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Five Tips for Building an Online Community by Cynthia Francis
Building a successful online community isn't as easy as it might seem. A thriving community requires defined goals and a clear strategy. Below are five tips to help you build an online community.
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Top 5 Elements of an Annual Business Plan by Donna Bletzinger
It's that time again: the end of another fiscal year. Time to assess this year's successes and start planning for next year. What does that mean? It means it's time to write your business plan.
A business plan can be hundreds ...
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Brand-Building: The Limits of Engagement by Joel Rubinson
Suppose you learned that most of your brand's buyers are switchers: that only 15% of your customers are highly loyal to your brand and account for maybe half of sales. The harsh reality is that that's a typical pattern for ...
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'White Swan' Marketing, or How to Focus on What Works by Jonathan Salem Baskin
When the latest marketing answers fail to produce the results you expect, maybe it's time to start asking different questions.
You don't need me to tell you that we're in a crisis of confidence: Consumers don't believe or act on the ...
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Five Marketing-Plan Pitfalls to Avoid
by Tim CalkinsIt's hard to do great marketing without a clear plan. Unfortunately, many marketing plans simply don't work very well; they add little value and end up on a shelf, collecting dust. Marketing leaders need to be aware of these five ...
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Six Keys to Creating a Winning Marketing Strategy
by Michael GoodmanIn a rush to get a new product to market, many companies don't invest the necessary time to get a solid strategy in place to ensure its success. Here are six keys to determine the right strategies to minimize the ...
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Your Baby's Ugly... and You've Got Bad Breath by Stephen Baker
It takes an incredible amount of intense drive, determination, and a strong ego to breathe life into a business and create products from scratch, but it's also that same ego that won't let a business owner be objective about what ...
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Marketing Strategy Is the Foundation for Business Success by Linda Popky
Take the time to ensure you have a well-thought-out, fully developed marketing strategy. It may require more work upfront, but it will pay off in the long run.
After all, about the only thing worse than not knowing where you're ...
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The Bottom-Line Case for Marketing to Women (Part 2) by Gerry Myers
To design marketing plans that are effective in attracting and selling to more women, you have to know where you are today. In other words: To get the right answers, you must start with the correct questions.
As your company ...
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Lessons in Experience Marketing: The 'Sideways' Wine Club
by Dave Chambers
Imagine a California wine club modeled after the movie "Sideways"?
Sure, it sounds cool. But there are many inherent challenges -- the decay curve on the "Sideways" recall, for example, and the fact that marketing a sensory product online is ...
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Dragons, Quests and Marketing Plans by Laura Patterson
A good marketing plan is in essence the Cliff Notes version of the company's current status, how it got there and what if anything needs to be addressed.
In other words, a good marketing plan has all the elements of ...
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The Nonprofit Business and Marketing Plan—Part 2: A Guide for Marketing
by Elaine FogelTaking the time to create a written Marketing Plan is the icing on your Business Plan cake. Without it, it's difficult to achieve your business goals. Having a solid Business and Marketing Plan in tow enables you to evaluate any ...
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The Nonprofit Business and Marketing Plan--Part 1: Your Road Map
by Elaine FogelIn the nonprofit sector, many organizations operate without a strategy or written annual plan. Even some small-to-midsize businesses have avoided the task of developing written plans, focusing instead on generating revenue and simply staying alive in their markets.
But going ...
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The Four Marketing Practices of Winners by Laura Patterson
For marketers in the services industry, it's important to understand the key factors that enable us to profitably acquire and keep customers.
Here are four factors that represent best practices for marketers.
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Five Serious Considerations (and a Checklist) for Your Next Marketing Plan by Laura Patterson
Most businesspeople intuitively know that the key to successful marketing is having a marketing plan—a blueprint for action. But many companies operate without one, focusing instead on the issues of the moment without committing to a long-term strategy.
A marketing ...
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Which Half of Your Budget is Working? by Michael Wolfe
"Marketing response modeling" is specifically designed to tell you which half of your ad budget is working, and which is not.
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The CEO as Chief Expectations Officer by Elaine Fogel
When your CEO has high expectations for the organization that include new initiatives and directions during the fiscal year, long after budgets are approved, you are at a crossroads.
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SWOT Team: Taking Action by Hank Stroll, Yvonne Bailey
This issue’s dilemma asks: What does it take to close the knowledge-to-action gap in your workplace? Also: How do you convince a boss that it takes money to make money?
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Financial Intelligence for Strategic Planning by Jim Lenskold
Bringing financial intelligence into the intelligence mix offers new insight into the potential value of strategic and tactical alternatives.
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Does Your Marketing Strategy Drive up to Echo Point? by Sean D'Souza
Most marketing strategy is misguided. It’s not so much because the strategy’s not good, but because the strategists don’t drive their marketing strategy to Echo Point.