Strategic Thinking & Strategic Action

Fostering strategic thinking and strategic action by organizational leaders since 2007.

For consistency without burnout, create a marketing engine
Lee Crumbaugh Lee Crumbaugh

For consistency without burnout, create a marketing engine

Does this sound familiar?

You start the month with the best of intentions. You block out time on your calendar to write that blog post or schedule those LinkedIn updates. But then, reality hits. A client needs you, a project deadline looms, or a crisis pops up.

Naturally, the first thing to get pushed off your plate is your own marketing.

And then the guilt sets in.

I want you to know that you are not alone in this. We have all been there. The problem isn't that you lack discipline or that you aren't working hard enough. The problem is that we often treat marketing as a "Project"—a burst of effort we squeeze in when we have spare moments—rather than a "Process," a steady engine that runs whether we are busy or not.

If you are the bottleneck, consistency is impossible.

Read More
Your pricing says it all… But what does it say?
Strategy Lee Crumbaugh Strategy Lee Crumbaugh

Your pricing says it all… But what does it say?

If your business is typical of many that I work with, your customer list is a collection of those customers who fit your ideal client avatar and those who don’t. The ones who don’t deliver you enough revenue, or who resist paying a higher, more realistic price, or who are a pain to serve likely are in your customer portfolio because of one of two reasons: Either when you started out you didn’t really know who you wanted or were best equipped to serve. Or you took them on because you needed revenue and customers and you felt that you could not be picky. (Anyone breathing who offered you money looked great!)

Sound familiar?

The fundamental concept to get your head around if your customer base does not align with the ideal customer you are seeking is that of price positioning.

Read More