Marketing 4 Startups

Are you a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts fan? Rite Aid or CVS? Target or Walmart? Uber or Lyft? The act of decision making often comes down to the ability to decide between two or more alternatives. What's Our Choice?  It comes down to the value we believe  we are getting for the price we pay. Does Starbucks really  have better coffee than Dunkin? That's a matter of opinion, but if we were to look at the beans getting roasted, I would be willing to say that they probably are not very different. Psychologist William James said it best, "Thoughts become perception, perception becomes reality. Alter your thoughts, alter your reality."  The reality of the decision-making process is that Dunkin and Starbucks, or any of the other comparisons listed, may not be very different at all. Yet, we are taught that they have vastly unique offerings at times. You wake up and subconsciously drive to your favorite coffee shop because you believe that the decision you mad...

In today's digital age, it is becoming ever so easy to bootstrap your way to success. The invention of the computer and internet revolutionized the world of business in ways that not many could have predicted. From utilizing cheap, do-it-yourself programs to organize your accounting or HR department, to setting your marketing on autopilot, new apps and platforms allow us to connect the dots in our business.  Success in any business comes from the continuous flow of information from one "silo" to another. In other words, how seamless is the transfer of information from one value stream to another?  Value stream mapping is a lean-management method for analyzing the current state and designing a future state for the series of events that take a product or service from its beginning through to the customer. https://kim.kaizen.com/kimglobal/userfiles/Image/uk/Images/process-mapping-value-stream-mapping.png When you r value streams become so congested to the p...

This week, after a long series of public scandals, Uber is releasing 17 new NFL commercials that will air each week of this football season. Each commercial will last for 15 seconds and will air in a different team's city. This release comes after major controversy surrounding Uber and it's founder, Travis Kalanick. Last week, after Kalanick was fired, Dara Khosrowshahi from Expedia stepped in as CEO. To add some more creativity to the mix, Uber also hired one of Apple's former marketing executives, Bozoma Saint John, as Uber's first Chief Brand Officer. The first commercial for Uber played last Thursday during the Patriots vs. Chief's game. (Check out the video here ) What is interesting is the timing of this release, as Uber and its executives are trying to recover from a major crisis over brand culture. Uber faced some pressure after reports emerged over the behavior of its management and executive team, and particularly, CEO Travis Kalanick. For examp...

My name is Korey Cournoyer and I am currently a Senior at Saint Michael's College concentrating on all areas of finance and marketing. Over the course of the past three years, I have spent my time at GrowthLab Financial Services, working my way from an Intern up to my current position as Manager of Strategic Growth. During this time, I have had the unparalleled opportunity of developing a deep relationship with many of our customers and helping their business or start-up during the very crucial moments of their existence. I have worked with companies who, in my opinion, have had an unbelievable product or service, yet, didn't quite have a plan for marketing or promoting their product to their desired target market, and thus failed and bankrupt the company. I have also been with companies who, also in my own opinion, have had a horrible product that I would probably never use, yet their marketing strategy was methodically thought-out, benchmarked, and executed upon. ...