Marketing Articles About Customers Search Results

1. Google, P&G Conduct Labor-Swap. Online search/ad giant Google and home product conglomerate Procter & Gamble have arranged an employee swap to learn more about how each communicates with customers. From January 2008, select...

   

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2. Email Marketing Solutions For Gardening Centers. Email marketing solutions will help your gardening center maintain customer loyalty in a fast paced spring and summer season. And I don't have to tell you about how much competition you are up against... (11/19/08 09:00 AM)

3. DealerRater.com Allows Customers To Share Their Car Buying Experiences. What is the difference between an idea and a business? Action. If you don’t take any action on your idea, it remains just an idea. If you do take action, you have the potential of growing a business. Chip Grueter, the President of DealerRater.com is a doer. Car shopping can be a [...]
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4. Five Ways to Win Over Customers.

   

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5. Raising Capital from Customers.

   

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6. Seven Ways to Woo the 'Aspirational' Luxury Customer. Ongoing economic uncertainty has made aspirational luxury customers more selective about what they purchase than ever. "Aspirationals" are aggressively prioritizing discretionary spending, purchasing a select few emotionally charged luxury items but buying everything else at mass or "masstige" outlets. Companies that want to continue to profit from aspirational customers must make their brands accessible and relevant to them by taking their lifestyles into consideration and meeting them half way. Here are seven tips to draw out aspirationals, just in time for the holidays. (11/18/08 09:00 AM)

7. Promote Your Business through Promotional Items. Promote Your Business through Promotional Items Abstract: Promotional items are products that are intended to be gifted to customers, prospective customers and employees with the aim of creating a ... (11/18/08 09:00 AM)

8. Three Key Tips to Minimize Email-List Churn. It's a fact of list life: You're always going to lose a chunk of your email list to bounces, unsubscribes, and spam complaints. In the past, you might have just shrugged off this loss?typically 30 percent or more annually?because you were able to acquire new subscribers at a much higher rate than what you lost. But your ability to do so might be getting tougher now. With consumers getting pickier about whom they want to receive email from, along with the growing constraint caused by consumer and business spending cutbacks and the prospect of tightened marketing budgets, it's more important than ever to focus on retaining your subscribers and customers. These three strategies can help y (11/18/08 09:00 AM)

9. Crispin Now Taking On iPod?. It seems Microsoft is enjoying hanging out with the cool kids. While reviews of Crispin Porter + Bogusky's "I'm a PC" campaign for Microsoft have ranged from the brilliant to the banal, it seems its $300 million client is nothing less than ...

   

   
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10. Building Trust with Transparency. Fast Interview: The co-author of "Tactical Transparency" on how companies can use authenticity and social media tools to reinforce their brands and create relationships with customers.

    

    
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11. Web Writing Made Easy - 3 Helpful Tips for Non-Writers. Are you a webmaster who is often asked to write content for the websites you manage? Maybe you're tasked to create new content for the company where you work, or for your web design clients? If so, th... (11/17/08 09:01 AM)

12. Study: CMOs Must Evolve to Meet New Marketing Challenges. The growing popularity of interactive tools like wikis, blogs and social networks gives customers the ability to engage with firms as never before, and global marketers must put users at the center...

    

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13. High Visibility on the Net. Those of you who are interested in receiving more customers on the net may think about looking into ebridge by calling 800.222.5529. This is a great way to get into contact with an Internet Marketing... (11/16/08 09:00 AM)

14. Win Them Over With Promotional Leather Products. Promotional leather products are incredibly nice things to give away to your customers. This is because they are sophisticated looking, making them appetizing to customers and they are easily customis... (11/15/08 09:00 AM)

15. Branded Lights Get the Message Across. If you operate a store of some kind, then you know how important branded lights are. They are those lights that showcase what it is you're offering. They are what get the customers attention to turn t... (11/15/08 09:00 AM)

16. Help Them See the Light With Promotional Lens Spray. A lot of your customers wear eyeglasses, which gives you another promotional opportunity that you probably didn't realize you have. What many businesses don't realize is that they can take certain sit... (11/15/08 09:00 AM)

17. Win Their Hearts With Promotional Pocket Knives. If you really want to win over the hearts of your customers, then you have got to get them something that will literally make them want to jump up and down. You have to present them with a promotional... (11/15/08 09:00 AM)

18. A Promotional Lightswitch Cover is a Unique Promotion Tool. Promotional items come in many different forms. Some of them can be rather surprising, but the important thing is that the promotional item being used is an item that can be used by the customers in t... (11/15/08 09:00 AM)

19. NewsGator's Star Shines Bright.

    If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know I've been an investor in NewsGator since it was one person (Greg Reinacker - the founder).  We had a board meeting yesterday (I'd guess it is my 25th or so NewsGator board meeting) and it was the best one yet.  I'm incredibly proud of the NewsGator gang - they've really hit their stride and have created a real company that is an clear market leader.

    One of the things that I love about NewsGator is their focus on building software that their customers actually want.  While they have one of the highest quality software engineering teams that I've ever worked, we all know that isn't enough to produce great software that humans actually use.  The extended NewsGator team - including the product folks, sales folks, support, marketing, and executive team - are obsessed with their customers in a way that puts them far ahead of most other software companies. 

    Craig Cmehil (a technology / community evangelist at SAP) describes this better than I ever could in his blog post titled How I Got SAP to Open Their Doors and Start an Epidemic!  In it, he walks through in detail how his relationship with NewsGator evolved from introduction to evaluation to negotiation to development to deployment.  Craig - thanks for the shoutout, support, and enthusiasm - you are an example of the customer that every company dreams about working with.

    

    
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20. Fine Dining and an Email Marketing Program. Your customers sometimes need to be reminded why your fine dining establishment is their preferred one. And, it will only take you a few minutes to get their attention. An email marketing program can ... (11/14/08 09:00 AM)

21. Attract New Biz In A Lagging Economy. Get Entrepreneurial: Have your phones stopped ringing yet? The economy is lagging and dragging. We’ve felt the effects in the United States. Now we’re seeing global implications. Here are eight “Killer Steps” to Attracting New Business in a Lagging Economy: 1. Broaden Your Perspective 2. Be Nimble and Innovative 3. Dazzle Your Current Customers 4. Prioritize Wisely 5. Become an Expert 6. Stay [...]
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22. Marketing Best Practices- Sure Ways to apply Marketing in Joint Ventures . Customers do not want to sell, they want to buy. Having said that, there is an imperative need to make get the target customer to completely understand the product before letting them spend their ... (11/12/08 09:01 AM)

23. Marketing Overwhelm: A Curable Disease. It's Monday and you get an email indicating that writing an ezine is THE way to get new clients. You drop everything and start working on an email newsletter.

    It's Tuesday and your friend calls ... (11/12/08 09:01 AM)

24. How to use Marketing for your Joint Ventures . To date, there would be thousands of definitions of marketing. However, most marketing gurus say that the best ones are focused on customer orientation, need ... (11/12/08 09:01 AM)

25. Marketing Ideas For The Ho-Ho-Ho-lidays!. Small Business Trends: I’m not a big fan of Christmas and Year-end Holiday cards. They are not only expensive, but boring and predictable. Every year I look for creative marketing ideas that won’t break the bank, but will break through the clutter that my poor clients are dealing with. This year, I thought it would be fun to [...]
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26. Going Green: Moving Printed Newsletters, Statements, and Promotions to Email. In this day and age, one could say that green is the new black. More than ever, consumers are engaged in environmentally sound practices. And companies can easily leverage this "green" trend to not only show their customers their concern with the global environment but also reduce the continually increasing cost of the direct mail process. (11/11/08 09:00 AM)

27. Point of Purchase Marketing: Capturing Your Audience When it Counts. As the digital world grows and expands on a seemingly daily basis, many companies, large and small, are finding that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make a personal connection with clients. T... (11/11/08 09:00 AM)

28. Agency.com Takes iCrossing to Court for 'Employee Raiding'. Omnicom's Agency.com has filed suit against digital ad firm iCrossing, insinuating the latter poached a number of major executives and clients, reports the Wall Street Journal. $19.5 million in...

    

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29. My1Stop Makes It Your Last Stop For All Of Your Printing Needs. There are quite a few printing options available around the internet. Each business has at least one special trait that they hold claim to which helps them draw in their customer base. Some offer lower than average pricing, others offer higher than average quality, while one business might be more flexible then the [...]
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30. Ad:tech Roundtable: State of the Media and Advertising Industry. Today at Adtech’s roundtable on the state of the industry, Tina Sharkey, Chairman and Global President of BabyCenter; Rob Norman, CEO of Group M Interaction; David Morris, Chief Client Officer of CBS Interactive; and Rob Master, North American ...

