How many times have you been told by your Mum, “It’s the thought that counts,” as counsel after getting a worthless piece of crap for a gift? Maybe that’s a good mantra to live by for casual gifts, but in business, it’s the worst piece of advice you...
Here’s a truth many small business owners DON’T want to embrace, much less give recognition to: the more marketing media you can use simultaneously, the more money you’ll make. You’ll also be a LOT less FRAGILE and vulnerable to an economic downturn, a serious competitor, commoditization, media disruption...
When I’m working with a client to plan their marketing action list, one of the things I always look to do is take a campaign they’re currently doing that IS working, and see how I can make it pay bigger. Unfortunately, most people don’t have this ability, simply...
Of the four M’s of marketing – Market, Message, Media and Math – the one that many don’t like is the math. Marketing is, at its core, applied psychology plus math; you can get the psychology side really, really right (offers, message, USP, etc.) but totally and completely...
John Edwards, the psychic medium known for talking to people’s dead relatives, makes millions selling tickets to two-hour events all over the world where he performs (key word: PERFORMS) his psychic feat to people wanting to believe in the afterlife, the ability to connect with lost family members...
One night in 1936, Sylvan Goldman, owner of the Humpty Dumpty supermarket chain in Oklahoma, sat in his office trying to figure out how to get customers to buy more groceries. Observing clients as they shopped, he noticed that many of them were struggling to carry the normal...
I WISH I could show you the marketing example I’m about to tell you about, but I must have accidentally thrown it out. It was an EXCELLENT example of why you need to be meticulous about cleaning and validating your lists BEFORE you send any kind of direct...
Email marketing during the 1990’s was a gold mine. Fifty to sixty percent response rates were common (compared to an industry benchmark of 20% today). Every email campaign I sent out got a flood of email responses. Today it’s an art form rather than a free-for-all. While email...
“Have you ever heard the phrase life is hard, but it’s harder when you’re stupid?” One of my favorite talk show personalities Bill Handle asks listeners this often. In my early days of selling, I earned the highest degree in D.U.M.B and discovered that cold prospecting and marketing...
The United States government is the largest customer in the world. They buy millions of dollars in services and products every year. Landing an IT government contract can be a huge boost for your business. But it’s not about grabbing for any government contract you can find. You...
