Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
Return with me now to those thrilling thoughts of yesterday... You will remember that I had met an independent insurance agent who once had a dominating presence in his local west-coast market, but lately was getting his tail kicked by various online services. Yeah, that friendly gecko is a lovable little guy... isn't he? That is, I suppose, until he removes your ability to pay your mortgage or put food on the table, right? That is what…
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Tags: business model, competition, competitive advantage, competitors, gecko, marketing budget, marketing plan, mass advertising, mass marketing, new media, offer, revenue model, routines, sales process, same same same, service lines, small business marketing
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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...…
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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
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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…
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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
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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…
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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
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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…
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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
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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...…
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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
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Sunday, January 4th, 2009
So, I'm watching a wildcard game last night between Indianapolis and San Diego, and suddenly something catches my attention. Now, I don't have a dog in this fight... or in any playoff game this year...so I was only interested in seeing quality football, regardless of the outcome. But what grabbed me wasn't on the field... what grabbed me was the content during a commercial break... for a car company, no less. Doesn't happen too often...…
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Tags: advertising, auto industry, customer, customer needs, emotion, game changer, ideas, marketers, marketing plan, marketing professionals, marketing strategy, risk - calculated, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing, small business owner, thinking new
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Monday, December 15th, 2008
So, the question comes up... with the ease of connecting through e-mail, social networking sites, and other online media, does traditional or direct mail have a place anymore? Well it seems..., the answer is yes. In fact, today happens to be the biggest day of the year for the U.S. Postal Service, who will process between 900,000,000 and 1,000,000,000 cards and letters in the next twenty-four hours. Unreal. This, in spite of the fact…
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Tags: advertising, authenticity, awareness, best customers, blogs, bulk mail, cliches, consistent, customer engagement, customer needs, customers, delivering content, direct mail, e-mail, genuine, goals, ideal customers, interactive technologies, junk mail, market, marketers, marketing calendar, marketing plan, marketing professionals, marketing strategy, mass market, message, objectives, processes, relationships, small business, small business owner, social media, social networking, spam
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Sunday, December 14th, 2008
It's 1959...; this poor gal's juggling eighteen things and managing multiple deadlines. The phone is ringing off the hook... that's good. But junk mail is pouring in at the rate of 39 pounds per day... that's not good. In the future, most of it won't make it to her desk. You see, if your post office looks anything like the one I was at today in Green Bay, then right in the middle of all the lock boxes are tables to sort your…
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Tags: b2b, bail outs, behavior, best customers, boot quaking, competition, competitors, credit crunch, demographics, direct mail, economy, financial resources, google reader, guessing wrong, hunkering down, ideal customers, junk mail, laser focused, market, marketing budget, marketing calendar, marketing plan, mass market, me-too, profile, research, ROI, small business, small business owner, spam, tactics, targeting
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Friday, December 12th, 2008
Yesterday, I wrote about receiving a 'direct mail' piece crammed with many gawdy, hard-to-read, large display ads for local business... you can
read it here. One thing is for sure..., people like recognition. They like to see their name in print, hear their voice on the radio, or watch their company on the tube. Show us a picture of a crowd we're…
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Tags: best customers, customer engagement, design style, direct mail, ideal customers, marketers, marketing plan, marketing professionals, media reps, psychic hotline, recognition, small business, small business owner, spam, traditional media
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