    

    
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31. I Didn’t Know You Did That. This content from: Duct Tape Marketing I Didn’t Know You Did That So, honestly now, have you ever heard the words in the title to this post from a long-time customer? We all have, I’m afraid, and shame on us. When a customer becomes a customer, it’s usually to purchase a specific product or solve a specific problem. [...] (11/06/08 09:00 AM)

32. Starbucks to Offer Free Coffee on Election Day. The WSJ covers this year’s best voting perk: Starbucks plans to offer a complimentary size tall cup of brewed coffee to anyone who votes Tuesday. In an advertisement that first aired during NBC’s Saturday Night Live this weekend, the coffee chain says customers just need to come in and say that they voted in order to [...] (11/03/08 09:04 PM)

33. 8 Tips for Selling Social Marketing to CFOs. Marketers are usually challenged to justify word of mouth social media marketing programs to the finance department. With economic challenges ahead, your job doesn’t get easier. As someone who’s focuses on both creative and measurement, and as Interim CFO at Bazaarvoice, I started thinking more about the question of what marketers need to sell CFOs on the social marketing opportunity. Ultimately everything comes down to the bottom line – drive revenue, margin or costs down – but every marketing strategy has a different familiarity, timeline to ROI, or measurements that have to tie back to the P&L. So the approach to start, grow and sustain social marketing through the eyes of the finance department will differ from doing business as usual. And the justification needs to span beyond the numbers to get the entire management team to understand the ‘ecosystem’ effect of how customers make purchase decisions in a networked world.I posed a question on LinkediN question to my marketing peers and colleagues: With the economic downturn, how will you convince the CFO that "social" marketing is a priority?I’ve summarized the 25 answers to the question into these 8 tips: Provide financial leaders with hard facts—give numbers representing the anticipated dollar value of social media marketing compared to its cost (ex: anticipated ROI) for your company, cite research on the proven effectiveness of social media (ex: reviews/testimonials turn potential customers into actual customers, which is crucial, especially during an economic downturn) and emphasize that a company should always aim to... (11/02/08 09:00 AM)

34. Boost Biz When Sales Are Slow. Fortune Small Business: Q: I need a balance in my business. Some months I am swamped. Other months I have nothing. How can I market my services so that work comes in steadily, but slowly enough for me to handle each client with utmost care? Should I advertise a lot and put clients on a waiting [...]
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35. Copywriting Services And Freelance Writers Who Make Clients Money. With thousands of copywriting services and freelance writers to pick from, it can be tough figuring out which ones can really make you money -- and which ones won't. Below is a simple "3-second for... (10/30/08 09:00 PM)

36. Anti-Charity.

    I was talking to Andrew Hyde over at the Boulder.me Job Fair and a few of the folks I ran into busted my chops (in a good way) about my publicly declared jihad on my weight.  For those of you that have commented - thanks - the encouragement, support, and suggestions have been great.

    I've started a group competition on Gyminee called Overweight Boys In Boulder.  The competition is to lose the most % body weight before 1/31/09.  The losers buy the winner a super healthy meal at Leaf (and we all have a party together).  Micah has suggested he's going to kick my ass, but I think his odds were better in the sushi eating contest that occurred recently.

    While I was talking to Andrew, he mentioned an idea I hadn't heard before called anti-charity that appears to have some fans on the web.  The idea is brilliant - you make a public commitment to a goal along with a contribution to a charity you are opposed to if you don't achieve your goal.

    For example, if I don't get below 200 pounds by 1/31/09, I'm going to donate $100 in my name to ProLife.com.  It's a cynical, but awesome motivational tool.

    

    
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37. Credit Line Profiling: Right or Wrong?. From NPR: Credit card companies are trying to cut the credit lines of many customers. And they’re looking well beyond payment history — to who holds their mortgage, even where they shop. Customers are outraged, but card issuers say they are simply managing risk in tough economic times. The rest of the radio show goes something [...] (10/28/08 09:00 PM)

38. 6 Ways To Attract Customers And Keep Them Coming Back. No matter what area of business you are in, if you don’t have customers than your business will eventually fail. That’s why it is so important to present yourself and your product in a way which will not only attract the demographic you seek, but inspire them to come back again. Here are 6 examples [...]
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39. Customers Are Your Most Effective Sales Force. This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Customers Are Your Most Effective Sales Force Happy, educated, results oriented customers are the greatest sales force you can employ. You’ve probably experienced that in some manner by way of a referred lead or two. What I would like to suggest is a systematic way to willingly involve your customers as motivated [...] (10/27/08 09:00 AM)

40. It's The Ride That Counts.

    I spent the past 10 days on the road in a bunch of different cities (New York, Bar Harbor, Boston, Westford, New York again, Tysons Corner, Alexandria, Owings Mills) doing a bunch of different things (stuff with MIT, our LPs, our companies, some friends, my partner Jason, Amy, and myself).  As is my typical fashion, I didn't pay much attention to the news while I was traveling - allowing myself one read through the headlines each day as part of my morning routine.  This left my brain pretty clear to concentrate on the things I was doing and pick up the nuances of how people were thinking and feeling based on what they were saying and doing.

    There is clearly an enormous amount of anxiety in the system on all dimensions.  Based on the topics that came up regularly, I'd attribute this to the election + the credit crisis + the economic downtown + the massive movements of stocks, bonds, and oil + fear about the future + the endless amount of information bombarding everyone with opinions and predictions.

    I arrived home last night to a pile of old stuff on my desk, including some letters that I had written 20+ years ago, as a result of Amy's recent push to "clean out all the junk in her files."  One of them was from March 14, 1988 to my dad that made me smile since even at 23 years old, I'd figured out that it's the ride that counts.  Following is the letter - the italics are my annotations from today.

    Dear Dad:

    I remember a sunny summer day about ten years ago (I would have been about 13).  We were driving to Fort Worth in a white corvette (my mom's car - my mom was really cool, even back then).  You were about to deposit me at the Tut Bartzen tennis camp (I was a serious junior tennis player and Tut Bartzen was my summer sojourn for training).  We chatted about the upcoming week as we zipped down the highway.  I was excited about seven days of non-stop tennis; you were probably excited about seven days of not having to deal with me.  However, for that moment, we simply enjoyed the ride.

    I've learned from you that it's the ride that counts.  Today, I'm hanging out in my "eighties apartment" (at 23 I lived on the 19th floor of The Devonshire in downtown Boston), with my lovely wife (first wife - she turned out to be not so lovely to me), playing the academician (I had just gotten into the MIT Ph.D. program and apparently thought of myself as an academician instead of an entrepreneur at that point, even though I was both), paying my own way (always a high value in a jewish family - I was covering everything, including all my school expenses), and simply enjoying the ride.  Without you, I might actually think some of this stuff was important.  But I've learned from you that only the ride counts.

    Its been a long strange trip, hasn't it...  From Spring Creek (my elementary school) to M.I.T.  From Betty Wonderly (my favorite high school teacher - Biology) to Arzell Ball (a R.I.S.D. superintendent I had a huge public confrontation with my senior year because of his lack of respect for AP classes).  From E.V. Scott (my first mentor) to Richard Weinstein (one of the early Feld Technology clients).  From BAFB (Blytheville Airforce Base - where I was born) to 1 Devonshire Place (where I was living at the time).  From Apple II (my first computer) to Fiverstar AT (apparently I was very excited about my IBM AT clone, which was a 80286 based machine for those of you that don't remember or know what AT means).  From Nike (the running shoes I wore in high school) to Reebok (the running shoes I apparently wore at age 23).  From Jack Kramer Autographs (my first tennis racquet) to Futabaya (the tennis racquet I finished up with before I retired at age 15).  From the Bowie Mustangs (back when I was a soccer player in 2nd grade) to the Dallas Marathon (my first marathon - in 1983).  From "See Dick Run" (an early read) to "The Society of the Mind" (MIT related Marvin Minsky nerd food).  What a great ride.  Thanks for being there every mile - I wouldn't have wanted to do it without you.

    Love, Bradley

    Remember, it's the ride that counts.  Get some rest and let go of your anxiety, fear, and anger.  Look forward to every minute of this interesting journey we call life.  And - if your dad is still alive, write him a letter; regardless of your relationship today it'll make him happy.

    

    
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41. British Pub Unveils £1 “Credit Crunch Lunch”. Dear American pub owners everywhere, Please, please take a hint from the report below (Ananova): One resourceful pub landlord has decided to tackle the credit crisis by pricing all the meals on his menu at just £1 - and it’s working. …customers are flooding in and trade is flourishing, says Tony Rabbits who runs the Four Crosses in [...] (10/23/08 09:00 AM)

42. Legal Lexicon for an Economic Meltdown.

    Today's special guest post is from Sarah Reed of Lowenstein Sandler PC.  Sarah is a good friend and collaborator with my partner Jason on the NVCA Model Legal Document task force.  She also has a wicked sense of humor.  After sitting through ten days of meetings hearing a variety of VC-lingo tossed around as though it was LA-trendy-speak (seriously dude), I was amused to get the following unsolicited email from Sarah with a guest post attached. 

