If you have a well-run marketing organization, the next incremental dollar spent on marketing will be less efficient (and more expensive) than what you’re buying now. There’s nothing wrong with spending more on marketing if you’re willing to trade margins for volume. But, it’s not going to double the size of your business while also
At 40, I still only shave twice weekly and spend about $10-12 annually on razor blades. Why would anyone want the hassle of managing a subscription service for such a small, infrequent purchase? Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. The worst part of playing my Nintendo as a
Fifteen years ago, my wife and I started a direct-to-consumer, niche publishing business. Back in those days, we often created our own solutions to our biggest operating pain points – out of necessity. We sourced good, reasonably-priced contract design talent before Upwork or Fiverr. We found advertising buyers in large organizations before Sales Navigator was
Some jobs have very tight feedback loops. Weathermen and day traders get regular, immediate feedback on how they’re doing. Today’s stock trades are this evening’s profits (or losses). Other jobs have looser feedback loops. It can take years for a personal injury lawyer or venture capital investor to see the results from today’s efforts. And,
When did changing your mind become a bad thing? Good decisions require a solid understanding of the relevant ground conditions and thoughtful analysis of all readily available information. And, the available resources for making them are always some kind of constraint – be it time, money, or effort – otherwise we’d continue to analyze forever
Google is phenomenally good at monetizing search engine results pages (SERPs). Do a search for any keyword with high commercial intent to see for yourself. Here’s the SERP for the search term of “home security” from a day in September: What do you notice? The above-the-scroll page is 100% ad space. Not 90%, or even
Starting something new is easy. Finishing it is a lot harder. Too many projects get started and never completed. Too many goals get set and then abandoned. Creating a meaningful sense of progress is an important part of keeping momentum in the face of setbacks and distractions. How you do it depends on the type
I recently bought a house, which included a few bathrooms. In one of these bathrooms, there’s a shower with fixtures made by a well-known, higher-end brand. The shower is controlled by three stacked knobs. One controls water flow into the tub. One controls the temperature of the water. Neither is a problem. But that third
Most digital advertising is bought in a competitive auction. You’re competing with similar firms who have similar products and services for the same audience. And, if you want more share of that market, there’s an easy way to get it. You simply need to bid more for their attention. All else equal, higher bids equals
Early in my career, I’d often mistake visible confidence for knowledge.I’d think to myself, “Wow, that guy is really certain. He MUST know what he’s talking about.” In reality, confidence and thoughtfulness are often inversely proportional. For most issues, the better your grasp of the details and underlying nuances, the harder it is to be
