Your Customers - Can’t or Won’t?

Mary Schmidt

Feb 22, 2012

“We simply can’t fit it in the budget this year.”
“I can’t get approval for that.”
“We can’t implement right now.  We’re too busy.”

You’ve heard all these (and more), haven’t you?  And, sometimes they really can’t. 

But then there’s “won’t.”  Ah, that word is awfully tricky. Sometimes people say “can’t” when they really mean “won’t.”  As in, they don’t want to…hurt your feelings (yes even in B2B)…spend the money (even if it’s for their

In Entrepreneur Insights, Marketing Troubleshooting

Pinterest: The Next Wave (Run!)

Mary Schmidt

Feb 21, 2012

I’ve been having some interesting discussions around the Web re Pinterest (the latest in the tsunami of social media marketing magic). 

Having braced myself against the initial wave of Pinterest excitement, I’m now preparing for the next wave. The one where all the instant experts flood us with special offers and claims of money-makin’ mojo.

As I noted on Grant McCracken’s HBR post: Pinterest as Free Market Research.

.. agree Pinterest could be a valuable market research tool. But, as with

In Pet Peeves, Social Media For Skeptics, Web Bytes

I Don’t Want to Make “Gobs of Money.”

Mary Schmidt

Feb 17, 2012

(Now that I’ve totally blown my chance of ever being hired by Jamie Dimon...What? She doesn’t love money?...no cred whatsoever!)

“You obviously haven’t figured out how to make gobs of money.” - response to one of my comments on LinkedIn re social media.

Okay, I admit. I like money. It’s very useful (and can be a ton of fun to spend).

However, the making of it as the sole reason for existence?  No, not interested. I’ve spent too much time in corporate boardrooms and around VCs.  I’ve seen up

In Brain Food, Do Good. Do Well.