Gone are the days when you could tell the customer what to read, think or buy. The customer has his/her ideas about everything including what and where to  buy. They aren’t listening to us very much.
Case in point: many businesses are putting their newspaper ads on Facebook–you know the discount ads. When these are put on [...]

Customer service means getting it right for your customer in every aspect of the transaction, including your written communication. I’m amazed at how many things are sent out with misspellings—including my own, I might add! Sometimes it happens, but it still says a lot about you and your connections with your customers.
While I was driving [...]

The other day I was driving on a major highway and noticed a billboard on my right. I don’t slow down for billboards, unless I’m planning on being the accident of the day, but this one made me laugh. I decided to get off at the exit and make a second pass at it.
The billboard was [...]

Philip never ceases to amaze me with his ingenuity, because marketing is always changing, and so I thought he might have some ideas for us. Here’s Part 2 of my interview with my creative friend, Philip. If you haven’t already, check out Part 1.
Sometimes it’s hard to see beyond your own doors. Philip, what ideas do you [...]

Manage the brand. Your company is a brand. You may also have a portfolio of products that are also brands. All brands are a reflection of a positioning in the minds of customers and others who interact with them. The brand comes with a promise. The promise must be reliable and true to earn repeat [...]

Check out this list of marketing tactics.

Print Advertising - It makes sense, within the context of an integrated marketing campaign, to promote your company and successes. Start with an evaluation of local/regional publications such as business journals, newspapers and select industry magazines. Understand that circumstances may arise when you will want to place advertising in support [...]

                     
Marketing and advertising are illusions for many people. Their theory is to throw something against the wall and hope it will stick. Not so according to Alan Baker, President and Founder of Creative Marketing Concepts in Latham, New York. Alan, a guest on my radio show indysmallbiz.com, gave me the scoop on what it takes to [...]

                     
All of a sudden retro commercials seem to be in. The latest Geico commercial, “Do dogs chase cats“ features a car chase (the photos look like old sepia print) with old cars and the old adage about dogs chasing cats. If you’re like me, you’re not only looking at the cats and dogs, but you’re [...]

It seems that when times are tough, businesses go looking for new customers; the  cost of acquisition can be quite high. If you want to know how much it costs, just take the cost of your ads and your commercials and divide by the number of people who buy from you. Don’t fool yourself by counting [...]

As mentioned in our “Enhanced Environment” series, specifically the post “Will You Remove Your World Lenses?“, the potential use and abuse of modifying our perception of reality is becoming more and more real on a regular basis. Brought to our attention via the “Spark of Genius Series” from Microsoft BizSpark on Mashable, the GoldRun iPhone [...]