Sections
Extra
Social Menu
What do you consider to be the sharpest tool in your marketing toolbox? Is it your website? The web banner ads you've placed across the Internet? A listing in the Yellow Pages? A slow economy doesn't mean businesses should halt…
Common results scenario: Two page views. Time on site: 1 minute, 23 seconds -- not very long. A smart mousetrap, not just any old website, can help you catch more of what you want: consumers. It can tell which browsers…
As business owners and senior level managers, we tend to get caught up in the day-to-day activity of running our businesses and lose sight of areas that can generate additional revenue. Over the past 20 months, many of the businesses…
When will things be back to normal? This economy may be the new normal! Here are strategies, organized around the "Ps" of Marketing, for creating the recovery. 1. Continue to Learn and Evolve (People). The famous book by Napoleon Hill…
According to estimates, retail and service businesses earn as much as 40 percent of total annual sales during the November-December holiday months, and a successful 2009 holiday shopping season will determine whether many businesses, already struggling through a deep recession,…
When evaluating credit card relationships and decisions, there are many items for small business owners to consider. One of the most important is the card-issuer relationship. This has become particularly important in the past 24 months. Financial institutions and credit…
The company's office supply market was stagnant. Sales were adrift in a sea of mediocrity. Worse, company management knew who their customers were, but felt alienated from them because of a middle-man sales and logistics organization between the company and…
Facebook, Flickr, Twitter -- all the social media talk is enough to make one's head spin. By now, "social media" is no longer a buzzword, and it isn't a surprise that businesses are using emerging media and social networks to…
The end of the 2009 year brings great relief to some - those who still have their jobs and businesses afloat - and great angst to those who are getting word of budget cuts, layoffs and closings. But fear not!…
The original seven deadly sins are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. While the marketing equivalents aren't as serious, they can lead you to marketing and sales disaster if not addressed. Deadly Sin 1: Lack of Self-Awareness. When…
There are countless tools available to help you better understand your customers' needs: SurveyMonkey, Zoomerang and SurveyGizmo, to name a few. Information on your customers is what should be driving your business decisions. Online survey tools are easy to use…
As responsible business owners, we invest a lot of time answering the "what" question. What will I sell? What should my price be? What kind of marketing should I do? We find "how" intriguing as well, as in how will…
Eating lots of turkey, watching football and getting together with family are all part of Thanksgiving. But don't forget about the real purpose of Thanksgiving: being thankful. It can pay off in more ways than you might imagine. If you're going…
Did you know that every company, even yours, has an untapped marketing resource? Marketing is a lot like line dancing: the entire group has to take the same steps or it just doesn't flow. Everyone dances to the same beat…
The straighter you shoot your arrow, the deeper penetration you get. That is the same philosophy behind increasing sales through vertical marketing. If you provide the exact product/service that your target market wants and needs, in a way they want…
In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman told his son: "It's not enough to be liked, Biff. You've got to be well-liked!" And an Ad Biggie in Denver once told his account service staff: "Make friends of your clients. Because…
Increasingly, new-media savvy companies are utilizing social media, blogs and other consumer-generated content to reach their target audience. These advertisers often provide free products, coupons, discounts or other fairly nominal compensation to individuals in exchange for favorable reviews or postings…
"Most look up and admire the stars. A champion climbs a mountain and grabs one." This quote is a perfect motto to get inspired and a jump on your PRE-holiday consumer marketing strategy. Yes, PRE! For smaller business owners, you've…
"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." -Mark Twain Jeanne, a friend of mine who owns a corporate training company, told me how she got started. Or actually didn't. She had all the plans, the syllabus and the locations.…
The stereotypical used car guy focuses quickly on what he could say or do to make the sale. What emotional string can he pull? What weakness can he exploit? Do they hate confrontation? Are they easy to confuse? Do they…
When they invented the World Wide Web, they didn't write "USA only" into the circuitry. Your website is your window to the world, and how the world views you. Trouble is, when you're talking native tongue, English is the fourth…
