Measure Twice, Cut Once
At first glance, quilting and marketing might seem to exist on entirely different planets. But whether you are sitting behind a sewing machine or a marketing dashboard, the foundation for success is surprisingly similar. In this post, I share the personal story behind my Tanzanian quilts and explore 9 unexpected parallels between crafting a quilt and building a successful marketing campaign—from respecting the pattern (strategy) to knowing when to use your seam ripper (pivoting). Read more to see why "measure twice, cut once" applies just as much to your next big launch.
The ROAD Framework: A Marketing System
The ROAD Framework connects marketing research, strategy, system development and execution. It helps companies diagnose whether they are unknown, not distinct or not selected, then build an intentional marketing system designed to help them get found, understood and chosen.
Before You Rebrand, Fix Your Position
For many SMBs, a rebrand will not fix the real problem. Brand helps people remember and trust you, but position helps them understand why they should choose you. Start with position, then build the brand around it.
Marketing Should be Simple
Marketing should be simpler. This post explains why marketing often feels expensive, confusing, and random — and how better diagnosis, clearer priorities, and focused campaigns can help companies become easier to find, understand, trust, and choose.
The Little Lies Marketing Tells
Marketing often uses softer versions of the truth: optimistic sales promises, polite language, and familiar claims like “we are different.” But being different is not enough. The real work is creating clarity around why that difference matters to the customer.
Why I Built My Own CRM
Why I built a custom CRM in Airtable, what I learned, and why small businesses need a system for tracking opportunities.
Good Product Comes First: The Wandering Inn
Marketing matters, but it cannot save a product that people do not want. In this post, I use my experience listening to The Wandering Inn, a 48-hour audiobook I finished and still wanted more of, to explain why product comes before market and marketing. A good product creates its own energy. Marketing works best when it helps the right people discover something genuinely worth choosing.
Breaking Through the Marketing Noise
Attention is scarce. Whether you’re a small business in rural Alberta or a Fortune 500 brand, you’re fighting for visibility in an environment where marketing channels are bursting at the seams.
So why has this happened? And more importantly, what should businesses do about it?
Marketing Levers That Matter the Most for Small Businesses
The truth is, not all marketing channels are created equal. Some deliver results quickly and consistently, while others drain your time and budget with little return. The key is knowing which marketing levers to pull first.
How Bananas, ChatGPT, and Marketing Tie Together
Turns out tracking carbs, chasing targets, and avoiding shiny distractions isn’t just for weight loss — it’s for marketing too.
I lost 15 pounds in two months using ChatGPT as my accountability partner. The lessons I learned about weight loss — tracking, focus, and discipline — are the same ones I use in marketing.
The Visibility Ladder: Why Marketing Matters
If nobody knows you exist, nothing else matters. Being known is the first step to being trusted, chosen, and eventually referred. Visibility is the foundation of growth.
🕵️♂️ The Dark Underbelly of Marketing
Marketing has a reputation for being shiny, strategic, and sexy. But peel back the layers and what you find is a mess of chaos, caffeine, and crisis meetings. Welcome to the side of marketing no one brags about on LinkedIn.
Which AI Platform Is Right for Your Marketing? A Guide for Small Business Owners
In this post, we’ll break down the most popular AI platforms from a marketing perspective. Whether you’re writing blog posts, brainstorming campaigns, creating social content, or analyzing customer data, here’s what you need to know.
The Fundamentals of an Intentional Marketing Plan
If you're tired of guessing, chasing trends, or overcomplicating your marketing, here’s a high-level look at the fundamentals of building a marketing plan that works.
How Risk Tolerance Shapes Your Growth Strategy
This 2x2 matrix maps Sales Growth Potential (x-axis) against Risk Tolerance (y-axis). Whether you're bootstrapping a startup or managing a mature business, your position in this grid says a lot about your current strategy and where you want to go next.
Should I Focus on Profit or Revenue?
When evaluating a business or marketing strategy, one of the most important questions you can ask is: Should I prioritize revenue or profit? This 2x2 matrix offers a visual framework to assess your current position and guide your next steps. The vertical axis represents profitability, while the horizontal axis shows revenue scale.
Competitive Strategies: Porter’s Generic Strategies That Work
In this post, I’ll break down Porter’s Competitive framework using Canadian companies that follow each of the four strategies.
Marketing Strategies During COVID-19 Pandemic
In this blog I discuss various marketing strategies to consider during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are four different approaches based on maintaining or gaining market share and low or high interaction with customers. Whether one chooses to relax, remind, engage, or expand their marketing efforts depends on factors like industry, cash flow, and market response.
Workshop at Creativity & Convergence Conference on Nov 30, 2015
On Nov 30, 2015 Jeff Nelson and Jake Blumes will be facilitating a workshop on using data to help make better marketing investment decisions at the Creativity & Convergence Conference in Calgary, AB.