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Say it With Me: Res-O-Nate

01/17/2010 by

Everyone wants repeat purchasers. They are less expensive on a cost- per-sale basis, and it makes the job of learning customer’s wants and needs much easier. Other than speaking to people on their terms, what else can a small business with a smaller budget, and man-hours in the day, do to accomplish this? My solution is to resonate on a deeper level. Often people buy from small businesses because of the personal touches. Using a quality Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool is often the best way to accomplish this end. You can fill it with all kinds of facts, like birthdays, anniversaries, date of first purchase, favorite likes/dislikes and whatever else you think is pertinent.

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Filed Under: Branding, Customer Relationship Management, Integrated Marketing Communications, Small Business Tagged With: , , ,

Too Much Email!

01/13/2010 by

Too Much EmailEveryday, I think I unsubscribe from at least two newsletters because they over-message me. I don’t know about you, but I peronsonally can’t stand for anyone to send me more than one communication per-day, unless I’ve written them back.

It feels like the times when someone leaves you a message and then calls you, again, before you get the chance to call them back. It is annoying and a little creepy. If you have so much information to send, please wait to send it all at once.  You’re filling up my inbox, and I can’t take it! I said that I would receive communications from you, not that I wanted to date. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Branding, Email, Integrated Marketing Communications

In 2010: Respect your Prospect

01/05/2010 by

As of today, I am calling on all marketers to respect their prospects this year.  Too often, I see SPAM, intellectually lazy communications, and a general lack of respect for the message receiver. I ask Marketers, what do you do when someone screams at you? You may hear, but you don’t listen.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Integrated Marketing Communications, Small Business Tagged With: , ,

A Co-Mingling of Expertise

12/30/2009 by


Spatula Tim and I have felt as though we received so much benefit from the community and collaborative nature of the contestants, judges, and blog responders from Blog Off 2, that we would share some excerpts from the multiple conversations that we have engaged in, about branding and going to market with a new product, for a combined final post. The following (edited for your reading enjoyment) rhetoric outlines some of the finer points of our conversations… [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Branding, Integrated Marketing Communications, Product Development, Small Business Tagged With: , ,

3 Must-Ask Questions Before Choosing a Marketing Campaign

12/30/2009 by

Your business is growing and you are ready to take it to that elusive “next level,” so you’ve selected a couple of different marketing agencies to develop plans that will extend your unique message. They have presented their Integrated Marketing Communications plans to you, both look good and you can’t quite decide which one you want to go with. Although there are plenty of times in life (and business) you should go with your gut, frankly, this is not one of them. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Branding, Integrated Marketing Communications, Small Business Tagged With: ,

All I Want for Christmas is to Love LinkedIn

12/30/2009 by

Personal-accountability LinkedIn, I don’t want to be negative, so take the following comments as constructive criticism to bring out the best in you. I believe in you, LinkedIn, and one day I’m sure you’ll show me you believe in yourself too. As the only large social media networking tool specifically built with B2B “linking” in mind, I am often disappointed at the lack of tools and cumbersome operating structure made available by your website.  While LinkedIn improvement wouldn’t be my favorite present of this holiday season, it could be a heck of a stocking stuffer because I want so much for you to realize your potential. Hopefully the following will prompt introspection leading to personal growth.

I will outline three beefs (in the interest of time), I have with LinkedIn, that keep me from sharing my love with the site under, the auspices that it will motivate the site’s developers.

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Filed Under: Integrated Marketing Communications, LinkedIn, Social Media

Social Media ROI via ReTweets and Forwards

12/30/2009 by

As a marketer, you are constantly challenged with verifying the value of your efforts. Sometimes this is a simple task, by tracking communication directly to purchase behavior. Others, a deeper understanding of the social implications of your efforts must be taken into account to be able to relay the same ROI message.  The latter is often the case with regard to social media forwards and retweets; this also happens to be the subject of my Blog Off II competition posts – socially relevant marketing value from social media and traditional marketing. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Integrated Marketing Communications, Social Media
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