> Intimidation is keeping small businesses from using social media as a marketing tool. There are so many choices and things seem so complicated. Let’s simplify by selecting what you should you use and how should you use it. What is Social Media? Social media are the online social tools that everyday people use to
>Business Book Survey
> I’m doing some research on business books and would like your feedback. To encourage you to participate I will randomly give away some books to some of the participants in the survey. I frequently receive business books from authors and PR firm wanting me to blog about them. I simply don’t have time to
Forget What You Know, Because You’re Cursed
Your marketing is hampered by what you know. You’ve spent years and years working on your dream and acquiring knowledge. All that hard work has given you a curse. It’s called the curse of knowledge and it’s bad for marketing. Let’s explore why that is and what to do about it. Trial and error has
Marketing Project: Intentional Congruence
With very little forethought, small businesses jump into advertising. Usually, an advertising campaign is a reaction to; slow business, market conditions, being sold by a media rep, pressure from employees, or a wild hair. Rather, your advertising should be a product of what Nido Qubein calls intentional congruence. With a plan, all your marketing communications
The Importance of Taglines in Branding
A tagline is an important part of branding. It can be your best brand communication tool, if done right. However, you don’t need a tagline to have a successful brand. Some great brands such as Google and Zappos don’t use a tagline. What Taglines Do Good taglines perform three important functions for your brand: They
Is there innovation in the way in which an innovation is communicated to the world?
Guest Post by Jim Morris If you develop a truly innovative product or service, the world isn’t familiar with it. No one knows that it exists. The barrier of the unknown needs to be obliterated. This can only be done through communication. But does communication about innovation need to be innovative itself? Certainly, creativity comes
A Marketing Strategy That’s as Simple as A-B-C
Guest Post by Randy Vaughn A comprehensive marketing strategy includes two parts, as simple as A-B-C. Actually we’ll move the order around and say marketing is composed of these essentials: B – Branding CA — Customer Action Branding is a collection of values, ideas, personality, and history – what you are saying about yourself and
Between Selfish Giving and Doing Good: 7 Tips for Authentic Cause Marketing
Guest Post by Judy Dunn Cause marketing. American Express coined the word in 1983 with its campaign to raise funds for the Statue of Liberty’s facelift. But have you noticed what’s been going on lately? The big companies have figured something out. They know we want cool stuff—all the latest products—but we need to feel
>Across the Street
> Guest Post by Becky McCray Across the street from my store is a huge building, a former grocery store. It’s much larger than my little liquor store. I dream of taking it over, of building the ultimate wine bar and liquor store. I imagine the huge shelves, the amazing displays, the tasting bar, the
Keeping Customers: The Key to Customer Retention
What are you doing to keep your customers? In a tough economy, businesses focus on holding on to what they have. Some popular tactics are to offer discounts, add-ons and more services. An expensive and ineffective approach. That’s because customer retention is really a function of customer loyalty. And loyalty is an emotion stoked by