    While Sarah's post is on the gloomy side of the optimism / pessimism coin, Sarah's vocabulary builder covers a bunch of words and phrases that are once again becoming trendy.  Ignore them - and their implications - at your own peril.  And don't forget - make sure you keep your sense of humor and always carry a towel with you wherever you go.

    As Brad has noted, the blogosphere is abuzz with lectures from VCs to their portfolio companies – ranging the gamut from scolding to spirit-boosting. Clearly, they are on to this much: we are in the midst of what our children’s elementary school teachers have trained us to recognize as a “teachable moment.” I’m a business lawyer, so I’m all about Brad’s message “let’s get practical.” Here then let me pile on with some vocabulary you should probably learn, if you don’t know it already – and, being a lawyer, I can’t resist the urge to equivocate a bit: while the words themselves are a bit of a buzz-kill, you can hum the lesson – “fun!” (everyone knows the ABC tune).

    So come and hum along with me:

    A is for “ABC” or Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors: a state law statutory remedy in which a company is liquidated by an appointed independent trustee. It is cheaper and faster than a bankruptcy court proceeding, but affords similar protections in that it insulates officers and directors from creditor claims of unfair treatment.

    B is for Bankruptcy Proceedings: both kinds: chapter 7, where the company is liquidating, and chapter 11, where the company “reorganizes” in order to continue as a going concern, or position itself for a sale of the company as a whole by getting out from under burdensome contractual responsibilities.

    C is for Cartage Costs: additional payments by VCs to dispose of the corpse of a company, in extreme cases, as when the company has unpaid wages for which the directors may be personally liable.

    D is for Down Round: expect this to simply be a synonym for “follow-on financing” for some period of time. Oh, did you miss the metatags in the Sequoia slides? “Reset your expectations, entrepreneurs.”

    E is for Escrow (of Shut-Down Costs): wages, accrued PTO, tax liabilities – if you have enough money to cover ‘em, and failure is an option, set the funds aside now. Otherwise, see “Cartage Costs.”

    F is for Furlough: send the employees home for an unpaid “break” -- see “Quality Time.” Find out what your state law permits

    G is for Going Chapter: advice to VC directors – don’t even think about it. The bankruptcy trustee’s job is to look for assets: the company’s best asset may be its D&O policy, and so the trustee may be highly motivated to find a cause of action against the directors and officers.

    H is for Hail Mary Pass: the company has 75 days of cash, no suitors, and weary inside investors. But you’ve already hired the banker, and you have not completely exhausted your rolodex of other VCs who might be willing to take a look. Are you at legal risk if you do anything other than just calling it quits now? Probably not – even a small (but legitimate) chance of an outcome that preserves some value in the company is probably worth the try.

    I is for Independent Director: oh, now you wish you’d found one earlier. If you are lucky enough to have one or more, let them form an independent committee to vote on the Down Round (see above), so that the transaction, if ever questioned, will not be evaluated under the higher “entire fairness” standard of judicial review.

    J is for Jerk: ok, now stop beating up on yourself. You knew when you went into this that not only is failure an option, it is a significant part of the business model of backing start-ups.

    K is for Key Engineers: if your exit plan is to sell technology/IP, recognize that it may be worthless without the people who know how to deploy it, and hence you may want to provide them with some type of retention bonus.

    L is for The Letter: the one that Ron Conway repurposed from 2000; Ron, let’s just hope none (editors note from Brad: I’d change this to “all” - this will happen again, and again) of us live long enough for you to have to send it a third time.

    M is for Management Bonus Plan: it’s what the VCs put in place when the entire management team threatens to mutiny, upon realizing that their current stake in the company is worthless.

    N is for No: brace yourself for that response if you are looking for money – from LPs, from VCs, from customers, from venture debt lenders. Start thinking of creative ways of explaining why are different (cloud computing, on-demand services, disciplined deployment of capital, blah blah blah).

    O is for Oh Sh** Why Me?: When a Delaware company files for dissolution, it needs to name one director who will continue to serve for a year. Let it not be you.

    P is for Peace with Honor: it’s what you get when you sell the company for just enough so that all creditors are paid and the VCs get back some fraction of their money. Declare victory, go home.

    Q is for Quality Time: the silver lining in all this! Go mentor those employees you have been too busy to pay attention to these past years, take off at 4 on a weekday to see your kid’s soccer game, stop complaining and go to the gym for god’s sake!

    R is for Roll-Up: tuna fish, light mayo – it’s what you will be bringing in your bag lunch for the next twelve months, and it’s what will happen to your company if it has either 1) cash and no product or purpose or 2) a product and a market, but no cash. Put the two together, and, voila, live another day.

    S is for Severance: if you were a well-advised VC, you made sure the agreements with your PC CEO’s provided that it was not payable if the CEO’s employment was terminated as the result of the company ceasing to do business. While it is OK to pay (limited – e.g., two weeks) severance to employees, be aware that in a wind-down creditors may question large severance payments (and it makes directors look bad, too).

    T is for Terminate: the health, 401K and any other benefit plans; the phones, the bank accounts….. make a checklist so you don’t overlook anything.

    U is for Underperformer: time to identify them and ruthlessly cull them.

    V is for Voting: when you vote as a stockholder, it’s OK to be selfish and mean-spirited; when you vote as a director, remember those pesky fiduciary duties. See “Down Round.”

    W is for WARN Act: does the company have 100 or more employees (or, in CA, 75 or more employees at any time within the preceding 12 months)? If yes, be foreWARNED: this Federal law will subject you to non-trivial advance notice (aka disguised severance) obligations in the case of a shut-down or large lay-off.

    X is for X-it Strategy: If you never had one in the first place, it’s too late now – see “Underperformer.”

    Y is for Yes: you should get off of the Board when it’s pretty clear it is no longer a good use of your time – unless you fear that the other Board members will try to pin bad stuff on you, in which case you’d better stick around to review the minutes.

    Z is for Zone of Insolvency: it’s like pornography – undefinable, but you’re supposed to recognize it when it’s in your face. The case law out there on this is sufficiently complex and confusing that all I can say on this one is that, if you are really in a sweat about it, time to consult a lawyer. My direct line is 617-399-5999 and now that I’m done writing this I’m turning to updating my web bio to show my workout experience.

    

    
    (10/23/08 09:00 AM)

43. Extending and Enhancing Closed-Loop Marketing via the Mobile Channel. While mobile marketing can be invasive on its own, integration with the larger marketing campaign mix and proper tracking of customer response can ensure that customers are drawn in, rather than turned off, by mobile messages. The mobile medium has achieved staying power as a gateway for marketers to reach customers in motion. For example, SMS can serve as the initial point of contact with customers, with the intention to drive the customer somewhere (to a store, kiosk, Web site, and so on). (10/21/08 09:01 AM)

44. Four Tips for Customer-Centric Copywriting. A customer-focused approach to marketing communications applies whether you're a property manager renting out high-end vacation homes in Maine to wealthy residents of NYC, or an international high-tech company providing support to clients who rely on an enterprisewide accounting software. No matter what you sell or to whom, by framing your marketing message from the customer's point of view first?not yours?you'll craft much more targeted copy: customer-centric copy. (10/21/08 09:01 AM)

45. Marketing Champion Focused on Customer Analytics: Q&A With Paul Barsch, Marketing Director of Teradata. Paul Barsch, Marketing Director at Teradata, the business intelligence and data warehousing firm, is responsible for coordinating services engineering teams to define, build, and bring new offers to market. A self-described "information junkie" with over 15 years in marketing for information technology and consulting firms, Paul challenges all marketers to bring value to their organizations by taking the analytical path to understanding customers. (10/21/08 09:01 AM)

46. 11 Tips to Align PC and Mobile Email Design. The good news: More of your customers can read your email messages on their smartphones now, instead of waiting until they get back to a computer. The bad news: The email that looks so great on your PC may look like a garbled mess on the phone. These HTML cross-platform optimization tips can make your message render better on both PC and mobile phone. (10/21/08 09:01 AM)

47. Squeezing the Poor for Profit. On the first day of my teller training class in 1990 I learned that the bank made a boat load of money off of poor people. Particularly, those customers whose cash position was so precarious that they routinely incurred overdraft fees. I’m not sure what poverty really means in the United States, but I [...] (10/15/08 09:00 PM)

48. Survey: Flexing, Floundering or 'Just Fine Thanks': Work/Life Issues in America.

    

    
    
    
    
    

    Hey folks - shameless plug for a client/friend here - a great survey covering a topic that's near and dear to me - work/life & flexible work. Take the survey, send it to your boss and spread the word!

    Life Meets Work and Ask Liz Ryan are conducting our first annual survey: Flexing, Floundering, or 'Just Fine Thanks': Work/Life Issues in America.

    We're capturing the opinions of Americans regarding work/life challenges, the role of government in flexible work programs (that ought to be interesting!) and other such fun stuff.

