>What if you had unlimited resources to market your small business? What is the first thing you would do? I recently posed this question to several friends of mine who own or run a small business. Some went for the practical: mail outs, television Some were specific: Place as many commercials as possible at 6
>Quickies are TV’s Answer to the DVR
>If you are going to run local TV advertising, you should run it in shows that are likely to be watched live. These usually include local morning news and feature programming and local evening newscasts. The reason is you need to dodge the soon to be common DVR. But don’t press that fast forward button
>Small Business Marketing Seminar
> On Wednesday, August 15th, The Marketing Spot will be conducting a small business marketing experience for the Central Texas Business Resource Center. During this event participants will build their own small business marketing plan. If you are in the Central Texas area, I encourage you to attend. Registration information is here. My friend and
>Everyone Loves the Idea!
>It’s probably not going to be very effective. If you think you’ve got a great idea and you can’t find at least one person who doesn’t like the idea, trash it. Because it’s not going to stand out. What you have is an idea that doesn’t offend anyone. What you don’t have is a great
Dell: A Tagline is Better than a Customer Experience
The very first computer I bought after I started The Marketing Spot was a Dell. Earlier this year I purchased my last computer from Dell. But the new braniacs at Dell think that I’ll come back because they’ve got a snappy new marketing campaign and pink computers (see this article from Business Week). What they
>Ruthless Advertising
> The 33 Ruthless Rules of Local Advertising is book written for local businesses that attempts to guide you through the perils local advertising into a shiny new world of advertising success. How does it do? What It IsWhile most of this book is standard advertising advice, 33 Ruthless Rules does an excellent job in
The Sweet Spot of Small Business Marketing
You’re stuck. You’re a (insert your specialty here) business owner trying to be a marketing director. You know what you’re doing, but people don’t seem to know what you’re doing. To all your admiring friends around you, you are the expert plumber/accountant/locksmith. But your dream of the ultimately successful business has not materialized the way you
>iAbstain
>Just about everybody in marketing has written a blog about a certain new phone by a certain big name company teaming up with another big name wireless provider. iHave decided not to follow suit. What iWould like to blog about is everybody else blogging about this certain new phone, which iChoose not to name (even
>Access Access Access
>Have you ever wondered why a business with a great location can’t seem to draw enough customer traffic? Access used to be all about real estate. Location, location, location was drilled into your head as the primary ingredient of success for a small business. But today, it’s access, access, access. Location is just part of
Small Business Radio Spots?
Here’s a website that promises “a new, free resource for small-business owners who want marketing tools so they can promote their businesses effectively with radio advertising.” While I agree that radio can be a cost-effective marketing tool for small businesses, the examples at this site are not examples to mimic. First, most are not very