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Browse every published article connected to Geoff Ficke, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
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Browse every published article connected to Geoff Ficke, or search within this exact expert archive.
by: Geoff Ficke Ayrton Senna, the great Brazilian Gran Prix driver, once famously was quoted: “To survive Gran Prix racing, you need to be afraid. Fear is an important feeling. It helps you to race longer and live longer”.
by: Geoff Ficke Two Centuries Ago “The King of Chefs, the Chef of Kings” Created the Modern Gourmet Cooking We Know Today
by: Geoff Ficke The Challenge for Big Companies Is Not to Be Slow! That Is the Opportunity for Entrepreneurs
by: Geoff Ficke How We React to Failure Defines How Much Success Most People Can Attain In 1954 the manager of The Grand Ole Opry told Elvis Presley, “You ain’t going nowhere son. Go back to driving a truck”. After his first audition the great actor Sidney Poitier was told by the casting agent, “why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and become a dishwasher or something”. Basketball Hall of Famer’s Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy were cut from their first high school teams.
by: Geoff Ficke The Simple, Ubiquitous Modern Screw Created Fortunes and Enabled Mass Production to Flourish Every human seems to have screws lying around our homes and offices. They tend to accumulate like dust particles. Open a drawer or a utility box and there will be a jumble of screws of different types and sizes littered among other assorted pieces of flotsam and junk that we collect and never seem to lose. Occasionally we go looking for a screw for a unique application or task and usually, we will find just the unit to complete the chore.
by: Geoff Ficke The Importance of “Instant Gratification” When Marketing Consumer Products I remember as a little boy the excitement of shopping for a new car with my father. Dad was a Chevrolet man. He always bought cars from the same dealership and the same salesman. We would walk the lot, climb into various models, review the stickers for price and features, and then dad would go into a little cubicle with the salesman and make the deal.
by: Geoff Ficke Making a Minor Product Usage Change Can Propel Major Sales Advances In the middle of the 20th century pre-packaged foods and mixes were not as ubiquitous as they are today. Typically, a middle class home had a housewife present and preparing her families meals from scratch. The advent of mass-market consumerism would rapidly change this tradition.
by: Geoff Ficke Classic French Milled Soap Offers a Lesson in Creating A Proprietary Marketing Niche for Common Products One of the most difficult realities an aspiring Consumer Product Marketer must confront is how to present their Brand as a fresh, original, worthwhile counter-offering to their much more established competition. What makes the line, service or item unique? Modern Marketing Consultants call this trait a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). This is a fancy inside baseball term that simply identifies the product “niche” the brand will fill.
by: Geoff Ficke The Importance of Crude Prototypes in Launching And Marketing New Consumer Products The most spectacular example of stunning product design extant in the world today must surely be on display in Marinello, Italy at the Ferrari Auto works. Ferrari is the apex of beauty; exclusivity, performance and technology, all bundled into one visually stunning work of mobile art. The famous Prancing Horse icon, seen racing down a winding road, attached to a Ferrari is one of the most beautifully alluring visions in the world.
by: Geoff Ficke Competition Is to Successful Marketing As Fertilizer Is to Fruitful Agriculture Many believe that marketing a consumer product or service would be so much easier if we could have the field of commerce solely to our project. It only seems logical that if your business enterprise had the only peanut butter, pet food or toothpaste on the market you would prosper greatly. A monopoly certainly seems to be the “Holy Grail” that any marketer would desire to protect and enhance their certainty of success. It’s just that this is not so.
by: Geoff Ficke The Rarest Most Exclusive Garment Wool in the World is Not for Sale For centuries the famous weavers of Kashmir have gathered and produced shawls from the rarest fiber in the world, Shahtoosh. These fabulous, prized shawls are so exclusive that the name Shahtoosh, meaning “king of fine wools”, is synonymous with exclusivity. The Kings of Persia were especially partial to this most unique wool, thus the name Shahtoosh.
by: Geoff Ficke Successfully Approaching Marketing Professionals - How to Market a New Consumer Product or Idea Many inventors and entrepreneurs are so excited about their concept that they neglect to learn, or practice proper business etiquette when soliciting marketing or investment assistance. This can ruin their opportunity, or at the least set prospects back sharply. The following are some simple rules to follow when making initial contact or presentation of your exciting new product or marketing concept. Never Utilize Mindless Platitudesr
by: Geoff Ficke An Old Mustard Brand Teaches the Power of Marketing Exclusivity
by: Geoff Ficke Using Trade Shows to Launch or License Your Novel Consumer Product Is Key Each business day we are approached by entrepreneurs, small businesses, and inventors from all over the world seeking guidance and asking how best to launch and successfully commercialize their consumer product or service innovation. In almost every case investment monies are very dear. There is no one universal answer as every situation is unique. However, we find that we almost always include a suggestion of industry specific trade show participation as a key piece of the answer.
by: Geoff Ficke The 5 Most Important Items to Fully Address For Entrepreneurs When Writing Business Plans A good portion of my work is devoted to writing and reading Business Plans. My Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm works extensively with small businesses, foreign Companies seeking United States Sales and Distribution, Inventors and Entrepreneurs. The solid Business Plan is the keystone that is essential in successfully driving a new venture to success.
by: Geoff Ficke How One of the Fashion World’s Earliest Great Innovators Lost Everything by Lack of Innovation