    The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete. Your responses are confidential and only will be shared in aggregate. Take the Survey now.

    The results will be discussed during a webinar on October 28, 2008. To register for the Webinar, click here.

    
    (10/14/08 09:00 PM)

49. How to Be a Good Public Relations Client. Since public relations isn't done "to" a company, it's done "with" the management team or owners, there's an essentially different nature to how this kind of professional service is successfully delivered. It's much more akin to legal or medical services with the "defendants" or "patients" (read management team members) having to be deeply and consistently involved in an on-going process. As the now famous slogan coined by tech PR guru Regis McKenna goes, "PR is a process, not an event." Without that, it generally goes nowhere and the agency won't be working with that client for long. (10/14/08 09:01 AM)

50. When the Media Becomes the Marketing: Q&A With CC Chapman. While blogs and social networks seem to get most of the attention when it comes to social media talk, podcasts and videos also remain viable channels to reach and connect with an audience. CC Chapman should know, as he's been active in the blogosphere and social networking spaces for years, but was also among the first bloggers to embrace and effectively utilize podcasting as a communication and brand-building tool. Today, he continues to show his clients how they can put his knowledge to work for them via his work at The Advance Guard. CC was kind enough to talk to us about his Video and Podcasting: Making Media as Marketing session at Marketing Profs Digital Marketing Mixer, and also (10/14/08 09:01 AM)

51. Build Trust By Staying Steady In Rocky Times.

    I just got off the phone with a bank that I work with on a number of companies we have an investment in.  They are in the category of banks that aren't really impacted (at least not yet) by the current incarnation of the credit crisis because of where in the banking layer they play.

    One of the things that came up was how I feel the macroeconomic issues impact things with certain companies.  I told them I have no real clue and am paying attention to sales trends, but that I'm not getting worked up about it.  As I saw the Q3 performance numbers roll in for our portfolio companies they looked how I generally expected them to; some of our companies blew away their numbers on the upside (hard to do in Q3 since it's later in the yearly budget cycle), some missed, and some came in around where we expected them to.  There weren't any huge surprises either direction since we are deeply involved in our companies and tend to have significant granularity on how they are doing. 

    In our call, I told the folks I was talking to that I think they are generally, along with several of their peers, in a great position in the current environment.  When they asked me what I thought they should do differently, or what they should be careful not to do, I strongly suggested that they behave in the way they always have to their clients and VC partners - stay steady, transparent, clear, and direct. 

    I have a deep philosophy that the time to build trust is during turbulent, confusing, and uncertain times (aka "now").  If the bank stays steady and rational, they'll earn a lot of trust and goodwill from me, their clients, and others that will pay dividends for a long time.  If they start doing erratic things, like jacking companies around with harsh credit terms just because of fear on everyone's part (and greed on theirs) they will trample good relationships and destroy long term goodwill.

    I lived through this during the dotcom bubble.  There are some VCs and bankers that I'll never work with again due to their totally irrational behavior when the chips were down.  Consistency of behavior and clarity of thought and purpose matters a lot all the time, but especially when things are confusing.

    As we got off the phone, we all hypothesized that the root driver of all the noise (not the root cause of the problem, but the amplification of everything) is tightly coupled to the current US election cycle.  I've heard this hypothesis from others and wonder how much truth there is to it.  I'm not a political historian so I don't have a long term view on this, but I sure do remember the "It's the economy, stupid" for Bush vs. Clinton.  Hmmm.

    (10/11/08 09:00 PM)

52. Build Trust By Staying Steady In Rocky Times.

    I just got off the phone with a bank that I work with on a number of companies we have an investment in.  They are in the category of banks that aren't really impacted (at least not yet) by the current incarnation of the credit crisis because of where in the banking layer they play.

    One of the things that came up was how I feel the macroeconomic issues impact things with certain companies.  I told them I have no real clue and am paying attention to sales trends, but that I'm not getting worked up about it.  As I saw the Q3 performance numbers roll in for our portfolio companies they looked how I generally expected them to; some of our companies blew away their numbers on the upside (hard to do in Q3 since it's later in the yearly budget cycle), some missed, and some came in around where we expected them to.  There weren't any huge surprises either direction since we are deeply involved in our companies and tend to have significant granularity on how they are doing. 

    In our call, I told the folks I was talking to that I think they are generally, along with several of their peers, in a great position in the current environment.  When they asked me what I thought they should do differently, or what they should be careful not to do, I strongly suggested that they behave in the way they always have to their clients and VC partners - stay steady, transparent, clear, and direct. 

    I have a deep philosophy that the time to build trust is during turbulent, confusing, and uncertain times (aka "now").  If the bank stays steady and rational, they'll earn a lot of trust and goodwill from me, their clients, and others that will pay dividends for a long time.  If they start doing erratic things, like jacking companies around with harsh credit terms just because of fear on everyone's part (and greed on theirs) they will trample good relationships and destroy long term goodwill.

    I lived through this during the dotcom bubble.  There are some VCs and bankers that I'll never work with again due to their totally irrational behavior when the chips were down.  Consistency of behavior and clarity of thought and purpose matters a lot all the time, but especially when things are confusing.

    As we got off the phone, we all hypothesized that the root driver of all the noise (not the root cause of the problem, but the amplification of everything) is tightly coupled to the current US election cycle.  I've heard this hypothesis from others and wonder how much truth there is to it.  I'm not a political historian so I don't have a long term view on this, but I sure do remember the "It's the economy, stupid" for Bush vs. Clinton.  Hmmm.

    

    
    (10/08/08 09:00 PM)

53. Three Reasons Why Contribution > Community . I hear the word "community" from many marketing managers these days. I hear it so often it would seem every business should strive to have a community. As if community is becoming a common business objective or goal.While the concept of community -- and assumed relationship to WOM and customer loyalty -- is attractive, the realized business impact of community is a far reach for most companies. I launched a community of baby boomers back in '97. Chat and forums made Thirdage.com a community, but even within these environments, unpredictable sub-communities around topics of passion formed. That's when I realized that a community has to be founded on common interests, passions and goals. A company can create a thread of passion and community where one seemingly does not exist. Fiskars created a community around scrap bookers. Makers Mark created an effective "Ambassador" community for their bourbon whiskey that other liquor companies covet. However, as worthwhile as these communities are, I assert the vast majority of their customers neither heard of, nor participated in, nor heard from members from these communities.As such, you have to ask yourself questions before venturing into a community. How strong can your brand or products yield community? And then, how will the mechanics of that community yield significant business results? Will participation be high, or is it ok with you to host a nice online place for 500 of your most loyal customers to become members, in which only 20 participate regularly? How close is the... (10/06/08 09:00 AM)

54. Understanding & Communicating with Your Customers. It happens all too frequently with novice copywriters. In fact, many pros also make the same mistake. Telling your site visitors what you want them to know instead of what they want to hear is never... (10/02/08 09:00 AM)

55. Social media: It's all about risk, resources and rewards..

    In countless discussions about social media, digital marketing tools and "what's next," I've determined that it's critical for all marketers to put a framework around their decisions on what tools to use, when to use them and how to get started. I put these decisions into a general "3-R" framework.

    Risk: What's your tolerance?
    Whether you're catapulting your brand into the social media sphere by simultaneously starting a blog, moderating a customer community and twittering, or if you're simply monitoring social media to get a glimpse of how the world sees you, there's a certain modicum of risk involved. You need to determine how much risk you're willing to take.

    Social-media risk can manifest in the following ways:
    > Exposure to issues that you'd rather not confront in a Web-based public forum.
    > Suppliers and competitors watching your every move and your every flaw.
    > Legal ramifications of customers commenting on bugs, defects, recalls, etc.
    > Sharing control of your finely crafted brand message with passionate, yet misguided, fans.

    Organizations that are ethical, honest, have strong brands and a strong sense of self will prevail and enjoy a low-risk environment in their social media endeavors. However, if your organization is secretive, insecure and does things you wouldn't tell your mother about, then you'll likely find there's simply too much risk for you in social media.

    Resources: Do you have them?
    This is probably the number one question I hear: "What does it take to do this stuff (blogging, social media, podcasts, etc.)?" For most companies, the cost of technical resources is the least of their worries. In fact, a majority of marketers who deploy social-media campaigns find it's the least expensive part of their budget. It's much more important to have the right people in place to help with your social media efforts. Whether that's a knowledgeable person in-house or a paid consultant, human resources are the most important aspect of putting social media to work in your organization.

    Rewards: What do you expect?
    Let's be serious. The only reason we're in marketing is to pursue capitalistic rewards. If we really want to pursue social media as part of our marketing - with low risk and few resources - we can certainly have at it. In the final analysis, however, we need to show substantial rewards in order to make it worth our while.

    The ROI of social media depends on your overall goals. Most marketers define social-media rewards in the following ways:
    > An increase in Website page views from social media sources.
    > A larger network of customers and fans on social networking sites.
    > Growth in your prospect email database.
    > Increased conversation about your company on the Internet.

