Vantage Point

Strategic marketing concepts and business observations. Small business start-up experiences.

Friday, August 29, 2003

VISION - Martin Luther King, Jr. eloquant speech, I Have A Dream, is an excellent example of setting a vision and communicating that vision in a plain, easily understood speech. If only all organizations and companies could define their mission as clearly as Dr. King.

Everybody who listened to that oration knew they needed to address the issues back in their hometowns. They couldn't just move to a different city to achieve freedom and they had to "forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline". In that simple statement Dr. King voiced his expectations for performance and handed people, of all colors, their responsibility and the tools for achieving The Dream.

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 4:33 PM

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Here is a good link for information on Balanced Scorecard management. Balanced Scorecard Org.

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 5:47 PM

Saturday, August 23, 2003

Have you watched Queer Eye for the Straight Guy yet? Salon.com has published an article about the new TV show. This will be fun to watch to Fab 5 - will they stay together or go separate ways when the show loses its luster? All I know is that I want the designer to come do my house! The transformations are amazing!

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | Dire straights

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 3:20 PM

Friday, August 22, 2003

I love Fast Company! Have I said that before? I found them about 3 years ago while visiting a bookstore. The mission of that day was to find ideas for reinventing a company I was working with. I bought 50 pounds of magazines and Fast Companywas one that stuck and won my paid subscription.

They have recently launched a blog site that is so respectable. It's similar to what I want for this site. It's navigatable (?is that a word?) and loaded with great blogs. I wonder how spontaneous the blogs really are, but that's another issue. Readers can add comments and can receive the blog through RSS if they want. The site is powered by MoveableType, a provider that has attracted my attention recently. I think a publisher MUST have give their readers another dimension such as a blog to enhance the loyalty 'bond'. Afterall, the publisher wants loyalty from its customers - don't the customers deserve loyalty from the publisher too? Take a look!

Fast Company Now

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 9:36 AM

Thursday, August 21, 2003

Here's an article from The Washington Post that is a good read for aspiring strategists and marketers. Kenneth Cole has promoted his fashion business alongside social issues and politics. Nevermind that he married into the Cuomo/Kennedy clan, he clearly has his own agenda and vision. I've seen other businesses lean on charities to advance their own good and seemingly lack a true commitment. Not Kenneth Cole. He has been consistent with his messages and threaded them throughout his organization. He has made his messages part of his core marketing scheme. Take a quick read of this refreshing story. Walking the Walk (washingtonpost.com)

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 11:55 AM

Friday, August 15, 2003

Strategic Marketing is my passion. Having spent the last 5 years managing a direct marketing company that produced infomercials, I've seen a lot of product (good and bad) and the influence of television in product branding.

I have a heavy background in accounting and finance so I'm inclined to look at numbers - a lot! I believe it is important to test different advertising campaigns and media outlets to see where performance can be maximized. I strongly believe in multi-media marketing and having a solid foundation at the backend of the business to support the operations and the customer.

It drives me nuts to run into inefficient and wasteful situations. I love to find ways to make things better. I love to read Fast Company and Wired - we have similar passions.

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 11:02 AM

Thursday, August 14, 2003

You think you can't grow a business in this economy? Well, think again. Why don't you take a walk into a craft store that has a scrapbooking section. New products abound! And see all the glossy magazines that advertise the niche products and provide dazzling ideas. Then look at the pricing. Somebody is making money out there!

Point is, you must be crafty and creative too. Nothing is constant - everything changes. If you suspect your company isn't keeping up with the times, take a break. Go out and see what other companies or industries are doing. Look for the forest - not the trees. Distance yourself and shake off the day-to-day routines. Try to imagine what your customer will be wanting in another five to ten years, then look at twenty. What will add value to your customer's life/environment? How can things be better? How can your company be a part of that?

Look at today's products and services. Were they around five years ago? Ten? Analyze the changes you see. Think about why there has been change. Technology? Lifestyles? Education? What is the current trend?

Start writing down ideas. Talk to everyone you can to get different perspectives. Gather your team up and start debating points. Thrash it out and come up with a plan, a strategy. Dissect it and determine what resources your plan will need. What are the realistic outcomes? Be conservative. Look for worst-case scenarios.

Gather the troops again and refine your ideas. Embellish your ideas. Throw them around, again and again. Validate them. Then get ready - call in the financial analysts, start building your business plan. Think through your whole strategy. Market your business from the core, the heart, the soul. Now is the time to pay attention to details and starting looking at the trees.

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 3:47 PM

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

°° Dominey Design °° This site really kicks! Todd Dominey would be the web designer of my choice. I learned about him from a book I was reading - Designing with Web Standards, by Jeffrey Zeldman. I learned alot by reading the book. I wish that I could sit down and create and code, but I can't. But I do understand bandwidth and the message of the book which calls for tight, efficient coding to have cleaner, faster sites that can talk to computers, phones, Palm Pilots, and other such devices. XML is the magic word. Remember it!

(someday our TVs will be pulling down lots, and lots of content from the internet - get ready!)