Implementing a Powerful Marketing Campaign is Easy

October 28, 2009

"Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes." ~Peter Drucker Implementing a powerful marketing campaign is easy.  Developing one is not. The hardest, and most crucial part, of a powerful marketing campaign is in identifying what you can say that helps you connect to customers and […]

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9 ideas for yelp.com to acquire thousands of new SMB customers

October 22, 2009

"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself." ~Peter Drucker Yelp is hiring a Director of Local Business Marketing and challenges this person to use outbound marketing tactics such as direct mail, Search Engine Marketing and enhanced tools for its sales […]

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8.5 Ways a Hot Dog Store Can Increase Its Twitter Following

August 20, 2009

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” ~George Bernard Shaw et's Be Frank is a relatively new retail store in San Francisco's Marina district.  In an increasingly competitive retail hot dog environment in San Francisco, Let's Be Frank differentiates itself from the pack by selling grass-fed beef hot […]

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Where are all the rock-and-roll dentists?

August 19, 2009

"All progress occurs because people dare to be different.” ~Harry Millner I bet that a dentist who created a themed environment in his or her office, one that gave its customers a greater semblance of comfort or familiarity, would do a lot better than your me-too, copy cat dentist who promotes the same benefits as […]

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What Hare Krishnas Can Teach Us About Marketing

July 31, 2009

“Persuasion is the centerpiece of business activity.” “Story Telling That Moves People,” Harvard Business Review, June 2003: 1 Free sampling is an age old marketing tactic that often arises from the idea that a customer first needs to try a product to reduce the future risk of spending money to buy it.  McDonald’s is currently […]

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It’s The Consumer, Stupid!

July 29, 2009

“No one cares about you.” ~ Seth Godin If I could give any business owner or executive only one piece of advice, it would be to continually strive to solve the problems of your customers and to be of service to them.  By engaging with, listening to and deeply understanding them, you will be able […]

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There are only three ways to grow revenue

June 24, 2009

“If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.” ~ John Maxwell From a mathematical point of view, there are only three ways to grow revenue: 1)    Increase customer count 2)    Increase purchase frequency 3)    Increase average purchase price This falls out from the basic equation of: # customers X purchase […]

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Reward your customers for fulfilling a civic duty

June 24, 2009

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” ~G.K. Chesterton Once again, at least a half dozen retailers that I visited yesterday passed up the opportunity to completely surprise and delight me by offering me a discount, or even free item as a reward […]

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Say Something Persuasive or Why Bother?

June 24, 2009

“If you want to stand out, don't be different; be outstanding.” ~ Meredith West This is a market.  It’s located at 22nd & Irving (surprise!). I suppose if I were going to land a small aircraft on this block, I’d be happy knowing where I was.  It’s kind of hard to tell from the photo, […]

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Stop Being Ambiguous and Customers Will Find You

February 10, 2009

“And how is clarity to be achieved? Mainly by taking trouble and by writing to serve people rather than to impress them.” ~F. L. Lucas I love this billboard advertisement.  There is no ambiguity as to what type of law Mr. Bell practices.  There is no cute tagline alluding to a nebulous or tangential benefit […]

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