    When considering social media as a component of your marketing mix, remember the three R's: risks, resources and rewards. By vetting your plans against these criteria and asking the right questions, you'll be on the path to social-media success.
    

    
    (10/01/08 09:00 PM)

56. Focus on Things Under Your Control.

    I've got a little end of day advice for everyone out there that is getting whipsawed around by all the craziness in the financial markets.  While this is aimed at entrepreneurs, it applies to everyone. 

    Focus on things under your control.

    When I was a teenager, my dad said something to me that has stuck with me and informs many of the decisions I make and things I decide to spend my time on.  He said something like "Brad - if you want to change the world, start with the 2% you know best."

    Now, this doesn't mean "don't be curious."  It doesn't mean "don't learn new things."  And it doesn't mean "don't try new things."  However, it does mean "don't get distracted by all the things you don't know, or can't influence."

    This is especially important when confusing and chaotic things are happening all around us.  Since I've returned from vacation in England, I've been asked numerous times what I think of the current financial crisis, how it impacts entrepreneurship and venture capital, and what the government should do about it.  In general, my answer has been "I have no clue."  Now - I have some very specific ideas about how it might impact some of the companies we are investors in - especially if the macroeconomy continues to deteriorate.  But I know enough to know that I can't actually predict what's going to happen nor can I influence the macro stuff at all.

    As a result, rather than get all spun up about what's happening minute by minute in Washington or in the financial markets, I concentrate on making sure that the companies I'm an investor in are thinking through the issues that will directly impact them - either because of exposure to certain customers (e.g. the financial services market) or a broad macroeconomic downtown.  These are things I understand (in my 2%) and can influence.

    Fear and anxiety comes from lots of places, including fatigue, misinformation, and the endless blathering on of talking heads on the television.  If you start feeling your anxiety level increase because of things you have no ability to influence, step back and reconsider how you are spending your time.  Go for walk around the block and enjoy a nice October afternoon.  Take your best friend out to lunch at a restaurant you've never been too.  Get a good night's sleep.  Take a deep breath and - as my dad once told me, focus on things under your control.

    (10/01/08 09:00 PM)

57. Focus on Things Under Your Control.

    I've got a little end of day advice for everyone out there that is getting whipsawed around by all the craziness in the financial markets.  While this is aimed at entrepreneurs, it applies to everyone. 

    Focus on things under your control.

    When I was a teenager, my dad said something to me that has stuck with me and informs many of the decisions I make and things I decide to spend my time on.  He said something like "Brad - if you want to change the world, start with the 2% you know best."

    Now, this doesn't mean "don't be curious."  It doesn't mean "don't learn new things."  And it doesn't mean "don't try new things."  However, it does mean "don't get distracted by all the things you don't know, or can't influence."

    This is especially important when confusing and chaotic things are happening all around us.  Since I've returned from vacation in England, I've been asked numerous times what I think of the current financial crisis, how it impacts entrepreneurship and venture capital, and what the government should do about it.  In general, my answer has been "I have no clue."  Now - I have some very specific ideas about how it might impact some of the companies we are investors in - especially if the macroeconomy continues to deteriorate.  But I know enough to know that I can't actually predict what's going to happen nor can I influence the macro stuff at all.

    As a result, rather than get all spun up about what's happening minute by minute in Washington or in the financial markets, I concentrate on making sure that the companies I'm an investor in are thinking through the issues that will directly impact them - either because of exposure to certain customers (e.g. the financial services market) or a broad macroeconomic downtown.  These are things I understand (in my 2%) and can influence.

    Fear and anxiety comes from lots of places, including fatigue, misinformation, and the endless blathering on of talking heads on the television.  If you start feeling your anxiety level increase because of things you have no ability to influence, step back and reconsider how you are spending your time.  Go for walk around the block and enjoy a nice October afternoon.  Take your best friend out to lunch at a restaurant you've never been too.  Get a good night's sleep.  Take a deep breath and - as my dad once told me, focus on things under your control.

    

    
    (09/30/08 09:00 PM)

58. Navigating the Seven Cs to Relevance. Think of it: There are many businesses that offer similar products or services. Prospective customers can purchase goods or services from any competitor, literally anywhere in the world if they choose to, thanks to the Internet. Net result: effectively marketing a business, which translates to owning a slice of customer mind-share, is more challenging than it ever was. It takes something more to market successfully now. And it certainly takes something more than a one-time strategy and a couple of marketing tactics to be effective. That "something" is relevance. (09/30/08 09:01 AM)

59. Adopting a Web 2.0 Mindset: Walk Before You Wiki. Companies have been scrambling to figure out how to leverage Web. 2.0 applications, but are they doing so for all the wrong reasons? With all the buzz about blogs, wikis, widgets, and other forms of user-driven Web interactions, the question your business needs to answer is, "Is this what our customers want?" (09/30/08 09:01 AM)

60. Microconnecting With Your Customers via Microblogging: Q&A With Connie Reece. There's a new kid on the social media block that's starting to garner a lot of attention from companies. Microblogging sites, such as Twitter, are increasingly becoming a companion to an existing blog?or a standalone strategy for businesses that are using social media to connect with their customers. But many companies aren't sure what the microblogging "rules of the road" are. This is where Connie Reece comes in. (09/23/08 09:01 AM)

61. Email vs. Phone vs. In-Person Meeting? Four Viewpoints. To what extent can emails be used in place of phone calls and face-to-face meetings when maintaining and developing relationships with clients and other important network contacts? Four bloggers have all agreed to post their answers to the email question... (09/22/08 09:01 AM)

62. Search Engine Optimization And The Concept Of A Perfect Copy. Starting an online business is easy, but, getting customers is extremely difficult. It is for an obvious reason of extensive competition that actually reduces the effectiveness of an online business. ... (09/12/08 09:00 PM)

63. Do You Hold Your Customers Accountable?. This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Do You Hold Your Customers Accountable? I’m in training meetings this week with Duct Tape Marketing Coaches and every time I conduct these sessions interesting ideas bubble up. Service providers often offer to provide accountability to the customers they serve - at least that’s the promise of the relationship going in. Your [...]
    (09/12/08 09:00 AM)

64. Social Media Marketing Best Practice Tip.

    I'm fond of saying that social media doesn't have 'best practices' per se, we just have 'current practices'. Those things that we know are working right now with very, very limited play in a real market. That said, I see that Mitch Joel, Six Pixels of Separation, has started a blog meme on pulling together the best practices and has challenged bloggers to write one post. I also see that Toby has already contributed some outstanding insights. Here's my take

    Social Media Best Practice Tip:
    
    Alignment: Yes, that's it. Alignment. If your organization is considering (or is well on their way) pursuing social media in your tactical marketing plans. It (social media) MUST be in complete alignment with your strategy and differentiator as an organization and in complete alignment with what you're already doing in your marketing plan.

    Strategic & Differentiation Alignment:
    If you've not yet read Seth Godin's book, Meatball Sundae, I highly recommend you check it out. In a nutshell, it gets after this very issue. If you're in charge of marketing for any organization that does not (and is not likely to in the future) embody openness, sharing, trust and all of those things that are required in a customer-owns-your-brand world that is social media, this might not be a strategic fit for you. Should you change, perhaps, but that's not the issue here. Just as I would rarely advise a B2B startup client to advertise on network television, there are some companies that aren't going to align on social media. One last thing - even though your company has some aligning characteristics...if your legal department doesn't, your social media marketing plan may have a hard time getting off the ground. I'm just sayin'...

    Marketing Plan Alignment:
    This one's a bit easier, but still a challenge, and we're still talking about alignment. If you decide to setup a Twitter account because it's cool, but you're not blogging and you're expecting things to just explode for you, that's unrealistic (but, you already knew that...) You need to align social media vehicles with that you're already doing and plan appropriately for their launch. If you have a customer database but you've never sent an email, maybe do that first...then put up the videos, then email your customers again, then get the blog going, then seed you customers with that and get the real conversation going... I'm still bullish on data and collecting it on prospects and customers (RSS subscribers and video viewers are not success metrics in the end) and employing that data in your marketing and social media efforts.

    [UPDATE] One more thing... This 'social media thing' is new, and it's not...you know what I mean...right? Well, here's what I mean. Companies that do well in social media are those same types of organizations with the criteria identified by Jim Collins in Good to Great. They would meet the test of social media readiness. Examples of that criteria include: humility, acting as a servant leader, being able to accept brutal honesty, availability, a willingness to share credit (ideally, give full credit to others) and take sole responsibility and blame for failures.

    
    (09/11/08 09:00 PM)

65. Retailers Reprogram Workers...Should Reprogram Customers. In an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, Ann Taylor and stores like it were profiled for their use of systems like Atlas (Ann Taylor Labor Allocation System), developed by RedPrairie Corp, that track employee sales and activities and adjust their schedules to match the store's busy times, thus maximizing profitability. While I understand this is a great productivity tool, it's taking a bit of the humanity out of retailing...somewhat.

