COVID-19 is dramatically changing consumer and business behaviors today. Undoubtedly, many of those behaviors will remain long after the diminishment and defeat of the virus. New behaviors become permanent the longer they are in place. And in this case, one of the primary human emotions, FEAR propels and engrains the behavior changes.
Wed, Aug 27, 2014 — A prospective client recently reached out to me, having found me by searching for fractional chief marketing officers on the Internet. This C-suite executive, who shall remain nameless, dispensed with formalities and said, “I am interviewing 15 marketing firms, and I’d like a list of things that we could do for $20,000.” After I took a beat to absorb his “unique” approach, I responded as any ethical Chief Marketing Officer should – calmly explaining that there are many, many steps required before we could even begin to develop a budget to spend those $20,000 hard-earned marketing dollars – things like identifying goals, objectives, priorities and the like.
Sun, Jan 6, 2013 — I recently conducted an exercise with the executive team of one of my clients. The exercise led to a breakthrough idea for their business. In reality, the idea was a combination of several, some of which had been discussed by this executive team in the past. But no one had made a connection between these ideas – and adding a new twist made it all come together. Since the idea has not been implemented yet, and revealing too many details here could potentially telegraph important information to key competition, the client and some of the details will not be disclosed. But what is really instructive here is the process, which can be used with almost any company or department or group within a company.
Mon, Oct 15, 2012 — Background Terminix International is the largest pest control company in the world. The company currently encompasses more than 500 service centers in 14 countries. A unit of Service Master, Terminix International accounts for approximately one-third of its parent company's annual sales.
Thu, Aug 2, 2012 — Recently, I was visiting with a colleague from my days at Waste Management Inc. (WMI), reminiscing about a major industry roll-up of which we were a part. WMI had decided to create value for shareholders by acquiring and consolidating companies in the very fragmented pest control business, creating a new national player in the industry.
