New Business Referrals – Chicken or the Egg?
I just started reading The Referral Engine by John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, the legendary guide to practical marketing for the small business.
I’ve seen John speak on a couple of occasions and I can tell you one thing – the man knows marketing. What’s more, he ...
The Power of FREE – A Campaign Update
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a marketing epiphany I had to a problem many of us small business owners face. Not enough customers, zero interest in my services, apathy to my offers. It all sounds so familiar, doesn't it?
So the light ...
The Power of FREE – an Experiment in Marketing: Part 2
In Part 1, I was searching for a way to grow my Austin customer base but wasn't sure how to do it. I realized I needed a Hail-Mary pass, a lightning strike to score some points with the elusive Austin market. Now here's what I decided to do:
The word “FREE” popped ...
The Power of FREE – an Experiment in Marketing: Part 1
Last week I decided to test the power of the word “FREE” to attract new customers.
First, let me give you a little background for my decision. I have almost no customers in Austin, my hometown. Because of a curious turn of events in my career and business, most of ...
5 Customer Truths Your Favorite Coffee Shop Can Teach You
Yesterday, I went to a Starbucks just in front of my office. I’ve been going there since it opened almost two years ago. It’s not an everyday thing but I’ll drop by two, maybe three times a week.
If you’re like me, when you go to your favorite coffee ...
Five Good Reasons VARs Should Consider Merging Now
There are many compelling reasons for VARs to consider mergers in the wake of the worst recession in over 50 years. Not the least of which is this sobering fact from the March 2010 issue of CRN: the number of VARs in North America dropped 50,000 over the last two ...
Maximize Brand Exposure with Facebook and Blog Integration!
I received some feedback on an article I wrote for last month’s Mastering the Art of Social Media Marketing newsletter. In the article, I mentioned the need to integrate Facebook and blogs to improve social media coverage. It was clear from the feedback, however, that I had pretty much missed ...
Five Ways to Get Thousands to Read Your Next Press Release
For most practitioners of PR, churning out press releases is a little like flipping hotcakes. It becomes a fairly easy routine after you’ve done a couple hundred or so.
A press release is the artistic equivalent of a sonnet, a pencil sketch, a classical music etude. It’s a concise marketing tool ...
Social Media’s Dark Side Revealed
Social media is supposed to be democratic, right? It's supposed to enable a sharing of ideas with a larger group than would be possible on email. Well, not all social media operates under that supposition. Some act with an authoritarian decisiveness ...
Business is a Dirty Job – Just ask Mike Rowe
“Oh, it’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it!” from “We Care a Lot” by Faith No More.
Have you seen the Discovery Channel show called Dirty Jobs, a show that celebrates the messiest, strangest, and grossest jobs in America? The show is hosted by Mike Rowe – a ...