Unless you have no intention of ever publishing anything. If that’s the case, it would be a waste of your time to read another word of THIS blog post.
Imagen 4.
OK, who is left?
Maybe there’s another reason you didn’t publish that blog post yet.
Perhaps you never wrote the blog post in the first place.
If that’s your problem, I will now provide you with the Bredemarket 42 step process to generate that blog post.
I kid, of course. You only need two steps.
Ask.
Act.
I ask, then I act.
Bredemarket is expert at both asking and acting, equipping my clients to get the right message out and to do it now.
Not six months from now.
If it’s winter, your “heat wave” blog post is no longer timely. Imagen 4.
After all, I’m incentivized to perform your marketing writing with both accuracy and speed. I want your approval…and your revenue.
So go to my “Content for tech marketers” page, read about Bredemarket’s services, and book a free 30 minute meeting with me to discuss your content needs.
You’ve probably heard me rant about companies that fail to differentiate.
But what’s worse are the companies that have clear differentiation, but then dump it to be just like everybody else.
Take Cracker Barrel.
Changing the look and feel
Despite their manufactured nature, they clearly present themselves as a place with an old-time retro feel.
Their menu pays homage to Southern cooking, even if you’re eating at a Cracker Barrel in California or Connecticut.
The store features country music, Moon Pies, and records…sorry, vinyl.
Even the walls are covered with decorations that reflect the past. In California, that means citrus crates, plus farming implements and sepia-toned pictures.
“The Tennessee-based company, known as much for its tchochkes as its Southern fixins’ like chicken fried steak and grits, has tossed the kitsch that drew generations of diners in favor of booths and crisp white walls.”
A move which gives the New York Post to describe the new look as “sterile.” A good word in healthcare, and maybe a good word in a restaurant kitchen, but not in the dining room.
So why do it? Because:
“CEO Julie Felss Masino admitted the chain is ‘just not as relevant’ as it used to be.”
Ah, RELEVANT. If you maintain a retro look that your competitors don’t have, you’re not relevant.
But what will Cracker Barrels become with white walls, no rocking chairs, and no Burma Shave signs?
Yawn.
A fast (food) lesson
McDonald’s learned about customer indifference the hard way. Throwing the old look into the dumpster doesn’t please people.
Years ago when I was growing up, McDonald’s was easily identifiable by its huge golden arches on the red and white striped buildings.
McDonald’s, Downey, California. Photo by Bryan Hong (Brybry26) • CC BY-SA 2.5.
But then McDonald’s decided that the 1950s-1960s look was no longer relevant and shifted to square brown buildings straight from an industrial park.
But today?
McDonald’s is making its customers happy by building huge restaurants with huge golden arches again. One is being built in my local area in Upland at Foothill and Benson. You may know Foothill Boulevard as Route 66. There are two existing golden arches restaurants on Foothill near Euclid in Upland and near Archibald in Rancho Cucamonga.
How are you differentiated?
So what happens in 2035 when some old man is telling his grandkids how cool Cracker Barrels USED to be?
You’ll have a new CEO ordering the high-traffic restaurants to cover the walls with farming implements again.
And maybe your technology company is in a similar state, sounding just the same as everyone else.
Ask yourself WHY your company is great and your competitors suck.
Although my first of my three meetings started at 7:30 am, my day actually started three hours earlier with light Things To Accomplish. Suffice it to say that the Bredemarket blog will have daily content until Monday, August 4.
I took a mid-afternoon break before my third meeting, the Inland Empire BizFest in Montclair. I wrote about that here and here, plus on the Bredemarket socials.
Log those business miles.
In fact I knew I would be so busy today that I declined a personal invite at 10 this morning. Good thing I declined, because I was neck deep in a requirements workbook (yeah, Microsoft Excel again) for a Bredemarket client’s end customer. (Can you say TOT? I knew you could.)
Anyway, I left Montclair Place before 7:30 pm and called it a night after a long day.
Thankfully the first day of August only includes a single meeting.
In my work for a Bredemarket client I’ve explored taxonomies for digital assets. But I’ve never explored taxonomies for cybersecurity controls as Erich Winkler just did.
In fact, Winkler categorized cybersecurity controls in two ways: the “how” and the “why.”
“By understanding the different types of controls, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions about which ones are best suited for specific situations.”
Winkler identified six different “why” control types:
Preventive.
Detective.
Corrective.
Deterrent.
Recovery.
Compensating.
For definitions of these six “why” control types, his three “how” control types, 3000 words worth of pictures, and some examples, read Winkler’s Substack post. And if you’re brave, take the quiz.
Winkler sums everything up as follows:
“By now, you understand that cybersecurity isn’t just about buying the latest tools. It’s about knowing why you use them and how they work together.”
Winkler writes expertly on cybersecurity. But if you can’t get him, and you need someone to work with you to create content for tech marketers, turn to Bredemarket.
Bredemarket 