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I had the opportunity to hear Richard Branson talk recently when he was in town and love his approach to creating a strong brand. Richard has been immensely successful in carrying the "Virgin" name through his airline, record company, cell phone company and so much more (his newest venture Virgin Galactic is well worth reading about)! Related Article Tags: , , , ,
I had the opportunity to listen and speak with David Meerman Scott through a private telephone session he hosted for Duct Tape Marketing Coaches on the New Rules of Marketing and PR. Below, are some key points that may give you a fresh perspective on how to enhance your credibility online. Related Article Tags: , , , , ,
After giving a marketing presentation to a group of financial advisors, one of their very best from British Columbia got up on stage and proceeded to lay out the key strategies he believed attributed to his success. "Know Your Profitable Client, Provide Exceptional Service, Always Follow Up," he said. I sat there enjoying this live example of what marketing can do for a company or professional... when out it came. Related Article Tags: , , , ,
Is the upcoming season usually busy for you? If so, what are you doing now to maximize your results? Far too often we leave our promotional efforts until it’s too late. The next thing we know, we find ourselves scrambling at the last minute, rushing our promotions and not maximizing on the time and money we spent. Related Article Tags: , , , ,
I remember two years ago listening to a web expert predict that eventually websites would be all video instead of print. While it hasn't quite reached that extreme, it's hard to ignore the impact videos and You Tube are having as a marketing tool. As a small business owner, you may want to take a close look at this amazing tool. Related Article Tags: , , , , ,
So you have some money to spend on marketing. The big question is, how do you know what to spend it on to minimize risk and maximize return? The answer is through your balanced marketing portfolio. We all understand the importance of having a balanced financial portfolio, but what about our marketing portfolio? If we invest the bulk of our marketing in limited activities, we are putting ourselves at risk of achieving a less than desirable return on our investment. Related Article Tags: , , , , , ,
Sometimes we get so caught up in following the rules with marketing that we forget its entertainment value. However, with marketing becoming more community based than ever (thanks to the onslaught of social media channels), you 'gotta' inject some personality or you are going to have a much tougher time engaging your prospects. Related Article Tags: , , ,
Before any other marketing tools like advertising, direct mail, your website or referrals will have an impact on your business, you've got to uncover and communicate how your business is different from every other business that says they do what you do. You've got to get out of the commodity business. You've got to stake your claim on a simple idea or position in the mind of your prospective clients. In other words, you've got to create and bring to life a powerful personal marketing message. Related Article Tags: , , , ,
As entrepreneurs, we are usually great at coming up with ideas to promote our business. We know that it's not rocket science, and yet we struggle time and time again getting our ideas off the ground. This isn't really surprising because on top of wearing our marketing hat, we are also wearing our operational, financial, IT and HR hats. Yet when we look at all the different roles we have to play in our businesses, it is truly our sales and marketing hat that can fast track our business to the next level. Related Article Tags: , , , , , ,
Social bookmarking is a cool concept that allows you to save bookmarks to websites you find interesting or useful. It's a great idea from a personal standpoint because you can access your favourite bookmarks from any computer. But how can social bookmarking help your business? Related Article Tags: , , , , , , ,
Business cards can be a great inexpensive marketing tool for a small business. They say exactly what you do and give people all the contact information they need to get a hold of you. Yet oddly enough we tend to use them only for networking, and even then, we aren't really sure if people are holding on to them. Related Article Tags: , , ,
A lot of times with referrals we think that if we have this base of clients and they can refer us, then we will have more clients who will refer us and so on and so on too. But you know this isn't what really happens in your business, does it? If you think about where your referrals have really come from, no doubt a handful of people come to mind (if you are lucky)! So why is it that some people refer us and some people don't? There are many factors that come into play that make someone a good referral source. Related Article Tags: , , , , ,
As business owners and entrepreneurs we can be our own worst enemies. Firstly, we are overly passionate about what we do, and secondly we are highly critical about what we deliver in terms of our product or service. The first is dangerous because we can be so passionate that we just can't understand WHY people aren't buying from us. The latter only adds to the problem, because when they do buy, we are hesitant to ask for customer feedback .... in case we didn't meet expectations. Related Article Tags: , , , , , ,
I was having a conversation with another marketer about the most common question we get asked lately. The question is, "what is the ROI for Social Media?" Face it. You are getting asked to post on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, You Tube and your blog and want to know if it really pays off. Now I could tell you success stories after success stories of sales results from companies, or I could tell you about the referral power, collaboration and credibility building that you get from these sites. We could dive deep into the Search Engine Optimization benefits, but I might leave a few of these topics for future articles. Related Article Tags: , , , ,
I had to laugh at my 18 year old son the other day when he couldn't connect with a friend because his cell phone was down and he wasn't on Facebook. This friend might as well not exist, in my son's world. I suggested he look up the family phone number in the phonebook which my son thought was absolute "genius," (a rare complement as many of you with kids this age know). I went to grab the phonebook for him, because I knew he had no idea where this book lives, but alas he had already found it online.. Related Article Tags: , , , , ,
Here is the thing with planning and goal setting. It’s fun, especially when done at the 50,000 foot level that entrepreneurs love. However, somehow these great ideas need to be realistically achieved or you are simply setting yourself up for failure. Related Article Tags: , , , ,
As a marketer, I find this topic overwhelms and confuses many business owners. Quite frankly, even in the marketing world - the jury is still out on the trends. But rest assured - social media is not going away. As our children grow up and take over corporate North America, the names of the tools may change, but the overall usage will only become more and more in use. Related Article Tags: , , , , ,
So if all marketing tools can work, how can this be? Far too often people treat their marketing like a one hit wonder. Someone tells them a certain marketing initiative was highly effective for them and off they go to try the marketing idea of the week. But alas, they don’t get the same result. This is because they are practicing one-dimensional marketing. Related Article Tags: , , ,
Spurred by an abundance of product, the internet, a higher demand for solid products and a general cynicism of name brands, TRYSUMERS are transient, experienced consumers who are becoming more daring in how and what they consume. Where lack of choice and distribution channels in the past made it simpler to market and sell to prospects, today small business owners need to EARN the trust and credibility of this new breed of consumer by allowing them to TRY before they BUY. Related Article Tags: , , , , ,
In this article, I have compiled a set of Stephen Covey quotes that are specific to a person ready to take charge of his own life. I explained in detail how you can apply them in your life to achieve your goals faster. Related Article Tags: , , ,
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