It's a common goal of marketers to start projects with research. (Well, most people want to, but they seldom do it. That's a topic for another time). The idea is that, armed with some measurements of the audience's attitudes, needs, and so on, we will have a better chance at structuring a successful solution. It's assumed that the hard work will be in interpreting and using this data, and almost no one thinks about the data itself. You need to be sure to ask is the data is even accurate.

Last time, we covered 2 main reasons that communications fails in execution. This time, we will wrap up the series with discussion of 2 more reasons.

Last time, we considered that it's hard to execute a communications strategy. This time, we'll examine 4 detailed reasons that this execution fails.

With most of our clients, we see a considerable gap between their communications goals and communications results. And, almost all of these clients immediately identify the primary solution to be a new strategy. The question is, however, whether this is the right choice.

It occurred to me, after I posted my last remarks, that I never even mentioned why consultants and agencies would want to work together in the first place. This time, I'd like to offer 6 reasons that this relationship is worth pursuing.

It's commonly (sometimes famously) tried. But, it never seems to work. I've seen this arrangement up-close over many years. I've learned what to do, and what not to do. I'd like to offer 7 tips in getting this relationship to work.

We've been discussing the effectiveness of marketing tools over the last few months. Perhaps the most powerful and least understood tool is positioning. But, like anything else, it will only get you to a certain point.

At first, you probably will say "Yes!". It's sort of an eating-your-own-dogfood thing. I think the opposite is true. Chances are, you're not good at your own marketing.