Straight Talk Blog
Ted Rubin
Build Your Brand “With a Little Help from Your Friends”
Who doesn’t remember the old Beatles classic “With a Little Help from My Friends?” I can hear that tune and Ringo Star singing the lyrics in my head, can’t you? “Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends. Mmm, I get high with a little help from my friends. Gonna...
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Retail Relevancy and the Changing Digital Landscape
*LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE*: This week’s episode – 006: Ted Rubin, CMO, Photofy... Retail Relevancy and the Changing Digital Landscape Are you using technology to advise you and create valuable, relevant customer experiences? Are you using mar-tech as part of a...
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Make This Year a “Social” Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving, the time when we give thanks not just FOR, but TO those who have been an important part of our lives. This year, I propose we all try a Social Thanksgiving – one where we focus on the true meaning and value of relationships, and take the time to pay...
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Influencer Marketing Tips to Increase Exposure
If a person demonstrates passion and knowledge, they’re much more likely to gain traction with people who share their interests and become influential in that respect. Everyone influences someone, so we all have a place to start. And from the start your comments, the...
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Entrepreneurial Persistance
I like to think that business mindset is made up of an individual’s “collection” of attitudes. And in addition to attitudes of confidence, gratitude and optimism, I think it’s also absolutely essential to add an attitude of persistence. Persistence is essential… it is...
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Only Stupid Entrepreneurs Build Their Wings on the Way Down
Ray Bradbury once said: “If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go into business, because we’d be cynical. Well, that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the...
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Nobody Has True National Localized Influencers Like Macaroni Kid—No One!
Are you more likely to pay attention to a product recommendation from a Google ad, or from a local parent you know and trust? If someone you know in your neighborhood offered you a useful product sample to try at just the right moment, wouldn't you be more likely to...
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What You Post is UP TO YOU… No One Else
What you post here is UP TO YOU... no one else. Simply put, don't listen to the prognosticators that tell you what is and isn't appropriate on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, your Blog, etc,... IT'S ALL BULLSHIT! Post whatever works for you. The best content...
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I Was Asked Last Night…
"How do I make a difference tomorrow, or right now, and going forward. I’m just a small cog... AND, what CAN I do regardless... for me and my company?" Welcome to the ‘Age of Influence,’ where anyone can build an audience and effect change, advocate brands, build...
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LinkedIn Response, When Someone Tells You What You Should and Should Not Post…
First of all... curious who made you the arbiter of what does and does not belong on LinkedIn? Second... LinkedIn is a "social" network, and a place for conversation that the person posting wishes to foster. I am the person, and this is the conversation I wish to...
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Rosh Hashana… L’Shana Tova Tikatevu
Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה), literally meaning the "beginning (also head) [of] the year" is the Jewish New Year. It marks the beginning of the year, according to the teachings of Judaism, clearly a time for reflection and hope. I'm thankful that I, and my...
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Tips For Generating Better Customer Experience
Success in marketing goes hand in hand with good customer experience. Need to up your customer experience game? Ted Rubin breaks down how. ~via RockstarCMO It's not always easy to boil a big, complex topic like marketing down to its most basic, important elements, but...
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The Most Overlooked and Critical Component of Customer Experience
In quantum mechanics there is a rule: when particles are observed, they behave differently. We found out in the late ’90s, via various experiments, that electrons act as either particles or waves, depending on whether they were observed. What does that have to do with...
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Business Cards Present a Great Opportunity for Connection
Business cards present a great opportunity for connection. Pity so many foolishly think they are outdated.... but as always with something overlooked, a great opportunity for those who understand the value. Always look for opportunities to set yourself apart. ...
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The Arrogance and Hubris of so many Executives…
I have come to form an incredible distaste for the arrogance and hubris of so many executives. The courtesy of a reply to an outreach, from someone you know, is just not that difficult. Just a simple acknowledgement is not that hard and really should not be too much...