    The sluggish national economy has put pressure on many retailers to pinch pennies. "The single biggest controllable cost in retail is people," says Carl Steidtmann, chief economist at Deloitte LLP. Because few retail workers belong to unions, he says, it is easier for employers to "move people around." Vendors of the systems claim they can boost productivity by 15% or more, and can help cut labor costs by 5% or more.

    What I find even more interesting, and this is JUST for Ann Taylor (having a wife who's a fan of their clothes) is the heavy discounting that they've trained their customers to come to expect! Just last night, she produced a series of coupons, some for actual dollar amounts off of the merchandise and some for large percentages like 20% to 30% off any purchase over a certain figure. I understand margins, I know that they're high in the fashion industry, and I'm sure that there's good reason for this. However, customers of Ann Taylor and other brands like them (some of those mentioned in the article, most likely) have trained their customers to shop based on price and incentives. Period. Sure, the clothes fit...but seriously - 30% off on a regular basis? Action Item: So, what have you trained your customers to do? Expect things on sale, expect things you don't like doing? This is a great opportunity (and I'm doing this too) to look at your customer base from the perspective of lifetime value, and re-segment them based on 'those who should be with you in the future' and 'those who aren't going to be with you in the future'.
    (09/11/08 09:00 AM)

66. Small Business: Your Employees and Politics.

    I was poking around on the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) website this morning doing some client research and found this helpful page on 'how to educate your employees about politics". Namely, how policies affect small business and thus how they affect your employees.

    Great resource - check it out here:
    Get Ready for Election 2008: Educate Others - NFIB

    Factoid: Did you know that of the 45 million Americans with no health insurance, 51 percent are small-business owners, their employees or dependents. Wow...

    [UPDATE] Better yet, check out the 'Protect Free Enterprise' site and the NFIB YouTube Channel!

    
    (09/11/08 09:00 AM)

67. Webinar Today! How to Create a Web 2.0/Social Media Marketing Strategy for Your (Professional Service) Firm.

    Join me and the fine folks at RainToday.com (I love their site - seriously!) for a web seminar on leveraging social and emerging digital media (and a little bit of thought leadership marketing thrown in) for the professional service firm.

    We're on this afternoon, September 9th, at 2PM Eastern.

    Many professional services firms have a burning desire to somehow leverage the power of Web 2.0 and Social Media to grow their own business. They see others blogging, connecting in social networks, and launching podcasts and online videos, and wonder, "How do I get a piece of this social media action and how will it grow my business?"

    There are several sound strategies marketers can use. In this RainToday.com webinar, online marketing expert Dana VanDen Heuvel will provide you with ideas, examples, and a plan of action for immediately putting these technologies to work to attract new clients.

    Specifically you will learn:

    * What Social Media and Web 2.0 is and how it came to be
    * How various tactics - blogging, social networking, social bookmarks, and online media - can help you market your firm
    * Examples of how other firms have grown their business with Social Media and Web 2.0
    * How to plan a Social Media and Web 2.0 marketing strategy that works best for you

    Sign up or become a RainToday.com member today and you will know how to derive business value from the latest online tools.

    For a deep dive into using the social networking site LinkedIn, don't miss Jason Alba's webinar, LinkedIn 101: How to Unlock the Power of this Online Tool on Thursday, September 11. Become a RainToday.com Member and attend both these events, plus all other live events for an entire year for only $199.

    
    (09/09/08 09:00 AM)

68. Coming on September 22: Email vs. Phone vs. In-Person Meeting? Four Viewpoints. To what extent can you substitute emails for telephone calls and face-to-face meetings when maintaining and developing relationships with clients and other key market contacts? The answer to this frequently-asked-question affects how you spend your precious business development time and... (09/08/08 09:00 PM)

69. The Ryder Cup of Word of Mouth. Sean Moffitt at Agent Wildfire, author of blog Buzz Canuck, just published a list of top 23 U.S. Word of Mouth bloggers. As described by Sean..."...these broad-minded bloggers and company heads have distinguished themselves by trying to understand how ideas spread, online and offline, through a range of different strategies and tactics. In my opinion, they are much closer to the purpose and benefits of web 2.0, co-creation, social networks and other web, cultural and social phenomenon."I tip my hat to him for adding me to the list. I'm honored to be among this group. And I need to work on fulfilling this honor by keeping up on this blog, though these days I do a lot of blogging on Social Commerce and WOM on Bazaarblog.Here's his list of the USA Team:1. Jackie Huba/Ben McConnell - Church of the Customer (Austin, Texas)2. Andy Sernovitz - Damn! I Wish I Thought of That! (Chicago, Illinois)3. Pete Blackshaw - CGM (4. Jim Nail - Cymfony5. Ed Keller - Keller Fay6. Jeremiah Owyang - Web Strategist7. Rohit Bhargarva - Influential Marketing8. Owen Mack - CoBrandIt9. Walter Karl - WOM Study10. Fred Reichheld - Net Promoter - Boston11. Max Kalehoff - Attention Max12. Oliver Blanchard - Brand Builder13. Charlene Li - Groundswell14. Sam Decker15. Joseph Jaffe16. John Moore - Brand Autopsy (Austin, Texas)17. Peter Kim, Being Peter Kim (Austin, Texas)18. Mack Collier - The Viral Garden19. Spike Jones - Brains on Fire20. Ron McDaniel - Buzzoodle21.John Jantsch - Duct Tape Marketing22. Kim Proctor -... (09/07/08 09:00 PM)

70. Popping the Top on Your Brand's Potential With Social Media: Q&A With Gary Vaynerchuk. There's probably no better case study on how a business leverages social media to connect with customers and grow itself than Gary Vaynerchuk's Wine Library. Here, Gary shares the reasons your company should pay attention to social media, and what impact these tools will have in the years to come. (09/02/08 09:01 AM)

71. Direct-to-Consumer PR Reflects Power of Do-It-Yourself. With the rise of search engines, Wi-Fi, and a Do-It-Yourself mindset, today's consumers are more empowered than ever before. They not only believe that they're entitled to information but also have unprecedented access to information on a global scale. An increasing number of consumers turn first to the Internet when they want to make a purchase?even if the product will be bought offline. That's why any PR strategy focused solely on media gatekeepers is missing a large piece of the market. While there's still value in sending your message via traditional media, more and more prospective customers are doing their own research online, bypassing newspaper, magazines, radio, and TV complet (09/02/08 09:01 AM)

72. Freelance Copywriting Secret Makes Your Business Safe, Solid and Secure. One way to get started as a freelance copywriter is to do what is called "joint ventures." Usually this means, instead of taking an up front fee, you write the ad for your client and get paid... (08/25/08 09:01 AM)

73. Five reasons your website isn't bringing in new customers and what you can do about it. The are two actions you must take to increase your level of online sales. First, of course, you must attract potential customers to your website, which you can accomplish through your advertising, SEO... (08/22/08 09:01 AM)

74. Top 5 Legitimate SEO Techniques That Will Help Your Business Get Found. It is essential that you make it easy for customers to find you, and one of the most effective ways to do so is search engine optimization, which focuses on getting your Web site listed in the unpaid, organic search engine results. How do you actually get your Web site ranked high in search engines? The answer is quite simple, but getting there can be a bit more difficult. (08/19/08 09:01 AM)

75. Sales Letter Training - Benefits And The Long-Handled Shovel. How do you insure that the thrust of your sales letter focuses on customer benefits? By learning the lesson of the shovel! So, where do we begin? Simple. You start by using what you alrea... (08/19/08 09:01 AM)

76. Blogging Customer Stories. This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Blogging Customer Stories There are so many good reasons for small businesses to use blogging as an essential marketing and communications tool that I can only hope my occasional examples turn the light bulbs on for those who still don’t yet see the value. Lincoln Sign Company in Lincoln, NH - a [...]
    (08/13/08 09:00 AM)

77. The Power of Search Within a Complex Sales Cycle. Now that we know that 85% of B2B customers use the Internet at some point during the buying process, why is it that so many business executives still contend that online marketing "doesn't work" for businesses with enterprise solutions or complex sales cycles? (08/12/08 09:00 AM)

78. Email Hygiene: Six Ways to Polish Your List. You already know the importance of a permission-based email list. You even practice list segmentation to improve the relevance of the emails you send to your customers and prospects. But how much time do you devote to cleaning your email list? If your email hygiene is lax, you're greatly limiting the success of your campaigns. (08/12/08 09:00 AM)

79. Case Study: The Attraction Advantage?How Mexican Mangos Ripened Sales 13% in Four Months. It's a marketer's dream. Customers are so passionate about your product they actually crave it. In fact, outside of the US, your product is the number-one consumed fruit. However, here's where the dream hits reality. You're in the US, where two-thirds of US consumers have never tasted a mango. You've been hired to generate sales during the Mexican mango season?which is only four months long. One thing is crystal clear: You have to get it right the first time. Or mangos will be out of season and you'll be out of a job. That's the situation that our firm, Lewis & Neale Public Relations and JRS Consulting, faced when EMEX, an association of Mexican mango producers and shippers, retaine (08/12/08 09:00 AM)

80. Three Uncustomary Customer Service Mindsets That Deliver. You've wolfed down lunch in record time and have seven minutes before your next meeting?time enough to Google "customer service tips," which brings up terabytes of platitudes on friendliness, knowledge, going the extra mile, blah, blah, blah. You know these cookie-cutter best-practices probably work, but they're too obvious and stale to motivate your people toward new plateaus. Instead, try on these three unusual mindsets that your team may actually find useful. (08/05/08 09:01 AM)

81. Help prevent what you treat....

    In reading a recent post on Bill's blog in his Monday Morning Motivation series, he offers the advice to chiropractors, or any doctor for that matter, that their highest calling is to help prevent what they treat.

