a different part of the elephant and describes it based on his limited experience. One feels the trunk and thinks it’s a snake, another touches the leg and believes it’s a tree, while another feels the side and describes it as a wall, the fourth holds its tail and thinks it's...

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The Tao of Mosquitoes

Graham Birkenhead, June 4 2024

This reminded me of the way we deal with many issues or problems in business.  Issues such as market fluctuations, regulatory changes, customer complaints, operational inefficiencies, competitor actions, or overlooked details are inevitable to some degree, and often they are individually slight.   It is often easier to 'tolerate' them and push...

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The Peril of Weak Values

Graham Birkenhead, April 30 2024

There have been several cases recently where companies have truly demonstrated the strength - or weakness - of their values; 2 in particular provide an interesting contrast: In general, a majority of consumers buy or advocate for brands that stand up for what they believe in.  The specific values your company holds are less important than how...

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