Business Archives

How to Grow a Brand & Beat Competitors in the Market

Do you want your business to be the best in its field? Do you want to know how to grow a brand through great marketing? According to Byron Sharp, the author of How Brands Grow, growing a brand relies on a fixed pattern that focuses on attracting new customers, rather than keeping existing customers. He also claims that memorable branding is an essential part of this pattern, as it keeps customers thinking about your brand. Continue reading for Sharp’s advice on how to grow a brand and more information on the pattern of brand growth.

What Is Price-Fixing? The General Electric Case

What is price-fixing? Can it be successful? What companies have engaged in it? Price-fixing happens when companies collude to increase their profits by agreeing on a price instead of competing for contracts. Despite the clearly stated laws prohibiting price-fixing, in 1961, 29 companies in the electrical manufacturing industry—most notably General Electric (GE)—were found guilty of repeatedly engaging in the practice for years. Continue reading to learn more about price-fixing and this historic case.

The Book Black Box Thinking: Here’s the Key to Growth

What is the book Black Box Thinking about? How does black box thinking drive human progress? In the book Black Box Thinking, the author argues that collecting data, analyzing data, and learning from failures drive human progress. The idea comes from airlines that use black boxes as in-flight recording systems. Keep reading for more about the book Black Box Thinking.

Memorable Branding: 3 Strategies to Boost Your Brand

Do you want people to remember your business’s brand? How can you implement memorable branding into your marketing strategy? In his book How Brands Grow, Byron Sharp claims that the most effective way to market your brand is to increase the likelihood that consumers will think about it. You can easily create memorable branding in just three ways: advertising regularly, creating recognizable brand assets, and expanding your brand’s reach. Let’s go more in-depth on Sharp’s three memorable branding strategies.

A Learning Organization Is Built Off These 3 Techniques

A little boy with a surprised look holding a book

What is a learning organization and why do you need one? How do you successfully build one? A learning organization uses failures to improve its operations and innovate solutions to tough problems. According to the book Black Box Thinking, clarifying feedback, breaking down the problem, and finding opportunities to innovate are the most effective ways for you to build a learning organization. Read on to learn about the top three techniques you can use to build a learning organization.

Management Versus Leadership: The Key Difference

Dare to Lead: Book Overview and Takeaways

Do you want to inspire your team members? What is the difference between management versus leadership in the context of organizational management? Both management and leadership are important for any organization, but many companies suffer from too much of the former and a lack of the latter. The key difference between management versus leadership is that leaders focus on the organization’s people, whereas managers focus on the organization’s things and objects. Keep reading to learn about the difference between management versus leadership, and how to be a better leader in your organization.

Unique Marketing and Branding: Why They Don’t Matter

Are you looking for a better way to promote your brand? Is unique marketing the most effective strategy to use? Unique marketing creates brands that stand out against competitors, but it won’t help attract customers in the long run. Instead, marketers should focus on continuing their brand that already works, considering most consumers don’t care about branding. Keep reading for Byron Sharp’s reasoning for why unique marketing is a waste of time.

What Happened to Xerox? The Rise & Fall of Innovation

What’s the story of Xerox’s innovative efforts? Where did they go wrong? People can spend years working hard to achieve success, then relax once they get there. John Brooks explains how this complacency can make you blind to threats and weaknesses. He describes how Xerox’s commitment to innovation led to its success—and how its subsequent neglect of innovation led to its decline. Continue reading to learn what happened to Xerox.

How to Build Strong Organizational Relationships

What are organizational relationships? How are they essential in the day-to-day operation of a company? According to Stephen Covey, the author of The 8th Habit, relationships are the core of organizations. Creating constant communication with your team is what keeps an organization running smoothly and builds strong organizational relationships. Keep reading to learn how to strengthen organizational relationships.

How Niche Marketing Strategies Hurt Your Business

What is a niche marketing strategy? Why are they so popular, yet drive so many businesses to fail? Niche marketing strategies aim to sell a company’s products to a very small and specific audience. However, Byron Sharp in his book How Brands Grow says that limiting your target audience can make you lose potential customers who aren’t a part of that specific group. Let’s look at how niche marketing strategies work, and why it’s better to advertise to a larger demographic.