    ...but what are you doing to help make yourself obsolete?

    ...The highest calling of any doctor (of any ilk) is to help prevent what it is they treat.

    

    That got me to thinking about my philosophy as a consultant and speaker. It's hard for those of us who work on the retainer system to hold the philosophy of "helping to make ourselves obsolete", but that's exactly what we need to do. There is such an abundance of opportunity out there and by working closely with our clients (whether our consultative calling is inside or outside the enterprise) to move them to a higher platform of strategic or digital marketing execution expertise, we're truly offering the service that they need (and not the service, that we need...)

    ACTION REQUIRED:

    Think about this in your interactions all week. What have we done to truly understand the client and share our wisdom on making them better marketers (or, whatever they are) so that you too can one day be obsolete to them and move on to helping clients help themselves? That is the highest calling of any consultant.

    
    (08/04/08 09:01 AM)

82. Rainmakers and Lead Generation. In professional services organizations the people who bring in the big revenue clients are often called rainmakers. They’re the one’s that make it all happen and become almost mythical in the process. In today’s challenging business climate, we could all... (07/29/08 09:00 PM)

83. Incentives: 5 Cardinal Rules, 10 Great Ideas. When the economy gets tight, customers can take forever to reach a buying decision. So, managers think up incentives that will encourage the customer to buy. Whatever lure you use should inspire the prospective customer to edge a little closer to a purchase, which is sometimes easier said than done. (07/29/08 09:01 AM)

84. Six Reasons Word-of-Mouth Doesn't Work. Is there any form of marketing communications more compelling than word-of-mouth, the enthusiastic and genuine recommendation of a person you like and trust? It's no wonder that virtually every business-to-business marketer prizes this organic, spontaneous, and?perhaps best of all?practically cost-free method of bringing in business. But some businesses, especially on the B2B side, rely far too heavily on organic word-of-mouth strategies and, specifically, on acquiring new customers primarily through referrals. (07/29/08 09:01 AM)

85. Minimize List Churn by Reducing Unsubscribes. Reducing the number of people who unsubscribe from your mailing list is one of the key ways to minimize list churn and in turn make it easier to grow your list. That doesn't mean you make it harder for people to leave, however. Instead, learn why people leave, offer them other ways to remain in the relationship and make the process a great customer experience. (07/22/08 09:01 AM)

86. 6 Best Practices for Agencies. A friend of mine who owns a small agency asked for my perspective on best practices for agencies. Here's what I sent her, which after I realized would make a blog post!... I’ve worked with about 10 or more agencies, plus many technology suppliers, and there’s a lot to improve. Let me start a few ideas that come to mind: 1) Pitches are not grounded enough in the client’s business objectives, strategy or measurements. Nor are they tailored to the ‘style’ of the company. The best pitches ‘feel’ like that agency was part of the company. I think agencies should be seen as extensions of the team, and therefore evaluated as if you were to hire them as employees. The further they are along on that path of alignment in the pitch, the better the chance to win. 2) Incentives are not aligned. Agencies want to drum up projects and bill hours. I put bonus plans in place for our agencies at Dell driven by Dell performance metrics. 3) Some agencies pitch with the best team and hand over to new employees. The team you have a year from now is rarely as good as the team you got to kick off. 4) Respect client time. Come in with an ‘answer first’ approach, with the recommendation, and with clear follow through, follow up, action steps, dates, owners…along with what we discussed last time. Clients want a sense of progress and what to do next…but done quickly. 5) Perspective. The agency... (07/09/08 09:00 PM)

87. Learn Word of Mouth Marketing.

    Always willing to post a shameless pitch for a good cause... here's an upcoming event that you won't want to miss!

    Word of Mouth Marketing Crash Course - Chicago, July 30th

    Learn Word of Mouth Marketing Our friend and WOM guru Andy Sernovitz is hosting a small-group word of mouth marketing seminar. Usually he only does private training for companies at a very large price, so this is a rare chance for 50 people to get the best introduction to word of mouth that there is.

    We've arranged for a $250 discount for our clients. Use code "welovemarketingsavant" when you register.

    This is a very practical, hands-on course. In one intense day, you will:

    * Master the five steps of word of mouth marketing
    * Construct an action plan that your company can start using the very next day
    * Get the same training that big corporations (Microsoft, TiVo, eBay) have received -- for a fraction of what they paid
    * Know how to translate word of mouth marketing into real ROI
    * Participate in an active, intense day of practical brainstorming (not boring theory)
    * Learn from Andy Sernovitz, the guy who literally wrote the book on word of mouth marketing

    Andy promises you will learn a repeatable, proven marketing framework that is easy to execute, affordable, and provides measurable results within 60 days.

    More information: http://events.gaspedal.com

    
    (07/08/08 09:00 PM)

88. A Three-Step Product Commercialization Insurance Policy: How a GM Can Overcome the Odds. Bringing a new product to market is one of the most costly and risky activities that any GM faces. Voice-of-the-customer research and stage gate reviews have improved the odds of achieving success. But do they go far enough? Three important tasks are frequently overlooked even though they offer the ability to identify weak links early on. So, how can you overcome the odds? Arm your team with a three-step commercialization insurance policy designed to identify and assess risks. (07/08/08 09:00 AM)

89. How Boar's Head Is Defending Its Brand Against the Old Flimflam: Six Steps to Empowering Your Customers. This is a tale of flimflam and a unique way that Boar's Head is battling it. Given the power of word-of-mouth, it's hard to overlook the potential of how Boar's Head is empowering its customer base. (And see how you can, too.) (07/01/08 09:00 AM)

90. Improve Lead Capture, Conversion: Replace Landing Pages with Personalized Microsites. You can improve lead-capture and sales-conversion rates by directing your prospective customers to special Web site landing pages. But you can enjoy even greater success by expanding your landing pages?turning them into microsites?and customizing the home pages and navigation menus of those microsites. (07/01/08 09:00 AM)

91. HTML Emails. Both of the mail clients I use, Outlook at work and Gmail for personal, strip images out of HTML email... I think most mail clients are doing this now. So, why do people continue to send HTML emails that depend on images? I got this today from a vendor that I've given permission to email me: There was no text in the email, just links to pictures. In todays world of limited attention, why assume... (06/25/08 09:01 PM)

92. Fighting the Good Fight: Lifecycle Emails. Long-term, lifecycle emails train a customer into becoming a better one, and they enhance the relationship between customer and company. It's sometimes hard to sell to the finance group that lifecycle emails work. And now, with trends going toward social networks and word-of-mouth networking, how do lifecycle emails compete? Here are three techniques you can use effectively to fight the good fight. (06/24/08 09:00 AM)

93. Face-to-Face Marketing: When Media Alone Is Not Enough. While most people think of public relations as media relations, there are times when either you can't reach your audience through print, broadcast or the Internet, or you need to supplement your media program. That's when you need to think about face-to-face marketing?placing clients directly in front of targeted audiences through informational events structured around their interests. This strategy works well for consumer markets (think cooking demonstrations in grocery stores, hospital-sponsored health fairs, and hotel-sponsored bridal expos). It also works well for B2B companies like construction companies, law firms, or consultancies?businesses that want to showcase the expertise of t (06/24/08 09:00 AM)

94. Loving the AT&T wireless @ Sbux.

    I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Chicago working on the new AT&T wireless setup here...thanks, in part to the Starbucks Ideas, AT&T partnered with Starbucks (or, was that the other way around?) to offer 2 free hours of wifi per day with a registered sbux card (I'm sure that certain restrictions apply...). I've been a T-mobile customer for the past year, only because they had the relationship with Sbux... I'm going to drop T-mobile as soon as my agreement is up next month, as I now have no use for them whatsoever.

    I still remain a hardcore Boingo fan. The $21.95/month for Boingo has saved me hundreds in Wifi fees at hotels, coffee shops, airports and nearly everywhere else that you can use Boingo. It's really a shame that Boingo hasn't been able to get in cahoots with AT&T or T-mobile (at least not where I'm sitting... Boingo is not a roaming provider option).

