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 MoreThere’s a curious phenomenon at church potlucks, which anyone who has cooked for one has witnessed. Simply cooking a dish you know to be delicious is not enough to entice people to eat it. As my mom taught me, you have…
Read MoreImagine a car designer saying, “It’s boring to have the brake on the right and the accelerator on the left. We need to stand out! Let’s put the brake next to this cup-holder.” How well would a car like this…
Read MoreMy husband and I had a great experience dining at Jimmy G’s, so I wrote them a five-star review on Yelp. Less than an hour later, I received an email from Ross, the manager, thanking me for reviewing the restaurant.…
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 MoreLately, I’ve heard many complaints about the new Facebook timeline for businesses. Change can certainly be unwelcome and inconvenient, but the new timeline design has actually improved Facebook marketing opportunities for businesses. A Simply Measured study released at the end…
Read MoreRoute 52 near Cincinnati is an interesting drive– it follows the Ohio River, takes you through some cute small towns and, surprisingly, presents drivers with a stark marketing lesson. That lesson is to think like a customer. On my drive,…
Read MoreFoursquare is a social site that reports having 15 million members worldwide. The number is pretty impressive, but is Foursquare an effective small business marketing tool? As with any marketing tactic, the answer depends on the kind of business you have. Here…
Read MoreWord-of-mouth marketing, the kind of marketing where your customers spread the word for you, is an exceptionally effective marketing strategy in our world of connections and sharing. Customers trust word-of-mouth because it comes from their disinterested friends, family or online…
Read MoreDo you know what your customers are thinking? Do you know what really matters to them? You should find out! It will make your marketing more effective and efficient. Sometimes what your customers think and value might surprise you. I…
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