Ralph Crosby

About
Ralph W. Crosby

Wanting to earn money as a youngster, Ralph Crosby took jobs that early on taught him the value of customer loyalty. In his first adult career, as a journalist writing for daily newspapers and national magazines, he learned how to communicate with another type of customer — the reader. It was when he changed careers from journalist to business marketer, through hands-on experience and the teachings of such experts as management guru Peter Drucker, he learned that the end result of business — both for profit or nonprofit organizations — should not be viewed from an internal perspective but from the point of view of the customer.

In his newly published book, “It’s The Customer, Stupid! Lessons Learned in a Lifetime of Marketing,” he documents his education as a marketer and explains the critical nature of the customer-centric approach in today’s unique marketing environment.


Read Full Bio

Sign up for the


Crosby Connects

Newsletter

Enter your email address. Get all the greatest news sent directly to your inbox. Marketing tips and examples directly from the pros.

Follow Crosby Marketing Twitter Facebook RSS Feed

The Marketing Power of Behavioral Economics

The power of behavioral economics in marketing was affirmed recently in an Advertising Age article by Michele Fabrizi, in which she analyzed the success or failure of last year’s Super Bowl TV spots. Fabrizi wrote:

“Some reviews (of Super Bowl spots) are measuring brain waves, others are looking at consumer votes and some are just personal opinion. Well, we think we know what was behind some of the very good as well as some of the not-so-good efforts. It’s all about leveraging the unconscious factors that drive 95% of consumer decision-making, and the best way to do that is through behavioral economics.”

That last sentence is gospel at my agency, Crosby Marketing. We have learned that it is critically important to invest in market research to learn what truly motivates your target audience.

Read PostRead Post

About
Ralph's Book

Book CoverBusinesses often are started by entrepreneurs with an idea, a product or service, or an expertise. Many of them fail, not because the idea or product isn’t good, but because their attention is overwhelmingly directed internally – e.g., what goes into the product – when they should focus externally, always reminding themselves:

“It’s The Customer, Stupid!”

That’s the premise of Ralph Crosby’s new book, “It’s The Customer, Stupid! Lessons Learned in a Lifetime of Marketing.”

Continue Reading »

Read Full Bio

Book Reviews

In his new book, “It’s the Customer, Stupid!” Ralph Crosby, founder of Crosby Marketing Communications located in Annapolis, discusses how the Internet and social media are changing the game. One thing, he says, will remain a constant: Keeping the focus on the customer rather than the product, service or organization.

In “It’s the Customer, Stupid!” Crosby reinforces what he calls an old idea — customer-centric marketing — and explains why focusing on the consumer is even more pertinent now than it was decades ago. “It’s the customer who drives the purchasing decision, particularly now in the computer age, when a customer can go online and find out anything about products or services or organizations by simply clicking the mouse,” he said.

Elisha Sauers
The Capital Newspaper