Small Business Marketing
Have you ever paid for an estimate? Neither have I. And yet the marketing universe is full of badges, buttons and starbursts proclaiming their benefits: Promoting free estimates is like boasting about offering a toll-free number. It’s simply a cost of…
Read MoreI once helped a small business that sent out poorly-designed post cards. Although the company lacked design sensibilities, its efforts were still incredibly successful because the marketing strategy was carefully crafted and spot-on. The lesson here is that marketing strategy…
Read MoreThese days, video content is a powerful marketing tool. Each month, 45.4% of internet users view at least one video. Each day, 100 million internet users watch video content. And Video Brewery reports that 90% of one online retailer’s customers…
Read MoreIn this interview, Dave Weatherholt plays a bit of devil’s advocate, challenging my assertion that brands should avoid marketing gimmicks. But I remain firm– marketing gimmicks are bad for long-term success. Stick to what your business is passionate about, and…
Read MoreA few years ago, in the face of the obesity epidemic, Sesame Street tried to give Cookie Monster a new slogan: “Cookie is a sometimes food.” Cookie Monster bravely faced this new challenge, giving up his favorite phrase, “C is…
Read MoreGroupon is the group coupon website that features daily deals– if enough customers want to buy the deal, they get a coupon for a 50-90% discount. Otherwise, the deal is canceled. But since the discounts are hefty, and Groupon itself…
Read MoreDescribing a product or service can often turn into a navel-gazing activity for marketing writers. When a business doesn’t understand their customers and what they care about, they usually engage in marketing that appeals to their own management. The problem…
Read MoreIf you’ve got a great product or service, what’s the best way to market and sell it? By letting customers try it out! Lighthouse Carwash does this whenever they open a new car wash. For the first few days, all…
Read MoreSome marketing professionals seem to think marketing is all about “pulling one over” on customers with their clever tactics. The trouble with this philosophy (besides being ethically problematic, of course) is that it just doesn’t work. Marketers aren’t smarter than…
Read MoreFacebook advertising is receiving a lot of buzz with small businesses lately (probably because Facebook launched a direct mail campaign targeted at small businesses). If you received this mailing, you know the Facebook talking points – they have 500 million…
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