Category: Marketing

What does your marketing content say about you?

Your marketing content – text, videos, photos, illustrations… everything – should light up the screen and get noticed… or does it get scrolled past in a sea of mediocrity? Relying too much on your cell phone and “free” digital platforms gets a lot of small businesses in trouble – trouble from competitors who are serious… Read More »

Budgeting for Marketing: a metaphor that works!

Effective budgeting for marketing is like driving a car, especially when it comes to using the gas pedal. Think about it. First of all, and from my experience, small business owners are notorious for treating marketing budgets with a bit of disdain instead of confidence. This is because marketing is seen as a discretionary expense item… Read More »

Great Marketing Campaigns Get Out!

Why be Shy to New Business? Holding off on launching a great ad campaign is like keeping your beautiful, prized sports car locked in your garage to avoid people seeing and admiring it. That makes absolutely no sense! This is what too many small business owners do to their would-be customers when it comes to… Read More »

What to Do if Marketing Stops Working

Do more marketing. Yes, it is that simple and now you may think you wasted time opening this article, but read on. You’ll appreciate the message if you have an open mind. When I say “do more” I’m specifically talking about doing more of what works, not necessarily about increasing budgets. And, if your budget… Read More »

That Marketing Thing – It’s now or never!

Speak Louder With Your Actions Whatever your business sector, the current pandemic slowdown is affecting you profoundly. It might be good for your company or it might be devastating but one thing is certain; you are feeling massive change underfoot and you know you must adapt. I’m seeing some small businesses focus their energy on… Read More »

Furnish Two Primary Marketing Assets!

Furnish Facts and Photos! If you want your campaigns and promotions to succeed, furnish the two things every marketing team or agency needs to do a bang-up job. Facts and Photos. That includes video. Of course, money can make the second thing happen but the facts (differentiated customer benefits) in most cases are contained in… Read More »

Keep marketing simple!

For marketing communications, keep complexity and sophistication in storage. The more thinking and engineering that go into technology, products and services, the better they will perform (or be perceived to perform). But when it comes to marketing, sophistication and complexity muddy up your messages. If you have an important message to convey, keep it simple,… Read More »

Business Growth in 2019: Who’s with me?

I’m reading all this leading-edge news on LinkedIn, the WSJ, Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes, you name it. All the experts seem strangely gleeful as they talk down the economy, stating with certitude that we’re headed full steam into a downturn. They don’t know exactly when but they’re almost sure it will be 2019. Don’t follow the leaders… Read More »

Stop Riding The Marketing Cycle!

A sales and marketing phenomenon I call the “marketing cycle” is similar to general economic cycles as dictated by the law of expansion (growth) and retraction (recession). In economics, business activity ebbs and flows, not always in a predictable way as the global economy is endlessly dynamic. The only thing predictable is that the cycles will repeat… Read More »

CEOs and Consumers Decide Differently

B2B and B2C Marketing target the same emotions but different motives. Does your company sell mostly to individual consumers? If so, your customer targeting can get complicated and may require a high degree of personalization. Consumers’ tastes and preferences in features/benefits run in multitudinous different directions and with choices at their fingertips, you need to… Read More »