Ryan's Blog

 The final chapter in Guerilla Marketing did a great job affirming the fact that I actually absorbed some of the concepts presented in the book.  I centered my advertisement practical project around a type of “survey” to act as a consumer data collection tool, so reading about how that kind of activity fits into marketing felt like an academic “high five”. Image Source. I had planned out a social media effort to gather information on potential clients.  My logic was resultant of two ideas.  Even though my project was fairly reliant on personal “shares”, meaning it’s sampling method was convenience rather than random, there was still an element of targeted selection, since my quiz was designed to interest a particular group of people.  Also, clicking the initial link is at least a baseline indicator that the person would be somewhat inclined to participate in one of my potential service/tour venues. Though the book presented a simple SurveyMonkey quiz, I leaned more toward noted gueri

Image Source. As I finish up my material review of Ascend your Startup , I’m reminded that this entire guidebook is simply an outline of the first 100 meters or so of a marathon-level endeavor.  We’ve discussed preparation strategy, marketing needs, product development and roll-out needs, operations feedback and process improvement - all incredibly important to the baseline foundation of your startup business.  However, these points are just that – a starting point.  There’s quite a bit more to learn, develop and implement as your business grows beyond the scope allowed in this context. I know personally, this experience has further shaped my future plans.  There were several concepts that were newly introduced to me that had me rethinking my planned approach to my post-military business endeavors.  It’s ok to dream big, but you need to take deliberate, planned steps toward your goals, particularly in retail or service industries.  You need to consider the wants and needs of your consu

I find it interesting that I was assigned three separate texts in this marketing course – none which presented as typical textbook theory material.  Surfing the Tsunami , in particular, almost felt out of place in a marketing and branding course.  I can now say, after reviewing the presented topics and injected information from past discussions, that understanding the implications of machine learning and artificial intelligence will be absolutely essential to operations within the future advertisement technology industry. Image Source. This book only scratches the surface of the potential impacts of such technology.  There are technical-analytical fields across a myriad of industries that could (and probably, inevitably will) benefit from the adoption of artificial intelligence.  As simulated neural networks and reciprocal decision-making algorithms (among other things) improve, the processes that AI can reach out and touch will expand exponentially.  I’m incredibly curious on the dire

I actually found Chapter 7 of Guerilla Marketing more of a textbook read, rather than something that has captured my interest in line with previous chapters.  This week’s review focuses on reducing costs and improving efficiency – reminiscent of “Lean Six Sigma” perspective in process management.  While obviously beneficial, I find the topic to be mind-numbingly boring. I would rather discuss efficiency in the same scope as the feedback loops described in the last two chapters.  Reevaluating marketing needs on a continuous (or at least periodic) basis as a reaction to changes in business operations or consumer sentiments/needs presents the best opportunity to improve efficiencies.  This might also include reductions in time, energy and money that was initially placed into the advertising strategy. Image Source. This seems pretty logical: the majority of the marketing strategic mission is completed in the planning and product roll-out portion of the product life cycle.  As the dust set

I really enjoyed the flavor of the five decisions presented in this week’s portion of Ascend your Startup .  Ultimately, the entire section is grounded around a single topic – “How are you going to take care of your people?”.  It highlights some very important aspects of business culture and quality-of-life management needs that can make or break organizations.  Trust me, I’ve lived on both sides of this coin. Image Source. The first touch point asks how to inspire cultural collaboration?  That’s to say, how do you integrate company values and goals into a positive work culture that encourages collaboration, team-building and constructive relationships?  There’s an entire science behind the “How” here (think organizational behavior), but the importance is not lost through summarization. The second consideration leans more toward something that feels a bit more specific to this day and age.  “How has your technology connected humanity?”.  Well, most of us have quite a bit of work to do

I feel like Chapter 7 of Surfing the Tsunami took a step back from the deep dive we’ve been conducting into the “What, why and how” and gave us a second to consider the “Who”.  Much of the skepticism and apprehension surrounding the adoption of artificial intelligence / machine learning technology is reflective of the notion that it takes the human component out of the equation.  It’s easy to forget that A.I. development is, at its core, a data science industry, and that industry employs a huge number of highly skilled professionals.   Image Source.   This is a good 7-min read on the “training” of deep neural networks.  I found this post while “rabbit-holing” about some of the comments in the personal profiles in this week’s chapter. My favorite read in this chapter was Geoffrey Hinton profile, given his response to the “Why?” question.  He alludes to the idea that building an artificial brain is an effective approach to learning about how our own assimilates and processes information

