In Worth Every Penny, Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck say that small businesses should have “gush-worthy” standards, advising you to thrill loyal customers so that they will have a reason to gush about you. This sort of customer evangelism can lead directly to more sales. Just what is gush-worthiness and how do you get some?
Are your search results as good as they could be?
As I was talking to a local business owner recently, he declared that he was “#1 on Google” for his search term in Waco, Texas. Skeptical, I checked…and he was right! Even more impressive is that he did it without a big-budget website. It looked suspiciously like a build-it-yourself site. And while the site may
Making Customers Happy
Ask an entrepreneur what they sell, and you are likely to get a response with a product or service: “We sell home décor…” “…comprehensive, quality healthcare” “…heating and cooling systems.” Unfortunately, that’s not what customers want, and it’s not what makes them happy. So you are probably thinking, “Well then, I’m screwed. Because that’s what
Pleasing the Customer
What pleases the customer? When you give them something they want? Maybe. But would they be more pleased if you give them something they didn’t expect, but might love? I just finished the Steve Jobs biography . It seems Jobs was not a fan of market research. You know, those studies that try to find
Making Your Brand Worth Every Penny
All the work you have done to build your brand rests on the shoulder of one person: your employee. In their excellent new book for small boutique businesses, Worth Every Penny, Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck tell us that “without brand consistency you won’t get customer consistency.” And that consistency comes from your employees, the
Why are Personal Brands different from Business Brands?
One of the most difficult things for an entrepreneur to do is to apply their own personality to their business. In other words, to let your personal brand merge with your business brand. Every entrepreneur has a personality in real life that makes them a unique individual. But for some reason, business seems to change
PR: No Fluffy Puppies in Today’s News Rooms
You know what you won’t find in any of America’s Television newsrooms? Fluffy puppies. Oh, I’m sure the people who work in the newsrooms own some fluffy puppies, but they believe that the audience watching the news doesn’t, nor is the audience interested in seeing any fluffy puppies. photo courtesy of Patrick Hoesly ‘Fluffy puppies’
The Incomplete Guide to Pinterest Marketing for Small Business
The holy grail of marketers is to always be on the cutting edge. That means always being ready for something new. Notice I said “be ready” and not “be using.” You should be using what your customers are likely to be using. And then along comes Pinterest, which sooner or later your customers are likely
The Brand Experience Frame Makes All The Difference
The Big Idea: You don’t have a brand until until customers experience that brand. Frame your experience to deliver your brand. I know you say you have a brand. You’ve worked hard on your all your brand elements. But brands don’t happen until someone experiences something. What do your customers experience? As we’ve discussed many
Local Online Advertising: Where do you go?
**Note: Over the next few weeks The Marketing Spot will examine some of your local online advertising options. For 2012 online ad spending will increase 23%. Local online ad spending is projected to be about 20% of total ad spending this year. By 2016, eMarketer projects that online will comprise one-third of all media spending.
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