    Actually, this whole post was prompted by the guy sitting next to me that was just checking in to see if the Wifi was working OK. He's a contractor responsible for shutting down and taking out the Tmobile equipment and finalizing the setup on the AT&T stuff. What a dude. Came by, made sure eveyrthing was cool, checked signal strength & everything (the AT&T stuff works better over the past few weeks than the Tmobile stuff ever has... They must be doing something right!)

    Thanks Starbucks & AT&T!

    
    (06/11/08 09:00 AM)

95. Off to the ALI Social Media Summit in Chicago.

    If you're in Chicago between Monday and Wednesday, drop me a line!

    I'll be presenting at the ALI Social Media Summit in a pre-conference workshop. Check it out:

    How To Use Social Media To Enhance And Improve Your Internal Communications Efforts - And 7 Steps To Take Your Internal Social Media Program To An External Marketing Program

    Some people may think that social and emerging media tools are just for customers. However, they can greatly improve your internal communication, peer networking and knowledge sharing and management initiatives if used properly. This workshop will show you how to leverage the most prominent social media tools to strengthen your internal communications processes and improve the effectiveness of any customer-focused organization. If you're considering social media for customer/external communications, this workshop will also give you specific insights and help you to 'eat your own dogfood' before going headlong into social and emerging media & marketing with your customers and prospects.

    Each attendee will take away:

    • A comprehensive understanding of each and every internal social media tool available to their organization
    • Concrete examples of organizations that are employing these tools
    • A roadmap of where to start and how to progress in your internal social media endeavor
    • Develop the business case to sell internal social media based communication tools to management
    • The seven steps to taking social media from an internal endeavor to an external marketing program
    • A comprehensive workbook which explains how to learn more about each of the tools discussed

    
    

    
    (06/09/08 09:00 AM)

96. Insight for Ad Agencies - Listen or Go Back to Print.

    This is quite possibly the most timely and exciting article I've read as of late (come to think it, this I've been rather busy and this might be the only thing I've read of late...nope, this really is the best).

    Joseph Dumont penned a piece for Imedia entitled "Why Agencies are Failing" in it, he lays out several of his own observations that are founded in a report from Forrester (might be worth the $279 price tag if you're seeking some Forrester Research Therapy for your agency) and compiled from his keen insights into the agency world.

    This article really hits home as it comes at a time when I'm doing a bit of work with a few agencies that I regard with the utmost respect and I can't help but see some of their challenges echoed in this article. Those are the agencies that are truly students of advertising, marketing, customer behavior and have a genuine purpose in this world. They will succeed because they can learn, they can grow and like energy (you know, never at rest) they are always moving and changing and they're on the right path.

    On the other end of the spectrum are agencies who are truly stuck. They're afraid of stepping outside of their comfort zone, afraid to admit that they need help, don't have a mastermind group internally that's challenging their age-old positioning and their clients are suffering as a result by way of crusty old strategies, reheated ideas and basically an ignorance of the end customer that we're all trying to reach. Those agencies will fail a they aren't even on a path - they're standing still.

    Here are a few observations that I took from Joseph's article. I really recommend read though it with you highlighter handy - there are some real nuggets in there. If you're an agency, take this to your next staff meeting and discuss it. It's that important. If you like, buy the Forrester report (and tell me if it was worth it!)

    1. Damnit, get out there and do the hard work to really understand how your client's consumer has changed their habits, where they hang out and what they want to hear from you. Media kits are for armchair advertisers. You need to get out there, listen, react and move. Oh, and get your client's leadership and front line folks on the same page too. Customers are smart. They see through the disorganization.

    2. Watch political marketing. I've said this for years and I'll say it again "the harbingers of the next generation of marketing are working in politics". Watch all 3 candidates and how they leverage the digital space. Also, pay attention to their budgets. They're moving mountains and spending very little (comparatively) online...they reach the masses on TV and the influencers through digital (online) means...it's a great country we live in!

    3. Interactive does NOT mean Internet. It means really in-ter-acting... get people involved, acting and interacting and engaging. Most of what's called "interactive" is anything but.

    4. User generated content is not the holy grail. User generated genuine interest in a brand that excites consumers and pushes their 'loyalty button' is what we're really seeking. There are many UGC campaigns that are bolt on piles of crap... If UGC is not aligned with your brand and the only respondents are professional contestants, you should rethink things a bit. Just because it's cool doesn't mean it's you (or that an agency should sell it to you)

    5. I actually think that we're in pretty good shape - there is BRILLIANT marketing going on out there (just read iMedia, Marketing Sherpa and others to see the kick ass campaigns and strategies that are rocking the marketing world)...but there's always room to do better. Both agencies and internal marketers can't afford to get lazy. The entire profession of marketing is founded on a "faith in the future" perspective! That's why we market - for the future...so hurry up and let's all get there!

    
    

    
    (06/09/08 09:00 AM)

97. Insight for Ad Agencies - Listen or Go Back to Print.

    This is quite possibly the most timely and exciting article I've read as of late (come to think it, this I've been rather busy and this might be the only thing I've read of late...nope, this really is the best).

    Joseph Dumont penned a piece for Imedia entitled "Why Agencies are Failing" in it, he lays out several of his own observations that are founded in a report from Forrester (might be worth the $279 price tag if you're seeking some Forrester Research Therapy for your agency) and compiled from his keen insights into the agency world.

    This article really hits home as it comes at a time when I'm doing a bit of work with a few agencies that I regard with the utmost respect and I can't help but see some of their challenges echoed in this article. Those are the agencies that are truly students of advertising, marketing, customer behavior and have a genuine purpose in this world. They will succeed because they can learn, they can grow and like energy (you know, never at rest) they are always moving and changing and they're on the right path.

    On the other end of the spectrum are agencies who are truly stuck. They're afraid of stepping outside of their comfort zone, afraid to admit that they need help, don't have a mastermind group internally that's challenging their age-old positioning and their clients are suffering as a result by way of crusty old strategies, reheated ideas and basically an ignorance of the end customer that we're all trying to reach. Those agencies will fail a they aren't even on a path - they're standing still.

    Here are a few observations that I took from Joseph's article. I really recommend read though it with you highlighter handy - there are some real nuggets in there. If you're an agency, take this to your next staff meeting and discuss it. It's that important. If you like, buy the Forrester report (and tell me if it was worth it!)

    1. Damnit, get out there and do the hard work to really understand how your client's consumer has changed their habits, where they hang out and what they want to hear from you. Media kits are for armchair advertisers. You need to get out there, listen, react and move. Oh, and get your client's leadership and front line folks on the same page too. Customers are smart. They see through the disorganization.

    2. Watch political marketing. I've said this for years and I'll say it again "the harbingers of the next generation of marketing are working in politics". Watch all 3 candidates and how they leverage the digital space. Also, pay attention to their budgets. They're moving mountains and spending very little (comparatively) online...they reach the masses on TV and the influencers through digital (online) means...it's a great country we live in!

    3. Interactive does NOT mean Internet. It means really in-ter-acting... get people involved, acting and interacting and engaging. Most of what's called "interactive" is anything but.

    4. User generated content is not the holy grail. User generated genuine interest in a brand that excites consumers and pushes their 'loyalty button' is what we're really seeking. There are many UGC campaigns that are bolt on piles of crap... If UGC is not aligned with your brand and the only respondents are professional contestants, you should rethink things a bit. Just because it's cool doesn't mean it's you (or that an agency should sell it to you)

    5. I actually think that we're in pretty good shape - there is BRILLIANT marketing going on out there (just read iMedia, Marketing Sherpa and others to see the kick ass campaigns and strategies that are rocking the marketing world)...but there's always room to do better. Both agencies and internal marketers can't afford to get lazy. The entire profession of marketing is founded on a "faith in the future" perspective! That's why we market - for the future...so hurry up and let's all get there!

    
    

    
    (05/29/08 09:00 PM)

98. Should lead generation ignore current customers?. ”We know more about our prospects (leads) than we know about our current customers” was shocking statement I heard from a client and it stuck with me. In fact, it's the impetus for this post. When you have a complex... (05/12/08 09:00 PM)

99. Study: Proof that Less is More. I read Jacob Nielsen's AlertBox today titled "How Little Do Users Read?". He showed an interesting study and analysis of time spent on page vs. that showed users spend only 4.4 seconds on a page for each additional 100 words added to the page. If we assume people can read at 200 WPM, the big finding is that for every 100 words you add to a page, you can assume that customers will read 18% of it. Choose words well, be concise...and I better stop writing to make the point! Or use this blog entry to make the point. (05/06/08 09:01 AM)

100. Generate over 60,0000 inquiries by educating people?. I wrote a post last year on giving away ideas to proactively educate and attract future customers. I didn't expect it would generate such lively discussion and debate. Michael Stelzner wrote the following comment on my post back then, “I... (05/05/08 09:01 PM)