So, you want to build a brand? Then stop listening to the people and start looking inward. Because branding is not about market research and what other people think, branding is about you. Being True Heresy, you say? Honesty, I say. If your business, and your brand, is to be sustainable, it must be true.
>Spot On! This Week’s Best Marketing Advice
> Here are some of the week’s best small business marketing blog posts. They are categorized by the four spots of The Marketing Circle of Life. Enjoy and be educated. Conversation: What’s On Your WOM List? by David Armano at Logic + Emotion. In a simplistic kind of way, I like to think that word
>Why You Can’t Advertise Your Way to Success
> Forget about advertising your way to success. It won’t work. At least not in the long run. Here are the reasons. PreconceptionYour customers live in two different worlds. The first is the world of preconception. That’s the picture you paint of your business through advertising. The problem is, it’s not usually reality. By nature,
Tools vs. Toys: Your Marketing Arsenal
I’m an addicted Twitter user, but it’s my marketing toy. There some marketing tactics that work harder than others. But which ones? Here’s my recommended list. Marketing Tools Your Brand – Having a defined brand image sets the foundation for all your marketing efforts. It gives you focus and clarity. A strong brand makes it
Build Your Marketing Plan
At The Marketing Spot, my mission is to give power to the small business. I want you to not just survive, but thrive against big business competition. A well-crafted marketing plan is essential, because marketing is the great equalizer for a small business. A marketing plan changes the status quo. But where do you start?
>Social Media Marketing for Business
> Episode #19 of the Power to the Small Business podcast. The Internet show about small business marketing. Can social media be used as a marketing tool for your business? Many social media evangelists say yes. That may not be necessarily so for the small business. The first challenge is to navigate the confusing social
>Spot On! This Week’s Best Marketing Advice
> Here are some of the week’s best small business marketing blog posts. They are categorized by the four spots of The Marketing Circle of Life. Enjoy and be educated. Photo Credit: Mykl Roventine Branding: Silly Wabbit, Brands Aren’t Just for Customers by Amber Naslund on Altitude Branding. Cutting prices is not a good way
The Function of Word of Mouth
There’s rarely enough conversation about the function of word of mouth and it’s relationship to customer loyalty. But there’s even less talk about the customer experience and customer loyalty. If you watched the video of word of mouth ideas I posted earlier this week, you may have noticed a common thread: the customer experience. I’ve
Igniting Word of Mouth: Four Hot Ideas From SWOMfest
Word of Mouth is often called the most powerful form of advertising. Yet few businesses have a plan to generate word of mouth. While at SWOMfest in Austin last week, I rounded some of the big names in marketing and asked them: How can small businesses inject some word of mouth into their marketing plan?
>Spot On! This Week’s Best Marketing Advice
> Here are some of the week’s best small business marketing blog posts. They are categorized by the four spots of The Marketing Circle of Life. Enjoy and be educated. Promotion: Blogs versus Websites: What’s the Difference? by James Chartrand at Men With Pens. There’s a misconception surrounding blogs and websites. Many people still believe