One of the toughest parts of managing business growth is quality assurance, and this is particularly difficult for young companies.  I’ve been mostly blogging about establishing, marketing and delivering a minimum viable product (MVP) for these companies – but eventually you’ll need to move on to specialized or niche products as well.  The same self-monitoring rules apply to future rollouts as that for the MVP.  There needs to accountability measures in place to ensure ongoing quality controls, as well as feedback mechanisms to “adjust fire” when needed. Image Source. Ascend your Startup recommends using Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to establish targets and milestones for ongoing operations.  The principle is to create business objectives that align with, and further, your long-term business strategy while creating related, functional-area metrics (based on results, feedback or outputs) that indicate success on the way toward said objective. This parallels how I’ve been taugh

Yes!  This week’s chapter in Guerilla Marketing aligned almost perfectly with the development of my advertisement and consumer interest collection project!  The book discusses digital marketing on new or emerging media platforms and their impact on business expectations and opportunities.  The internet is an incredibly versatile delivery platform and is perfectly suited for expansive, interactive and targeted marketing actions.  Through force of “hands-on” activities, we’re actually exploring some entry-level models in the realm (personal websites, search engines, Google Ads, blogs, and social media like Facebook or LinkedIn). Image Source. The book describes a simplified approach to enter into internet marketing; namely starting with your product, creating a website with supporting services, then distributing links to said website through various marketing mechanism.  I’d argue that there are inputs to these over-simplified step stones that need to be considered to maximize your retu

I took a bit longer than usual to collect my thoughts and post on the latest chapter in Surfing the Tsunami ; mostly due to a combined flood of professionally relevant information that popped up in the book itself and some marketing forums I’ve been following to back-up my learning experience. Early in my current marketing course, it was recommended that we check out Google Trends  to see how public inquiry and interest rates compared to previous months and years, then take a look at some other trending or emerging “things”.  Ironically enough, I dove pretty deep into information collection in Google Trends in my last course – looking at the correlation between public interest levels and stock trading activity (specifically, the GameStop short squeeze orchestrated via Reddit ).  Artificial intelligence and machine learning are starting to show the same kind of interest growth that others have just before their absolute explosion.  I’d actually argue that we’re already in the thick of t

This week’s chapter in Todd Kelsey’s Surfing the Tsunami focuses on adoption trends in artificial intelligence.  I was surprised to read that there is actually quite a bit of resistance in the business world, though after reading some external sources, I can see why some are concerned.  The problem is that their key arguments center around conservative processes, and that’s not necessarily the best approach when operating in competitive markets.  Innovations that provide any advantage shouldn’t (and I’d argue can’t) be ignored. Image Source. The problem is that there’s an enormous population of people who work in professions that are vulnerable to automation advances.  While I can sympathize, these kinds of shifts aren’t new to the modern economic condition.  Machinery assembly lines used to be fully operated by factory workers, while the majority of such activities are now automated.  More recently, automated cashiers and food ordering kiosks are reducing manpower requirements in ret

Another week; another chapter of Ascend your Startup that really speaks to strategy building.  Chapter 5 is all about the feedback loop that’s required to ensure your product, business and marketing approach evolve alongside demands and expectations of your consumer base.  This next section assumes that we’ve continued to experience a reasonable level of success, and now have a strong customer base that’s well engaged in our products or services. These customers are assets to the firm, just as much as any other tangible inputs toward profitability and production.  In fact, the wants and needs of notable consumers can be some of the most important factors to ongoing success.  You need to incorporate real, accessible customer feedback and response analysis to maintain product quality and maintain consumer interest and engagement.  Positive customer experiences can actually aid your marketing campaign – nothing is better than candid (positive) reviews and word-of-mouth. Image Source. It’

Creativity seems like it would be one of the central themes of a concept like guerilla marketing.  The entire theme orbits around the idea of leveraging platforms and methodologies that exist outside-the-box, where advertisement makes a memorable impact on the target consumer, based on a combination of focused messaging and unique delivery. This dependency is outlined in the book, Guerilla Marketing .  Specifically, it breaks down the various inputs required to come up with a strong marketing delivery method.  Looking outside-in, you need to understand your competition, industry norms, current events and cultural trends.  These bits and pieces can spark ideas on the “how” for market communication.  From inside-out, you also need to consider your company culture, the product itself, and your own scope (how much interest do we want to generate, and with who?).  Chapter 5 also reiterates the steps to successful marketing I’ve outlined in previous posts, while highlighting how creative mar