Jumping on the New Tools There’s always something new in the marketing pipeline that will supposedly someday change marketing. The latest of these is Google Buzz and FourSquare. Then the evangelism starts with a few marketers trumpeting the new tools as some sort of “killer.” You know the “Facebook Killer” or the “Yelp Killer.” That
Local Search Results: Getting Listed in Google’s Local 7-Pack
It’s becoming increasingly important to be found in the local search engines. People prefer to find information about local businesses through search engines rather than in the yellow pages. In this Spotlight on Marketing Video, we look at how the local search engine results work, and how you can increase your chances of making it
Marketers Roundtable 4: Discussion of Current Marketing Issues
The Internet show about small business marketing. Podcast Episode #49 – Google Buzz, Trending Topics, Trust Deficits, The Most-Normal-People Rule Hear ye, Hear ye! Interested citizens of The Internet, you are invited to the fourth gathering of the Marketers Roundtable. Whereas marketers like to congregate and discuss marketing, Therefore, let them gather at The Marketers
>What The Numbers Mean for Social Media Marketing
> One the loudest arguments in favor of social media marketing are the big numbers. Everywhere you look you see the numbers if favor of using social media. Here are some examples: Facebook has 400 million active users! (Source: Facebook) Facebook gained over 100 million users in the U.S. from January 2009 to January 2010!
>Getting More Business by Making it Easier to Buy
> Sometimes the way to get more business is to simply make it easier for customers to buy from you. I was recently reminded of this when I tried to place a client advertising schedule with a local media company. Despite my best efforts to give them money, the company made it almost impossible for
What a Logo Does
While the importance of a logo in brand-building is overblown, there is another aspect of logos that is often overlooked: the effect it has on the business. I’ve just completed my ninth logo facilitation using crowdSPRING and am starting another logo project this week. Without a single exception, the completion of each logo project energized
>Conversation Starters: Staying in touch, Getting Rid of Stuff, and Word of Mouth
> How Much do You Have to Be Like Your Clients? The Grammys were on TV last Sunday night and I proudly avoided them. That led to a Twitter conversation where my Friend Lisa Trosien suggested that I should be watching the Grammys because some folks in my speaking audiences might be millennials. Meaning the
How the Tyranny of Choice Costs You Business
People’s brains tend to instruct their owners to stay right where they are. That’s why people tend to stick with what they have. Because when they stay where they are, they get to avoid the tyranny of choice. In their best-selling book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, authors Chip and Dan Heath
Dear Restaurant Owner: Please don’t think like a restaurant owner.
John Foley writes what restaurant owners think about Valentine’s Day: cash flow. But that’s not what customers are thinking. Photo credit: Esparta Actually customers are hoping. Hoping that the restaurant they choose gets it right. Hoping that their server will actually spend time with them. And hoping it will be a romantic evening worthy of
Debunking Word-of-Mouth Bunk
The Internet show about small business marketing. Podcast Episode #48 – Word of Mouth, Social Media and Bunk The mantra used to be “Word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing.” Now everyone’s saying “You have to do social media!” Word of mouth is largely going un-noticed because of the focus on social