by Clay Ostrom | May 15, 2019 | Branding, Elements of Value, Positioning
< Back to The Campfire One of the biggest traps in business is the idea that you need to be excellent at everything. It’s fueled by a fear that our customers will only engage with us if we satisfy all their needs at a high level.The truth though is that to create a...
by Clay Ostrom | Apr 17, 2019 | Branding, Positioning, Productivity, Strategy
< Back to The Campfire Even if you’re not an astrophysicist you still probably know at least one thing about black holes. There’s just something mysterious and even a little frightening about an object with a gravitational pull so strong that nothing can escape it....
by Clay Ostrom | Apr 10, 2019 | Customers, Marketing, Messaging, Positioning, Sales
< Back to The Campfire When it comes to messaging, the biggest mistake companies make is to focus too much on themselves. On an intuitive level, it’s easy to think your messaging should answer one simple question.“What we do”If you can provide a clear answer to...
by Clay Ostrom | Apr 4, 2019 | Branding, Customers, Marketing, Positioning
< Back to The Campfire My family and I went to the beach recently. We have a 10-year-old son, and he invited one of his friends to come with us.It might sound odd, but a favorite beach activity for my son and I is to dig giant holes in the sand. He likes to jump...
by Clay Ostrom | May 9, 2018 | Customers, Jobs To Be Done, Positioning, Psychology, Startups
< Back to The Campfire There’s a well known idea that you can classify any business into one of two camps: Vitamin or Painkiller. Vitamins provide long term benefits. They’re an investment that will help you make progress on larger goals. Unfortunately, the delay...
by Clay Ostrom | Feb 13, 2018 | Branding, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Positioning, Psychology, Startups, Strategy
< Back to The Campfire Why it’s critical to understand who your business is competing against. Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to provide mentorship to college students at USC through the school’s entrepreneurship program. As I work with these students...
