Friday, March 27th, 2009
It's really a question of integrity. Whether it is
brokers looking to hawk securities that they would never own, marketers who sell processes that they would never use, or retailers who push extended warrantees that they would never buy. Today, I heard three examples from another angle: business owners trying to make a buck teaching you how to... own your own business?…
Read More
Tags: employees, finances, integrity, marketers, small business, small business owner
Posted in leadership
No Comments »
Monday, February 2nd, 2009
A decade ago, 'Corporate Mission Statements' were all the rage. Much thought, countless hours and tens of thousands... wait, hundreds of thousands... no, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS were spent with consultants and strategists and marketers to sort out the corporate reason for being. And small business went along for the ride. "I know we need to set aside some time for that..." were the words echoed in conference rooms across the country. Now, this…
Read More
Tags: challenges, character, competition, competitive advantage, competitors, consultants, integrity, leader, leaders, marketers, mission, principles, purpose, relationships, reputation, service businesses, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing, small business owner, strategists, success, truth, value, values, who we are vs. what we say
Posted in leadership, marketing
No Comments »
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Competition that is right out front is pretty easy to identify. These are other service businesses that provide similar solutions to exactly the same challenges that we address with our clients. For better or worse, most businesses have developed tactics as part of their marketing plan to compete with them. Unfortunately, they often fail to redraw the lines...…
Read More
Tags: action, best customers, challenges, commoditization, competition, competitive landscape, competitors, customer, customer needs, customers, de-motivation, doubt, fear, ideal customers, inaction, inefficiencies, issues, joy, low-barrier options, marketers, marketing plan, motivation, pricing, processes, profit, razor-thin margins, relationships, risk-reduced, ROI, scenarios, service businesses, services, small business, small business marketing, small business owner, solutions, staff, tactics, unbelief, uncovery
Posted in marketing
No Comments »
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
If you manufacture computer screens... or coffee cups, step ladders... or any other product from feather dusters to construction equipment... it's pretty easy to figure out where your main competition is coming from. Service businesses, on the other hand, have additional challenges when it comes to marketing. We often find that we must compete with the very people that we want to have as customers... an unlikely occurrence in manufacturing or distribution…
Read More
Tags: benefits, best customers, coaching, competition, competitors, customer, customer needs, delivering content, good enough, ideal customers, ideas, in-house, information, insights, marketers, marketing plan, monday morning, processes, relevance, risk-reduced, routines, service businesses, small business, small business marketing, solutions, status quo, value
Posted in marketing
1 Comment »
Friday, January 23rd, 2009
"So... who is our biggest competitor?" That was the question I asked my team twenty-something years ago. And the answers flowed freely... naming every other staffing company of merit within a two hour radius of our office. But were they really competing with us? Were we competing with them? My answer was no. In fact, as I mentioned
yesterday, we developed good working…
Read More
Tags: category, challenges, change, coaching, competition, competitive landscape, competitors, confidence, hr, impact players, influence, interactions, laser focused, market sector, marketers, marketing plan, marketing professionals, marketing strategy, niche, objections, position, processes, proposals, razor-thin margins, relationships, routines, service businesses, small business, small business marketing, small business owner, staffing, systems, talent, team, training, verticals
Posted in marketing
No Comments »
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
Okay... as small business owners, leaders, and marketers, we all know that in order to soar we need to create a sound
marketing plan. So let's see... what did we learn in Marketing 101 again? Oh yeah, start with a Business Review... that should be simple enough... Uhh... hmmm... here it is... Business Review: Alright... Corporate philosophy and Business Objectives... no problem…
Read More
Tags: advocates, behavior, best customers, business review, competition, competitive landscape, competitors, core competencies, customer, customers, distribution, economy, goals, leaders, lessons, market trends, marketers, marketing 101, marketing plan, marketing professionals, marketing strategy, micro-goals, objectives, philosophy, plans, pricing, product attributes, relationships, results, sales, sales process, service businesses, small business, small business marketing, small business owner, strategic goals, swot analysis, talent
Posted in marketing
No Comments »
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
For the third time in as many days, I was privy to a discussion between small business owners and marketers which revolved around the topic of 'positioning'. These conversations were typical of those at networking functions, beginning literally with "well, we like to position ourselves as such and such." That's nice. Next, they degenerated into the all-too-common litany of features and attributes which are typically important only to…
Read More
Tags: advertising, before electricity, behavior, brand, branding, competitors, credit crunch, customer expectations, customer experience, customer needs, customers, emotion, features and benefits, focus, global competition, information, market, marketers, marketing professionals, marketing strategy, mass market, message, networking, new economy, new media, new rules, online research, position, positioning, research, small business, small business marketing, small business owner, thinking new, traditional media, what we say vs. what we do
Posted in marketing
No Comments »
Monday, January 12th, 2009
We often speak here about small business leadership and marketing principles for three reasons: 1) It's the theme of this blog and I don't want to get in trouble with
google for a bait and switch. 2) Many leadership and marketing challenges go hand-in-hand, and are often really relationship challenges in disguise. 3) Strong leadership and marketing ability transcends…
Read More
Tags: challenges, charity, comm, evaluation, family, finances, goals, health, influence, leaders, marketers, obstacles, passion, plans, relationships, responsibility, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing, small business owner, strategic planning, vision
Posted in leadership
No Comments »
Friday, January 9th, 2009
"Past behavior is a good indicator of future behavior." Over twenty years ago, I wrote this simple sentence. Along with
two others, it served as a foundation when I launched my first business... a staffing company that would enjoy a great deal of success, and an incredible reputation. In your leadership role in business and elsewhere...…
Read More
Tags: behavior, buying process, culture, delivering content, demographics, hiring success, ideal customers, marketers, marketing professionals, message, relevance, reputation, sales process, small business, small business marketing, small business owner, success
Posted in marketing
No Comments »
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
I was asked the other day about our marketing plans as we launch our practice. Actually, the question revolved around the topic of new and emerging media, web-based marketing, and social networking. While these are powerful and developing tools to be sure, it appears that there are people who are only interested in having one tool, the latest tool, in their toolbox at any given time. I understand why some marketers are always looking for the latest... next...…
Read More
Tags: ambition, branding, buyer's needs, communications, consultants, customer engagement, customer expectations, customer experience, customer needs, customers as marketers, emerging technologies, internet marketing, killer app, marketers, marketing plan, marketing strategy, media old-new-no, multi-channel, new media, old media, old ways - new ways, online media, referral business, referrals, relationships, reputation, rocket science, small business marketing, social media, social networking, status quo, tactics, traditional media, value, web-based marketing
Posted in marketing
No Comments »
stevebuelow.com
