Don't let customer service slip on a bad olive.

It can be said that customer service is, "The art of knowing what people are NOT willing to put up with, and then raising the bar a notch." Too much service and the unit cost magnifies into a weight on profits. Ironically, over-servicing can waste resources, stifling investment in other areas that could give a greater overall customer experience. However, if you under-service, your customers may desert you - as other ex Vodaphone customers will testify.

Does your business have a well rounded marketing diet?

There are different types of marketing the same as there are different types of food. If we eat badly it affects our energy, our health and even our appearance. The same may be true for your marketing.

If we think of your marketing as a food pyramid, most activity can fit under these five headings:

5 ways to connect your marketing strategy to your business strategy.

When talking with an SME business owner the other day, he was unsure what the point of their marketing activity was. The marketing team seemed to be busy but he couldn't put his finger on how that activity made his business any better. So are there some simple ways to make sure that the marketing strategy is actually delivering the business strategy?

Get Creative to Win More Business

The days of creative being a cherry on the top of a sales or marketing campaign are over. Interruption advertising, the workhorse of twentieth century salesmanship, is on its last legs. If you want people to pay attention, you need to get creative at the DNA level.

A great cause, a huge achievement!

In a special blog this week I want to congratulate Arax and her team of amateur swimmers who took on the 24 Hour Mega Swim for MS and raised over $10,000 in sponsorships. Impressively, most of this was personal donations from individuals who were inspired by the teams passion and commitment to take on that physical challenge.

Is detail causing a yawning gap with customers?

If you're playing the violin in an orchestra, it's fairly important to know all the right notes. But as a concert goer, these are only of interest if the musicians get them wrong. The audience are looking for the big experience and the overall story. The same is true when discussing your business to customers and prospects.

Cut your advertising fat and shape your marketing muscle.

Over the good times it's easy to put on a few pounds, and our businesses are no different. But it can be hard to tell fat from muscle and know what activity is waste and what is vital.

What beliefs stand in the way of your marketing success?

One of the interesting aspects of being an external supplier is watching how companies approach marketing activity. Like many chaotic systems, it sometimes seems there is no pattern at all. But step back to see the full spectrum of personalities, inter-departmental empires and embedded supply chains and some of those weird decisions start to make sense.

Is your brand ready for the big time?

For a company that has been successful in one market, it can be frustrating that this success does not immediately translate to a new market. On paper there should be strong demand, but for some reason that does not turn into sales.

How unhappy should you make your customers?

As unhappy as possible of course; absolutely miserable. And scared too. In fact, not buying your products or using your services should terrify them!

Building customer dissatisfaction is the key to driving change in their behavior. The more they are unhappy with their current position, the more likely they will be to listen to your story and start considering your plan to make their lives easier.

The low value of price

It never hurts to have a price advantage, but relying on being the cheapest can be a risky strategy.

Take an importer I know who has let price drive their entire sales plan. It has been a real shock for them to discover that brand values and consumer loyalty are vital for long term key account relationships and not just empty buzz words. When volumes started dropping, and sales minimums were not being met, questions started to be asked. What was going wrong?