Strategic Marketing

Marketers act as thought we are all cattle waiting to be herded into a transaction. It seems as though the prevailing thought about all this social technology is that it enables organizations to "herd" us into their community and they use trick of the trade to do so. Ever consider what is the intention of the large social networks? Facebook wants our traffic so they can sell ads to the marketers. The market still fails to understand that we don't want ads rather we're looking for... Read Full Story

Markets move when new information enters a market. Today markets are overloaded with new information flooding our minds and vying for our attention. New and old media grabs our attention when it provides relevant and relative information that appeals to our affinities. Media surrounds us 24/7 both online and off-line. Media moves markets because it influences behavior, thinking, conversations and actions. Markets are segmented into four categories regardless of product or service... Read Full Story

I received the following message from a connection through Linkedin. Hello, My latest position at an ad agency came to a close this week, as the company went out of business. I am forwarding you my LinkedIn profile in hopes that you or someone you know may be aware of job opportunities in advertising, marketing or social media. This request made me think about the " Agency business " and why is might be failing for those unaware. Advertising agencies are known for the creative skills in... Read Full Story

I gave a presentation recently on business strategy. We have limited time, resources and money and have to decide each day how best to allocate them to achieve our goals. In my talk, I focused on three things that are essential to success...both in business and in life: Motivation, Inspiration and Passion. We rarely talk about that in business...to our detriment: Good morning. Thank you for the wonderful introduction. I will try to live up to the expectations in my talk today. As I was... Read Full Story

originally posted on www.articleplanet.net/marketing ————————————————————————— 1. Post cards. Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. People read postcards when the message is brief. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost. 2. Use buddy marketing to promote your business. For example, if you send out brochures, you could include a leaflet and... Read Full Story

For a company or organization contracting a freelance designer is like having a full-time employee at your fingertips but without the overhead. No unemployment insurance, disability, medical or dental to carry, and no expensive equipment purchases and maintenance. Most projects are based on an hourly rate comparable to a full-time employee but you pay by the project. If you are a small company or organization tired of scrambling to find quality design help this might be the solution you need... Read Full Story

Don't get sucked into following the competition! A key in operating a thriving business is to know which outside influences to react to and which ones to ignore. As a business owner, you must learn how to identify, judge and estimate the risks to your business plan. I raced in the Goodlife Toronto 1/2 Marathon recently http://www.torontomarathon.com/ . I used this race as a training exercise for the Reggae Marathon in December http://www.reggaemarathon.com/index.php . My goal was to finish... Read Full Story

Many people no longer use the Yellow Pages as actively as ten years ago, or even five years ago for that matter. Why? Because other media are taking market share away from the Yellow Pages.   Of all the competing media, the internet has had the most adverse affected the effectiveness of advertising in the Yellow Pages.   Despite the huge exodus of shoppers abandoning the Yellow Pages, the directories continue increasing rates year after year. That's like gas companies charging higher and... Read Full Story

I gave a talk recently at the Wasaga Beach Women's Business Association. This is an active group of women business owners who are progressive and are interested in growing their businesses. Many of them already understand the benefits of marketing online and see the benefits of using twitter, Linkedin and facebook. My topic was, "How to maximize your marketing in turbulent times". I focused on how to incorporate social media marketing into existing marketing plans. Below is the text of my... Read Full Story

Why do so many marketing departments strive for ambiguity and meaninglessness? Witness, for example,  this  gem of a company description.  As Dave Barry would say, I'm not making this  up: Omniture, Inc. is a leading provider of online business optimization software, enabling customers to manage and enhance online, offline and multi-channel business initiatives.  Huh?  Turns out they do web analytics.  Oh.  They could have just said so and spent the rest of their words telling you  how... Read Full Story