During difficult economic times when business is down, the overwhelming temptation is to trim everything often by a set percentage across the board. This is a natural, yet misguided impulse. When a business owner or manager tells me, “We have no choice but to trim our marketing budget,” I ask what he or she considers [...]

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Your List is . . . Everything?

Your mailing list (or e-mail list) is everything! 
 I know this sounds like an overstatement, but consider this.
Your list is your customer database.  The names on this list are the record, so to speak, of your business.  They are certainly the most valuable asset of your business.  “But,” you may argue, [...]

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I deal with a great many business in a variety of fields and find that a distressing number of the people consider many things and miss one of the most critical elements in that decision.
Businesses in trouble often run hither and thither trying solutions again ignoring this critical element.
That critical element?  Market Research!
Anyone, at the [...]

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As a business owner you likely think of all the features your product/s or services offer.  Too often businesses will focus on the features of their product or service.  Perhaps they even extol them in great detail … only to have the listener’s eyes glaze over.  The business person may KNOW that the potential customer [...]

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Success in business does not simply “happen,” nor does hard work on or in a business, alone, guarantee success.  Several of the foundational building blocks are of vital importance for a business’s success.  One of the most important is the “business mindset” of the founders, owners, and managers.  It is an essential part of branding.
Of [...]

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As you likely already know, I am a devoted fan to the subject of testing — testing everything.
For those who have never done much testing, this may seem very cumbersome and daunting at times though it shouldn’t be.  Of course, you should test every aspect of your business and marketing–your business cards, brochures, service, products, [...]

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Seth Godin is one of my favorite bloggers.  He always puts out his best stuff and does so regularly.  One of his recent blogs is really on the subject of personal integrity.  He said you should only produce something if it is your best.  He has the proper answer to “good” or “good enough.”
If your [...]

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Anything difficult to read won’t be! … read, that is!
When you see something that is too difficult to read, what do you, yourself, do?  If your are like most of us, you skip over it or promise yourself you will read it “later” when you “have more time.”  Of course, “later” rarely happens.
Let’s each examine [...]

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Often, we as marketers or business people with the responsibility of sales and marketing are very puzzled by the apparent irrational behavior of customers.  We are amazed by the way customers can ignore compelling logic, irrefutable facts and figures and take a completely illogical action.
Of course, it appears illogical to those of us driven by [...]

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Most businesses claim to cater to the customer.   They may make a strong point in their marketing and advertising.  Unfortunately, many fall far short of that goal.  Look at some of the experiences Mr. Merholz had with major airlines.

Where do we fall short?  Usually in failing to have true customer service as a part of [...]

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