By Andrea Norman on Thursday, November 19, 2009

I remember a few years ago when my employer and I would make judgment calls about whether a potential opportunity was "worth the effort" to pursue.  Times have changed!

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By Andrea Norman on Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Many people were raised with the notion that it's important to be a "nice girl" or a "nice boy."  Then, came the books, "Nice guys finish last" or "Good girls don't get the corner office." 

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By Andrea Norman on Tuesday, October 27, 2009

While working for IBM between 1999 and 2002, during the dotcom boom and bust, I noticed that people change when the economy changes.  I am seeing it again in Phoenix as the real estate, development, and construction industry has gone bust.

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By Andrea Norman on Thursday, October 15, 2009

Ok, I am a marketer but I am also a consumer.  Kellogg's is reported to be experimenting burning each separate cornflake with the Kellogg's brand.  The reason?  To combat "copycats" of cornflakes. 

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By Andrea Norman on Sunday, September 27, 2009

My son made up another word today...blurvy.  It's a cross between blurry and wavy.  Here's how he used it.  "Mom, your voice on your new bluetooth sounds blurvy."  After arguing that blurvy was not a word, I decided to just go with it.

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By Andrea Norman on Friday, September 25, 2009

We just submitted a proposal to become a consultant for Business and Technical Management Services for ADOT's DBE program.  Of course, we spent a great deal of time on the content and approach to the project.  But we also spent a great deal of time making sure the "look" of the proposal and the overall layout was appealing, contemporary and readable to a wide variety of reader-types. 

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By Andrea Norman on Sunday, September 20, 2009

Mind the Gap Marketing Solutions is moving into a new location next weekend.  It is simultaneously exciting and a little sad. Our current location is where we were "born."  With some nostalgia, we are packing boxes and preparing to move to our new location.

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By Andrea Norman on Thursday, September 17, 2009

We are simultaneously writing proposals for three separate projects.  The key to keeping them aligned, focused, and separate is the proposal management system.  If you haven't already, I highly recommend using a checklist for your request for proposal response.

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By Andrea Norman on Tuesday, September 15, 2009

What I love about owning a marketing firm is the opportunity to support people's vision and goals for their life and their business.  When the client's vision is clear, when the company has integrity, when everything clicks, the relationship is a true joy.  The value is clear to everyone.  However, sometimes client relationships aren't that consistent.

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By Andrea Norman on Saturday, September 12, 2009

There is a phenomenon I am beginning to recognize as I meet an increasing number of clients and we mutually evaluate whether or not there is a good "fit" between us.  The phenomenon is this:  some clients are small fish that want to feel like big fish so they unconsciously but deliberately SHRINK their ponds.  They are not really open to new ideas, experts or plans for growth because they desperately want to maintain or shrink their pond. Sometimes that pond becomes polluted or uncomfortably small and then, they are forced to seek new waters.  Often, they are just looking for another small pond so they can be a big fish again.  Small fish in shrinking ponds will always work against a growing fish seeking deeper waters. 

Growing fish on the other hand are curious, eager, and optimistic.  They know that the next bigger, deeper body of water will provide better food, more fun, and yet another opportunity to go to an even bigger body of water.  When evaluating clients, the decision is this, are they a small fish that is shrinking their world in order to feel like a large fish or are they a growing fish seeking deeper waters?

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