Fig Tree Group - Blog

Changing and Innovating to Keep Up with Your Customers

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:52:27 +0000

I spoke recently about the urgency with which clients need to get out and listen to their customers. The world has changed in the past year and economic concerns have fundamentally changed the ways in which consumers think and act. The solution: listen to them! Understand how they’ve changed, and innovate to meet their key needs. In a great article in Ad Age, Coca Cola’s CEO confessed that they had “not focused enough on changes taking place” with their customers. He shared how they are focusing much more on innovation, driven by better understanding and addressing changing customer needs and desires.

Carter Welch Interviewed by Eagle Tribune Television (click image to see video)

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:56:50 +0000

Customer Research Insights from the Tiger Woods Situation

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:06:22 +0000

Though tempted, I won’t comment here on the morality and integrity of Tiger Woods. I’m only writing about the Tiger Woods brand. And there is much to learn about marketing from watching Tiger’s response. One of my favorite of the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People from Stephen Covey was “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Tiger’s response in the first few days demonstrated a real lack of seeking to understand the public reaction to his mess. Rather than immediately and sincerely apologizing for his actions, he gave a response that angered many, including his sponsors AND his customers (the public that buys everything from Brand Tiger). By acting defiantly toward the media and by failing to apologize sincerely, Tiger further eroded any brand equity he may have still had. One lesson: before communicating for your brand, make sure you understand your customers…and their potential reaction to your communication.

Extreme Business Makeover Deadline Approaches

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:46:11 +0000

Our deadline is upcoming for the Extreme Business Makeover. We’ve received tremendous interest and we hope to have a selection before the end of the year. You can read our most recent article in the Eagle Tribune.

Carter Welch speaks to Merrimack Valley Business Leaders

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:44:27 +0000

Carter Welch recently spoke at the Eagle-Tribune’s series: “Weathering the Economic Storm”. He was part of a panel of local business experts who agreed that as bad as the economic storm has been over the last six months to a year, sunnier skies are ahead. Carter told the group, “The rain hasn’t stopped, but the basement is dry.”

To read more of the article about the series, visit the Eagle Tribune to read about Carter’s talk.

Innovation is Seeing What Others Don’t

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:30:42 +0000

I came across a GREAT quote from Damon Runyon about innovation. It illustrates the value of simply looking at things in a new light. Damon Runyan wrote: “I once knew a chap who had a system of just hanging the baby on the clothes line to dry and he was greatly admired by his fellow citizens for having discovered a wonderful innovation on changing a diaper.” So what is your innovative brilliance?

The Fig Tree Group Announces Extreme Business Makeover

admin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:36:07 +0000

Check out today’s Eagle Tribune Newspaper for a major article about this! We will have more to post in the coming days! The article is posted on the Extreme Business Makeover site.

I’m very proud to be part of a group of business owners who are coming together to help one special company change its fortunes. Visit the site of Extreme Business Makeover NE, which I co-founded with BobDiRosa of Market-Edge Services.

The Power of Video on the Web

admin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:35:49 +0000

We’ve all heard that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. If that’s true, what’s video worth? Ten thousand words? Video may be worth even more when you have a testimonial video on your website telling your PROSPECTIVE clients how great your clients think you are. With technology readily accessible, embedding a video onto your website is not a costly process. The key is to make sure your video tells a compelling story and clearly communicates the message you’ve chosen. That’s where The Fig Tree Group can help. Check out some of the recent video we’ve put on our clients’ website at: www.marketedgeservices.com.

Most Recommended Books for Marketers

admin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:45:39 +0000

The Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) and Anderson Analytics, in its second annual survey of Top Marketing Trends for 2009, asked marketing executives to list “one all-time business book to recommend to fellow marketers.” Here was the ranking. Which of these have you read?

Good to Great
Positioning
The Tipping Point
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The World is Flat
Marketing Management
Crossing the Chasm
Built to Last
In Search of Excellence
Competitive Strategy
Blue Ocean Strategy
The Discipline of Market Leaders
The One Minute Manager
Competitive Advantage/Strategy
Execution

Source: MENG & Anderson Analytics, January 2009

Fig Tree Can Save Your Life, Too

admin — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:54:34 +0000

In 2007, a young British couple fell (al fresco) 50 feet from a wall in Majorca, Spain and were saved from certain death by a fig tree. They fell the equivalent of 6 stories but luckily the tree broke their fall. One of the responding officers was quoted, “Normally people do not survive a fall of more than three floors. It was the tree that saved them.” While we can’t promise miracles, The Fig Tree Group can help your business survive tough times, too.