Marketing Blog | Joellyn Ferguson

The Marketing Blog

I started this blog back in 2010 - yes, that's over a decade ago! I keep it available to readers because there's plenty of timeless content here. You may find a few outdated posts, feel free to breeze on by when you do. I hope you find value in the ones that are relevant. Looking for a specific topic? Just filter using the buttons below.

Why is Change So Hard?

The Secret Question for Business Growth: Why?

Accept or Understand? Five-year-olds intuitively know something that most of us have forgotten. The key to understanding almost anything is hidden behind a simple three letter word. WHY. Rather than simply accepting what they’re told,

What’s Your Perspective?

Enhance Your Perception When I was studying art history in college, one of the first things I learned was a key point about the Renaissance. Europe’s emergence from the Middle Ages was marked by the

When to Press ‘Pause’ on Your Priorities

What’s the trick to better business focus? Just breathe Jim Beach, founder of School for Startups was interviewing me the other day for his radio show. Mid-way through the interview Jim said, “This topic of sitting down and reassessing has

What’s Wrong with Marketing Today?

The trouble with marketing? Everyone is doing it. That’s not a surprise. Marketing is imperative for a business to grow. Without some sort of marketing, how will customers find you? Unless you’ve got a

The Customer Experience Crisis

What’s your worst customer experience nightmare? You didn’t have to struggle to think of one, did you? In fact, several incidents probably came to mind immediately. Maybe it was the time… An expensive new purchase broke,

6 Reasons You Should Answer the “What’s Your Budget?” Question

“What’s Your Budget?” Do cringe every time you hear that? When a sales rep asks, your first instinct might be to clam up. Mine is. As a former CMO, I spent millions on marketing vendors and technology

Shine Like a Diamond: The 4 Cs of Business Success

If you ever bought a diamond for yourself or someone you love, you probably spent a fair amount of time researching the 4 Cs: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat weight. These four attributes

When Everything Works, It’s Time to Change

Picture this: You’re in the zone, everything in your business is working perfectly. This is exactly what you’ve been working towards! Now you can finally rest and savor your success. Or not. Perfection is

Let’s (Not) Do It My Way

Leadership Lesson: Is that Wrong, or Just Different? I recently returned from my annual trip to Honduras, where I work with a team on construction projects at a children’s home. Every year the team is

Are You Charging Enough?

Don’t Give Away Your Profits Pricing pain. We’ve all had it. What’s billable? What’s value add? Do I need to discount? If so, how much? Most of the time, business owners worry that they’re