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Retailers: Discounting Your Way Out of Trouble Is a Death Spiral
Why ditching the discount and dialing up the customer experience (with a focus on flexibility) is more likely to deliver success. When a marquee brand or major, traditional retailer releases a disastrous earnings outlook, what is the first thing they usually do in an...
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Why The Future Of Retail Is Not About The US
Think America is the be-all and end-all of retail? Think again. Ted Rubin, acting CMO of Brand Innovators and co-founder of Prevailing Path, explores why we need to look further than the States to understand where the future of retail really lies. Ask the average...
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A Network give you Reach, BUT a Community gives you Power!
Networks Connect… Communities Care A small, passionate community of like-minded people can often accomplish far more than a larger, less-connected group working on the same challenge. Building a dedicated community takes effort, but it’s one of the most effective ways...
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Relationship Building at Scale, Ted Rubin: Transforming Marketing into Building Brand Community ~via @jeremyryanslate
Ted Rubin...
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Independence Day… MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Independence Day brings to the forefront the current frightening political environment, world environmental, economic, and most importantly and relevant today that represents freedom... the challenges immigrants, and those seeking asylum, have been experiencing more...
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Simplicity Is The New Everyday Low Price
Consumers have always valued simplicity, in part because it's often not so easy to find with the retail experience. Think about how complicated it was to order something before the digital age, and how much waiting was involved. Anyone who has ever ordered something...
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Ted Rubin Talks 2018 Retail and Shares a Little TMI ~via @WhatsGregDoing
The customer experience matters. Don't think so? Just ask Ted Rubin. All he wants to do is buy a pair of jeans, but one store's online experience and not-so-customer-friendly policies keep preventing him from...
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Walt Disney World Puts the Experience in Experiential Marketing
Guest post via John Andrews Walt Disney World Astounds Its Visitors With Experiential Product Marketing I began my business career as a Dominos Pizza manager in Maine. One of our marketing efforts at the local level was calling around 10 customers a night to see how...
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Think Twice and Be Nice: Letting Little Things Go
Recently I was watching a short, information-packed video posted to LinkedIn by a CEO, who was sharing his expertise on a variety of leadership topics. It was short, maybe two minutes, tops, but it was good enough that I stopped to watch it a few times before diving...
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A New Book is Coming with co-author John Andrews… Retail Relevancy
The world of retail has been shifting beneath our feet – and it’s doing so because the digital age has fundamentally changed everything about how we live. It’s changed how we communicate, how we work, how we travel, and how we buy things. And just like the digital...
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Closing Time: 20 Major Retailers That Likely Won’t Exist In 10 Years
Visit your favorite shopping mall – if you still have a favorite – and you can already see the seismic shift in retail taking place across the country. When was the last time you visited a Sports Authority, or RadioShack? What about bargain retailers like Payless...
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Fake News Is Nothing New, So… Important to “Learn to Discern”
Favorite athlete gets in trouble at a nightclub under nebulous circumstances? Fake news. Politician acts directly against the interests of his or her base, but it's a politician the base happens to really like? Fake news. Respected writer makes a detailed, fact-based...
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Being a Father Transcends How We Feel Moment-To-Moment
Being a father transcends how we feel moment-to-moment. We have to remember that everything we do is being observed, recorded, and processed by our kids, and is important to their emotional development –– perhaps even more so for children of divorce. They're always...
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OMG, Facebook Used My Data!!! Now What?
The scare-mongering that’s going around today about data usage is driving me up the wall. When I see people having meltdowns about Facebook using their data to deliver content to them, I’m thinking: “WHERE THE F*** HAVE YOU ALL BEEN, under a freaking rock???” Would...
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Enough Is Enough: Why We Should All Throw Our Support Behind the #MarchForOurLives Movement
Look back throughout history, and ask yourself where the big, meaningful changes in society come from most often. Is it the people who are invested, often for many years, in the status quo? The folks who are piling up profits thanks to the current system, whatever it...
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