We’re all aware of the value of creative solutions. Creativity has always been, and always will be, vital to business success. But a lot of us are content to use one out-of-the-box idea every once in a while and call it “creativity.”

In a guest column for Fortune, Barbara Dyer, CEO of the Hitachi Foundation, suggests that creativity should be fostered as part of company culture, not just something to turn to when all other ideas fail. When...

Every Song Has A Story:

What’s your favorite love song? Almost everyone has one; whether it reminds you of your high school sweetheart or the first dance at your wedding, love songs hold a special place in our hearts.

Billboard Magazine, the “bible” of the music industry, recently named their Top 50 love songs of all time. While most songs on the list are beloved and well known, no doubt some of them were written without real love in mind – that is, from a...

The most powerful part of aligning yourself with a potential prospect is communicating your company’s mission and values. You should communicate what your company hopes to achieve by working with the prospect in a simple, concise way. When communicating your mission, sharpen your position and speak about the value in your offering in the overall context of your business.

Author Jackie Woodside says this about communicating your...

What’s a Value Proposition?

When I was at the MarketingSherpa 2015 Email Summit this past February, I sat down for an interview with their Director of Editorial Content and my friend, Daniel Burstein, where I told him what a value proposition is, and why it is crucial for your business. If you as a business owner are ignoring a core problem with your value proposition, then it’s like a toothache–it’s not going away, it’s only getting...

(Image Courtesy Dominik Bartsch on Flickr)

Deal drivers are the things that your prospect (and marketplace) has articulated as being of greatest importance in making a buying decision. It may be price, ease-of-use, performance, support, or a range of other factors. It’s important to note that the deal drivers are very different than requirements; these are the desires of either the company or the specific buyer with which you are dealing.

Bob Apollo, founder if the...

If you were teaching a class on social media strategy, what would you teach? What are the most important things you’d want your students to take away at the end of the semester?

As it turns out, I actually do teach a class on Social Media at Villanova University. Every semester, I have to gather my thoughts – gather what I know about current trends in social media – and teach my students (many of whom know a lot about social media already, but maybe not exactly how it...

Do you know what I mean by that title? You should, because we see it every day in the business world.

Sometimes we think too small – we can only think of what we see in front of us – and we are thus bound by the tactical. Other times, our vision is too big – we are out to change the world (but forget we have to pay the rent) – and thus are blinded by the strategic.

Obviously, there are risks on both sides – and focusing too much on one or the other can...

As an entrepreneur, product manager, or CEO, you have to be vigilant of what is going on in the marketplace. Are you taking a holistic view of both competitors and even more importantly, trends? Ask yourself: are you really offering something that has a truly distinct Value Proposition? If not, someone else will.

The following are practical suggestions for keeping up with Competitors, Alternatives, and Disruptors in the Marketplace:

1. Talk to your customers and...