Sunday, November 30th, 2008
There is no doubt that we live in extraordinary times... awesome, really. Yes, I know... there's trouble in high places... and some low places as well. There's concern over prices and the economy... education, health... you name it. And you're right... half the country is unhappy with the election, and international worries abound. But here's what I like... Whatever else is going on, never in history has it been easier or cheaper to connect with…
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Tags: connections, customer engagement, easier and cheaper, economy, emerging technologies, long-distance, marketers, marketing, relationships, skype, small business, small business owner, social media, social networking, success, the jetsons
Posted in getting it right, leadership, marketing
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Saturday, November 29th, 2008
Yesterday
I wrote that in regard to the potential applications for small business marketing, I was not initially impressed with social media in general, or social networking in particular. In short... I missed it. But this got my attention... In July 2005,
Rupert Murdoch's
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Tags: advertising, appointments - disappointments, brochures, caller id, cold calls, connections, customer engagement, customer needs, do-not-call, facebook, growth, ideal customers, interactive technologies, marketing, myspace, old media, pop-up blockers, referrals, relationships, rupert murdoch, satelite radio, small business, social media, social networking, spam, tivo, tradeshows, trust
Posted in marketing
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Friday, November 28th, 2008
Three or four years ago, after hearing so much about social networking and it's potential impact on small business marketing, I needed to find out what the buzz was all about. So, I did what many others have done... I 'browsed'
myspace.com... There were thousands... no, tens... hundreds of thousands...; there were MILLIONS of kids ranging
in age from 16 to 109, engaged in conversations…
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Tags: best customers, blogs, building communties, buzz, competition, connections, customer engagement, customer needs, emerging technologies, facebook, ideal customers, influencers, internet marketing, ivy league, kid stuff, marketing, myspace, networking, online media, relationships, small business, social media, social networking, what up girl
Posted in marketing
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Thursday, November 27th, 2008
NOTE to self...
Teach Someone. Help Somewhere. Give Something.
Stay Humble. Feel Grateful. Be Thankful.
Think... Live... Love.
Photo Credit:
Damork
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Tags: giving, gratefulness, helping, humility, important vs. urgent, living, loving, relationships, teaching, thankfulness, thanksgiving, thinking
Posted in getting it right, leadership
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Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
As it gets cold again here in Wisconsin, I find myself thinking back a few months to when it was just getting warm again in Wisconsin! The Friday before Easter was a beautiful day, and I was looking forward to plans we had on that first spring weekend. But something kept gnawing at me that afternoon; two words used by a CEO in a conversation a few hours earlier... two words that I hadn't heard in quite some time: "...hunker down." "There's nothing we can…
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Tags: competition, competitors, customer engagement, customers, economy, hunkering down, layoffs, leader, leadership, market, market share, marketing, marketing budget, marketing calendar, marketing plan, recession, relationships, risk-taking, settling, small business, small business owner, strategy, wasted resources
Posted in leadership, marketing
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Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
The story you are about to hear is... well, you know it's true. The names have been changed so you can plug in your own... Monday morning. All six incoming lines are full; all on hold for you. You pick up the first call... it's Joe from Channel 63. They're doing a cross promotion with The Shoe Leather Cafe. Today and today only, for just $525, they'll produce a 30 second spot and run it 45 times between 1am and 3am next Sunday morning. You'll also get your logo printed…
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Tags: advertising, culture, customer engagement, decision making, emerging technologies, farnsworth, ideas bad-good-best, impulsive media buys, level playing field, marketing, marketing budget, marketing calendar, marketing plan, marketing resources, marketing surprises, media old-new-no, new media, online media, shoe leather cafe, small business, small business owner, social media, strategy, traditional media, wbzr bizarre radio
Posted in marketing
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Monday, November 24th, 2008
...get up go to work drive home get up go to work
drive home get up go to work drive home get up go
to work drive home get up go to work drive home...
Good, now repeat two thousand five hundred times... yikes! If that sounds like going in circles... it is. There is something missing. The symptoms are boredom, complacency, and resentment; and the result will be high turnover,…
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Tags: challenges, competitors, confidence, consistent, dedication, excellence, going in circles, hopes and dreams, impact, impact players, lead, leader, leadership, loyalty, principles, purpose, respect, self worth, small business, small business owner, small fortune, stability, talent, team, trust, twenty-four words, values, vision, winning companies
Posted in getting it right, leadership
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Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
No matter how good we are; how talented or intelligent or creative we may be... the truth will soon come out that there is only so much we can do on our own. If you don't believe it... stay up for 72 hours, and then let's talk again.
To be sure, at the root of every great organization are the focused and committed efforts of other people. The team.
Yes, I know there is vision and mission and purpose. Yes, I know there is innovation and service...…
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Tags: all in, brett favre, compensation, competence, competition, culture, efficiency, employees as assets, growth, hidden assets, innovation, interview dance, lead, leader, leaders, leadership, mission, new leader, passion, potential, principles, processes, professional development, purpose, relationships, service, small business, small business owner, talent, team, values, vision
Posted in getting it right, leadership
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Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
"There's a lot of ways to make money; but far less ways to make a difference."
I've said it hundreds of times... to thousands of people; but I'm thinking I'd like to take it back.
More and more, it seems that we don't have to look far to find something that should be fixed... something that must be fixed... something that needs... well... you.
In our homes and businesses, as well as our schools, churches, and government, the opportunity…
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Tags: cause, character, family, financial, health, impact, improvements, influence, integrity, lead, leader, leaders, leadership, like-minded, making a difference, mission, passion, social media
Posted in leadership
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Friday, November 21st, 2008
"But Mom... everyone else gets to go! Bobby gets to go!!!"
"And if Bobby jumped in the lake... would you jump in too?"
my mother calmly asked.
I hated that question... but looking back, it was probably good advice. Just replace the "jumped in the lake" part with any number of activities that were sure to lead to trouble.
In fact, as I think about it today... Mom's old adage is probably good advice for marketers as well.
You…
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Tags: best customers, big boxes, bold moves, conventional wisdom, customer expectations, customer needs, customers, employees as marketers, game plan, industry standards, jump in the lake, leader, leadership lost, main street, marketers, marketing, marketing discipline, marketing errors, marketing plan, mom, small business, small business owner, wal-mart
Posted in leadership, marketing
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