Fast food consumers are rarely loyal—if they see a shorter line across the street, that's usually where they'll go. Accordingly, Miami Management—which owns 16 Wendy's franchises in Kentucky—implemented new technology that changes the drive-thru process by adding multiple lanes and a remote order center. The long-term payoff: quicker, more accurate ... more

Congratulations! The lead machine is up and running. Your marketing programs are bringing in new prospects and you're starting to have an impact on the revenue line. You have a bigger budget this quarter, and more target audiences to add to your list. The stakes just got higher. With untested ... more

This week, the Lenskold Group and MarketingProfs released results of our new survey on marketing accountability, measurements, and ROI. The 2007 Marketing ROI and Measurements Study focuses on the difference between companies using profitability metrics and those using traditional marketing metrics with no financial metrics. Among other findings, the research ... more

Creative accounting is certainly an ill-advised proposition, but in most other areas of business, from manufacturing to marketing to management, creative thinking often represents your most valuable, viable opportunity to differentiate your company from the competition. With indistinguishable offerings saturating many industries, creativity might even be your most important asset. ... more

Many business owners or CEOs have not taken the time to educate themselves about what marketing is, and what it should be doing for them. Sometimes, even those who have lack a good grasp on a good and accurate definition of marketing. Why does this happen? And what can we ... more

When Dutch Internet company Rhinofly needed new designers, project managers, and programmers, the company didn't want to use traditional job boards because in the past they hadn't been effective in attracting qualified candidates. To target the best tech-savvy job candidates, Rhinofly created a video capturing the essence of the company ... more

The Exodus story tells us about one of the world's first CEOs. With Passover beginning the night of April 2, it seems fitting to look at Moses' strengths and weaknesses. Was he a good leader? Did he market freedom and the Promised Land successfully? Whether your religious traditions embrace the Old ... more

Though by no means cutting edge in the usual sense... scissors and related tools help drive the $30 billion craft and hobby industry. Fiskars Brands, Inc., a global brand based in the Netherlands with U.S. headquarters in Madison, WI, was losing sales of craft tools—including its famed specialized scissors—to commoditized, ... more

When an online electronics retailer runs a holiday-season Google paid search campaign, and the resulting cost per acquisition is far higher than the average cost per order, something is not right. Yet that's what happened with the 2005 holiday campaign of The Source By Circuit City. The following year, Source flipped ... more

Warren Buffett is regarded by his peers as one of the brightest and most savvy minds in investment, business strategy, and CEO leadership. Buffett is known for the autonomy he gives to his managers, the ability to think "long term," and unparalleled skill in evaluating talent. He's also a CEO ... more

Most marketers have heard by now of the kerfuffle about an internal memo, leaked through a popular Starbucks fan blogsite, penned by Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz. The blogosphere is abuzz with the come-to-Jesus nature of Schultz's revelation that Starbucks may have lost its mystique. So what's next for the ... more

Marketing operations enables an organization to run the marketing function as a fully accountable business. Marketing operations is about performance, financial management, strategic planning, marketing resource, and skills assessment and management. If you are considering developing a marketing operations function, this article outlines some the five primary responsibilities. more

Most of us dread unproductive business meetings. Here's several ways to improve their efficiency and usefulness. more

It's the first week of the quarter. You're on deadline to get new programs and sales tools in gear. Meanwhile, the sales team is having its kickoff—and changing the success criteria for your lead machine! They're not deliberately changing the game on you. They're in "New Quarter's Resolutions" mode. If they ... more

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ITtoolbox was looking for a way to increase ROI on lead-generation campaigns for its 700 advertisers, among them such big guns as IBM, Microsoft, and Accenture. So ITtoolbox built its own contextual keyword engine, which provided a greater than 50% boost in lead volume and dramatically increased relevancy, boosting conversion ... more

He could stop traffic in Moscow, Tokyo, Nairobi, Shanghai, and Mumbai. Kings, presidents, and prime ministers worldwide would take his call. He outshines Madonna, Mick Jagger, and Meryl Streep. Although it has been more than 25 years since he occupied center stage, he is the world's greatest personal brand. He ... more

Whenever people strive to buy a complex product, they want to learn as much as they can prior to talking with a sales rep. For example, people spend almost two months researching new cars online before ever stepping into a car showroom. Or they download user manuals for expensive cameras ... more

When you've schlepped your staff and booth to numerous tradeshows throughout the year, with no concrete results to point to, it's time for a change in your marketing approach. Euchner-USA, Inc. all but jettisoned its traditional print advertising efforts and embraced a comprehensive B2B online marketing model. more

What's the best way to rectify an embarrassing situation with a client? Read on for sound advice on how to handle client blunders and other screw-ups. more

The Points of Light Foundation's annual event had grown moribund, and the house list stagnant, says Chief Creative Director Todd Potochnik. But he and his team were able to boost attendance from the previous year's conference by more than 25% and garner an 85% "satisfactory or above" approval rating from ... more

Here's a popular way to generate online leads: Buy a keyword ad on a search engine site. In your ad, offer free content -- such as a white paper -- to respondents who complete a short form. In theory, this type of campaign works well: The people who respond get something ... more

The majority of Technorati's Top 100—many of which have teams of writers—feature new posts as often as a dozen times a day. Can a corporate blog with a single writer build a large international audience without multiple daily postings? more

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Here's a look at how Annie's Homegrown used grassroots marketing to propel itself from a home-based startup selling a commodity food item—packaged macaroni-and-cheese—in small mom-and-pop natural food stores to a vibrant business with products that are sold by supermarkets in all 50 states. more