Discounts Destroy a Lot of Value! 11%+ of Your Profits.

Thank you for being here again!

Is this the last full week you are working this year?

Let me know in the comments. Or, let me know what your plans are for the last two weeks of the year.

70%+ of American marketers don't have any formal training :

This topic deserves its very own newsletter.

In fact, this opens the door to figure out how I can translate the lessons I taught my students at #KelleyOnLocation into ideas that can help you even if you aren't getting your MBA.

The jumping off point is the list I share above with the path for learning and understanding marketing.

Why do I put so much emphasis on the importance of #marketing?

• Your brand is somewhere between 30-40% of the value of your business, especially if you are a large or publicly traded firm. You can't afford to ignore it.
• Pricing Power is essential. According to Harvard Business School research, for every 1% you raise your price, you gain 11% in profits . On the flipside, Marketing Week Mini MBA with Mark Ritson teaches students that a 1% reduction in price can cost you up to 40% of your profits. (Me, I have historically seen it hold up at around 20%. It does matter a little bit what industry you are in and what the price of the product you are selling. No matter, it is a big loss.)
• There is a lot of nonsense when it comes to marketing. You can't know for sure who to listen to and I learned early on that marketing is one of the two most important tools most businesses have along with their ability to innovate for their customers.

Perception is Everything :

I regularly contribute pieces to Jeweller Magazine on #branding and #strategy.

Samuel Ord , if you are reading today, I'm working on a new piece!

But one of the topics I come back to over and over again for Jeweller is that you don't have to play the same game as everyone else.

This means you can manage the way your customers think about you, view you, and buy from you.

The reality is that this isn't unique to jewels, it works for everyone.

This is why I also wrote about the idea of "relative differentiation" early in the year. You don't "own" a word or a space. There are too many alternatives at this point, but you can own an area of difference.

In truth, that's what we are all trying to do right now.

'The Boss' Taught Me How to Teach You About Pricing:

I call pricing "Marketing's MVP Moment" because this is where you are able to capture some of the value your marketing has created during the customer journey.

Earlier in 2023, Bruce Springsteen went on a tour and his pricing was a good case study in pricing.

Not good or bad, but a good case study.

All 7 of these tips can apply to your business.

Which one are you most curious about?

Today's picture is a Venn Diagram of my thinking about strategy, branding, and marketing.

Dave