June 2011 Features

• Pulling the Trigger: Bringing the Right Message to the Right Person at the Right Time

  June 30, 2011

  Marketers are certainly doing a better job at getting the right message to the right person, but it is becoming increasingly important to send that message at the right time. To send timely messages, marketers must have a clear understanding of the customer’s situation so they can generate the best event-based marketing activity.

• Top 5 Web Sites Must-Haves

  June 29, 2011

  Your corporate website is the ultimate tool to get all of your company’s information out to your prospects. This is a long standing idea, and it has become an essential part of what your company offers, in terms of marketing. But you need more than just information. There are five elements that every successful website should have.

• 3 Tips On Deciding How Much To Pay Yourself

  June 28, 2011

  As an entrepreneur, you may start off with an idea and have the drive to work long hours for years to achieve your business goals, but none of you want to work forever…or for free.

• 5 Daily Habits Of Successful Entrepreneurs

  June 27, 2011

  In interviewing many successful entrepreneurs over the years, I’ve noticed that they often rely on small daily habits and routines—both in business and their personal lives that keep the needle on their business moving in the right direction. These disciplines aren’t complicated but they pay big dividends.

• How Often Is The Customer Right?

  June 24, 2011

  No matter how well you run your company, there are always going to be a few chronically unhappy customers who cost more to maintain than to lose. One of my heroes in the aviation business is Herb Kelleher, the legendary founder of Southwest Airlines.

• Marketing at Work: Texting Takes Hold

  June 23, 2011

  SMS has been around for less than 18 years. It is literally less than half as old as e-mail, but it is spreading like wildfire. 2002 marked the first time that the number of SMS users shot past the total number of e-mail users on a global basis. At that time, half of all mobile phone subscribers were using SMS.

• The Efficiency Economy

  June 22, 2011

  Last week's inflation data were released, and they weren't exactly pretty. For the last three months, the annualized Consumer Price Index is running at +8.4% and the Producer Price Index was at a whopping +12.8%. All of this is occurring while the Federal Reserve keeps claiming that inflation is tame.

• Five Ways To Tell If Your Company’s CEO Earns His/Her Pay

  June 21, 2011

  CEOs earned an average annual paycheck of $11 million in 2010, with pay soaring by an average of 23 percent last year, according to research released by the AFL-CIO in April. As the economy’s sluggish recovery has analysts worried, Henman, a consultant for Fortune 500 CEOs, believes that company top dogs who actually earn their money are easy to spot.

• 5 Powerful Alternatives For Social Media Haters

  June 20, 2011

  Are you one of those CEOs or business owners who thinks social media is a waste of time and money? Rather than argue with you, I’ve decided to agree wholeheartedly and see how small businesses can get the same marketing benefits that social media brings without all the time-wasting, money-sucking fluff that keeps so many CEOs away.

• Using Green Practices To Market Your Business

  June 17, 2011

  While not every part of your marketing plan needs to trumpet how amazingly eco-friendly your company is integrating descriptions of the steps you’ve taken can provide a significant boost.

• Planning for Your Future

  June 16, 2011

  If you truly want to be part of what can be an exciting future in this diverse economy, it’s time to take a systematic approach to creating your future.

• Get Your Employees On Twitter

  June 15, 2011

  Twitter can be a very important tool for companies. Having a genuine, unforced interaction between employees, the company and followers can create a positive and connected network. There is value in promotion that isn't directly from the brand. Having ambassadors to the brand is a successful strategy for you to promote the company and the mission.

• The Economy: This is Not a Soft Patch

  June 14, 2011

  One of our recovery indicators, the NASDAQ, seems to have relapsed and may be heading for rehab. Perhaps the wild and fun ride it had on Ben Bernanke's QE2 has now come to an end. It may not get another cruise until he pilots a brand new ship, QE3, but rumors of that cruise liner’s voyage are just that—rumors. QE2's huge midnight buffet was nice, but the economic heartburn may take a while to pass.

• Straight Talk about M&As in A “Cup O Joe”

  June 13, 2011

  We have a client right now that is a pretty good sized business—about $20 million to $40 million in revenue, very profitable. They have hired us to help them find a local company that has more capabilities because they will not only get in for less than if they bought new equipment, but they will also get the customers inherent with that.

• 5 Content Marketing Strategies For Small Business

  June 10, 2011

  One of the most effective, low-cost ways to drive traffic and build awareness for your business is through content marketing: creating and distributing relevant content to attract, acquire, and engage your target audience.

• Mobile Marketing Takes Hold

  June 09, 2011

  The first time someone thought to write on a tablet that could be lifted and hauled rather than writing on a cave wall, print became the ultimate portable media. Today, mobile media devices such as smartphones and iPads have become a primary source of portable media from which we can obtain information and communicate with one another.

• Economy Gets Pause that Isn’t Refreshing

  June 07, 2011

  As discussed in blogposts, the economy was getting weak, and the latest data confirm that. Every one of our recovery trackers are above or equal to their levels at the recession on a current dollar basis. Those levels, however, are in some jeopardy because of a slowing economy, and inflation.

• 6 Easy Ways To Reward Your Twitter Followers

  June 06, 2011

  Consumers follow their favorite businesses on Twitter to get an inside look at the business, to find out about new products, earn discounts and be a part of a community. Businesses have the potential to turn these fans into brand ambassadors by making their followers feel special and appreciated. Here are six ways to reward your Twitter followers.

• What makes a brand?

  June 03, 2011

  What makes a brand? Is it the name? Identifying characteristics such as a logo? What people think and remember? It could be all and maybe so much more.

• Strategy versus Implementation

  June 02, 2011

  Have you ever competed in an athletic event totally convinced that your game plan was “right on” but as it turned out your execution was dreadful? You repeatedly hear highly successful coaches, after a disappointing defeat, say that they had a great game plan but their players and coaches didn’t execute. This not only happens in sports but in business as well.

• Use Social Media for Online Press Releases

  June 01, 2011

  This article describes how your company can use social media as a sort of online press release to reach your internal and external publics.