Brand. That’s a term we, as marketers, love to use but sometimes aren’t so good at explaining. And to small business owners, great at what they do, but struggling to reach and retain customers, how they think of their brand and its impact on their business can make a big difference. But first things first…
When you hear the word corporate, many of us think back to the days when we worked in a sea of cubicles in a sleek office building downtown. Although we worked hard, there were also holiday parties and potlucks. Employee newsletters and lunch & learns. There may have even been a softball game or two….
It’s official. Spring is on the horizon and warmer days are ahead. Time for daffodils and buttercups, yard sales and remodeling. Time to clean out the closets and de-clutter the work shed, pull up the weeds and plant the garden. It’s indeed time for new beginnings. And as a small business owner, what better way…
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday has officially kicked off the holiday shopping season. Email inboxes are bursting with special promotions, discounts, and coupons, just waiting to be redeemed. That’s right – email marketing. While social media and mobile marketing get all the attention, email marketing is still one of the most effective and least…
Have you ever wondered how some businesses get so many Twitter followers and you’ve been stuck at 10 for months now? Well, you’re in good company. That’s a challenge for many small businesses, including my own. Building a social following takes time. But, while time certainly is a factor, so is effort. Building a social…
Blockbuster video stores are closing. It was recently announced that the remaining 300 US stores will close by January. For those of us who can’t remember the last time we’ve walked into a Blockbuster, this is no surprise. But you wonder. How can a company that once dominated the movie rental market, employed 60,000 people, and had 9,000 retail locations at its peak in 2004 be down…
LinkedIn has well over 200 million users and is the 13th most viewed website in the world. For business owners, professionals, and job seekers, it is the place to be and be seen. When you get in there and figure out how it works, LinkedIn can be a great source for generating leads, nurturing client relationships, driving traffic to your website,…
One of the biggest challenges facing smaller businesses today is raising brand awareness. It’s a tough market out there and smaller names tend to get lost in the shuffle. And while most of the buzz about branding revolves around social media, for smaller firms, especially those that serve a local, maybe regional, market, adding event sponsorships to your overall strategy…
In a 2004 article for Wired magazine, Chris Anderson took a statistical term and made it cool. Mentioning the long tail strategy in relation to the success of popular companies like Amazon and Apple moved this concept into the mainstream and gave retailers an innovative way of moving hard to find items through the sales process. By making these items available to larger audiences, the…
When it comes to Disney World, I’ve just one thing to say – they’ve got this thing figured out! After spending a week there on vacation with my family recently, I came back tired yet awe-struck at the megabrand that is Disney! We overpaid for things and stood in long lines, but who cares, we…
In my quest to find a picture for this blog post, I happened upon something else entirely, a fresh perspective. My original intent was to have a serious talk about the importance of online communities. For the small business owner who has been slow to adopt the idea of using social media as another way…
Starbucks. Â Finally. Â Crap, the parking lot is full! No..wait, there’s a spot. I almost missed it..I’ll just back in. After I park, I cut the engine and trip out of my car. I try not to run, but can’t help it – it’s already been one of those mornings and they have something I really…