Bob London runs London Ink which is a firm that offers virtual VP of Marketing services for various companies that may have interim needs or may not be ready for a full time resource but in serious need of this type of expertise.
According to his bio, “Mr. London has worked with small, medium and large enterprises in both the consumer and business-to-business markets. As a result he has come to be known as a Virtual Vice President of Marketing, for his ability to step in and provide interim leadership, direction and execution for companies with critical marketing and communications needs.” This includes running some stellar marketing programs such as the $100M advertising launch for MCI Friends & Family service, serving as VP of Marketing and defined messaging/positioning strategy for Digex, leading national ISP & Web hosting firm and serving as Chief Marketing Officer for SingleShop, Inc.
Shashi recently caught up with him at a networking event and they discussed the current economic environment and the Wall Street Journal article that mentioned how more people are becoming entrepreneurs today. Whether that is by choice or by force it did not say but bob pointed out that “it can be a blessing if you have a buyout and are forced to take a hard look which could be freeing”.
Some great marketing tips for large and small businesses alike
1.) Do outreach to existing clients – Many companies might be concerned that your business might not survive and they will be without a key vendor to deliver a product or service – now is the time to reassure them you aren’t going anywhere and in fact turn up the customer service so you a remembered for the long term.
2.) If your product/service is your best advertisement, start over – We have seen companies spend millions of dollars on advertising to promote mediocre products. If they would spend a large portion of money on R&D or product development they would be much more successful with a great product that speaks for itself.
3.) Marketing is a reflection of product success – Marketing really should be used as a reflection of success for something already successful. The best message/tag line won’t fix at the core might be a product problem.
For the full interview, see the video below:
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Tags: Bob London, London Ink, Marketing
Posted in Interviews, Marketing | 8 Comments »
