April 24th, 2023
I was working with a client recently to develop an e-mail campaign that they wanted to send out to a list of prospects in a particular order. We were spending quite a bit of time discussing the order and the variation—and progression—in content for these emails.
And then it dawned on me!
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Tags: copywriting, email campaigns, email marketing, email sequence, email software, landing page, landing pages, prospecting
Posted in Content Marketing | No Comments »
April 21st, 2023
Job seekers can think of LinkedIn as a search engine. Their goal should be to show up in searches that recruiters, HR pros, and hiring managers use to find talent. There are five primary things job seekers need to do to increase their odds of showing up on these searches (without their current employers or colleagues knowing they’re in job search mode).
Here are our top five recommendations for effectively harnessing the power of LinkedIn for your job search. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: finding a job, gig economy, job search, LinkedIn for job search, looking for a job
Posted in Career Advice | No Comments »
March 13th, 2023
“XYZ customer thinks our product should do ABC!” or “XYZ customer doesn’t understand…”
These conversations are often accompanied by chuckles, eye rolling and agreement among many, if not all, members of the group that the “customers just don’t get it.”
That may be true. But if they don’t, whose fault is it? Yours!
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Tags: Customer Service, listening to customers, marketing research, voice of the customer
Posted in Business Development, Client Relations | No Comments »
January 12th, 2023
Much of my work over the years has been with “service brands” — brands that are not tied to a particular product, but to the delivery of some type of service — educational services, health care services, energy services, engineering services, consulting services, etc.
Developing and maintaining a strong brand for a service is, in my opinion, significantly more challenging than developing and maintaining a strong brand for a product. Why? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: brand audit, brand building, Brand Management, service brands, the importance of branding for service businesses
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 10th, 2023
As we enter 2023, I can’t help but notice lots of commentary about what we can expect on a variety of fronts, including marketing. As I think about marketing in 2023, a few things spring to mind, maybe because I was doing a lot of reading about them during the last week or so of the year while I was enjoying some downtime. But, I see three key trends for 2023: a continued focus on local marketing, disruption from ChatGPT, and increasingly sophisticated use of data and analytics.
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Tags: AI, artificial intelligence, blockchain, ChatGPT, digital disruption, pros and cons of ChatGPT, Technology, using ChatGPT
Posted in Content Marketing | No Comments »
December 28th, 2022
Many of you have probably been at goal-setting seminars or workshops where the leader will pose a question like: “Would you like to make more money?,” and, of course, everybody nods or raises their hand. Then the leader will approach a workshop participant and Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: establishing marketing goals, marketing goals, marketing objectives, marketing strategy, realistic marketing goals, using data effectively
Posted in Marketing and Branding, Small Business Strategy | No Comments »
December 22nd, 2022
And, quite honestly, it may not even really matter to them.
A lot of businesses worry unnecessarily about market share. It’s understandable because we read a lot about market share in the media. It’s something that big companies worry about a lot and, to a large degree, they need to. Smaller companies, though, really don’t need to be worried about market share. In fact, Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: market share, marketing strategy, Strategy, why market share doesn't matter
Posted in Marketing and Branding, Small Business Strategy | No Comments »
December 20th, 2022
I’m a big fan of conducting SWOT analyses, not only for strategic planning but really for any situation where you’re faced with an important business decision. A SWOT can help you gain clarity around the strengths and opportunities you can leverage and the weaknesses and threats you need to overcome. Pretty basic, but very powerful when done well.
Though common in large organizations, many small businesses and solopreneurs may not be familiar with the tool. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: conducting a SWOT analysis, Strategic Planning, Strategy, strengths weaknesses opportunities threats, SWOT analysis
Posted in Strategic Communications | No Comments »
December 16th, 2022
It’s not unusual, when I’m meeting with a new prospect or making a presentation related to marketing and the issue of competitors comes up, for someone to say: “We don’t really have any competitors.”
My response: “Well, actually you do.”
Even the latest and greatest brand new technological innovation that nobody has ever seen before will have to think about competitors. Here’s why. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: analyzing the competition, competition, competitive matrix, competitors, direct competitors, indirect competitors
Posted in Competition, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
December 14th, 2022
The business market is different. While some consumers are also small business owners, it can be challenging to ferret out those segments. In addition, small businesses do not represent a homogeneous group that has the same needs, interests, avocations, and “hot buttons.”
This distinction can represent challenges to companies not familiar with—or aware of—the distinctions between B2C (business to consumer) and B2B (business to business) advertising.
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Tags: ABM, account based management, B2B marketing, marketing strategy, marketing to businesses
Posted in Marketing and Branding | No Comments »