Poppingstone perspectives

Blog

Thoughts on marketing, growth and the customer experience.

Poppingstone · 01

A Product Launch Is the Start of the Commercial Work

Product launches tend to get plenty of attention. There is usually a deadline, a launch plan, internal presentations, campaigns, content, sales material and some form of announcement. Launch day arrives, everyone looks at the initial response, and before long attention starts moving towards the next priority. I’ve worked on product launches across financial services and …

Poppingstone · 02

The Message Was Automated. So Was the Mistake.

A few weeks ago I was waiting on a delivery from one of the UK's largest electrical retailers. The item never arrived. A couple of hours after the missed delivery window, I got a text asking me to complete a customer satisfaction survey and rate the delivery experience. I gave it zero. Fair enough, I …

Poppingstone · 03

Your Customer Journey Is Bigger Than Your Org Chart

Customers have very little interest in how a company is organised internally. They do not particularly care whether the website belongs to Marketing, onboarding belongs to Operations, the product belongs to Technology and account management belongs to Sales. They experience one company. This sounds obvious, although many organisations still design customer experiences around internal ownership.

Poppingstone · 04

B2B CRM Has a Life After the Lead

Most conversations about B2B CRM still seem to start with leads. How do we generate more of them? How do we score them? How do we nurture them? Which accounts should Sales focus on? All reasonable questions. The problem comes when the CRM strategy more or less ends once somebody becomes a customer. I have …

Poppingstone · 05

Why Some Construction Firms Win the Work Before the Tender Stage

Here’s the uncomfortable truth. Most construction businesses are very good.But they describe themselves very badly. Quality. Reliable. Experienced. Trusted. Those words are not wrong. They are just invisible. If everyone says them, they mean nothing. And when your marketing feels interchangeable, you become interchangeable.That is when clients compare you on price. The Real Problem Is …

Poppingstone · 06

Why Behavioural Science Should Be Your New Home-Marketing Weapon

I’m always drawn to thinkers who challenge the obvious, and Rory Sutherland has been doing exactly that again in a recent talk at the Retail Media Summit. What I like about his approach is that it’s never about chasing the latest trend. It’s about understanding what really drives people to act, and half the time, …

Poppingstone · 07

Back to Basics – You Still Need Strategy Before Tactics

With more channels, more platforms and more “quick wins” than ever, many businesses dive into tactics first. But Mark Ritson, Marketing Week and Mini MBA warns: without strategy, tactics become noise. The Warning Mark Ritson writes: “Marketing strategy is where we play and how we win … Tactics are how we then deliver on the…

Poppingstone · 08

The Best Marketing Strategy Ever? Care.

Amid the tools, metrics and channels, Gary Vaynerchuk, Chairman of VaynerX, the CEO of VaynerMedia, and Creator and CEO of VeeFriends, and 6x New York Times Best Selling Author, reminds us of a simple truth: marketing still boils down to genuine care. Care for your customers, your message, and your process. “The best marketing strategy…

Poppingstone · 09

“People Buy Why You Do It (Not Just What You Do)”

Based on Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” Simon Sinek, motivational speaker and organisational consultant, author of ‘ Start with Why’ In sectors like property, construction and professional services, the “what” often feels obvious: build homes, cut concrete, create steel structures, survey properties, deliver consultancy.…

Poppingstone · 10

Stop Choosing Between Old and New: Why the Both-And Approach Wins

Based on Mark Ritson’s Bothism concept Published originally in Marketing Week, “Bothism is the cure for marketers’ fascination with pointless conflict.” Marketing Week+2Articles of Interest+2 Intro In many businesses I speak to, especially in property, construction, and professional services, the marketing discussion still sounds like “digital or print”, “brand or activation/ tactical”, “short‑term or long‑term”.…

Poppingstone · 11

Is It Working? The One Marketing Question That Matters

You can have the most beautiful brochure, the most polished website, and the busiest Instagram feed around. But here’s the only question that really matters: Is it working? Working how? Is it bringing in leads? Are the right people finding you? Do your customers understand what you offer and why it’s different? Are sales teams…

Poppingstone · 12

Marketing in the Real World (It’s Not What You Think)

Marketing gets a bad rap. Too many buzzwords. Too many overcomplicated ideas. Too many people selling strategy that looks great on paper but falls apart in real life. The truth? Most marketing is done in messy, fast-moving businesses by people juggling ten other things. So it has to work in the real world. Here’s what…

Poppingstone · 13

What Even Is Marketing? (And Why It’s Not Just ‘Doing Socials’)

Ask ten people what “marketing” is and you’ll get ten different answers. Some think it’s ads. Some think it’s social media. Others think it’s brochures, branding, or websites. They’re all a little bit right. But not completely. Here’s what marketing really is: Marketing is everything your customer sees, hears, reads, or experiences before they decide…

Poppingstone · 14

You Don’t Need a Marketing Department—You Need Direction

If you’re running a growing business, hiring a marketing manager or bringing in an agency can feel like the natural next step. But here’s the problem: unless you’re clear on the strategy, you’re just adding resources without direction. That’s when costs spiral, activity stalls, and frustration sets in. Here’s what I see often: A talented…

Poppingstone · 15

What We Get Wrong About Marketing (And How to Fix It)

I’ve worked with enough businesses to spot the same problems cropping up time and again, usually with good intentions, but costly consequences. Follow these simple steps Get your messaging right, why you? Why now? Support your team with the right tools! Build campaigns around people, not just products Track performance. Know what’s working and what’s…

Poppingstone · 16

Why Most Marketing Plans Don’t Work (and What to Do Instead)

Every January, and again mid-year, businesses roll out their latest marketing plan. Sometimes it’s a thick document, full of activity. Sometimes it’s a spreadsheet with a lot of colour-coding. But all too often, by the time the campaign lands or the lead gen targets get reviewed, the budget is used up… the wheels have come…

Poppingstone · 17

Marketing Has Changed – But the Fundamentals Still Matter

Marketing doesn’t look like it used to. It moves faster. There are more channels, more tools, more data—and now, there’s AI and AIO. Artificial Intelligence has entered the chat, and it’s not just changing how we work it’s changing what’s expected from marketing altogether. But here’s the truth most people won’t say out loud: Marketing…

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