Have you ever just felt that your business and what you do is nothing special? No matter what you sell or where you are located or even where you market, your business faces lots of competition. And as you dig deeper into who your competition is and what they are doing, your feel nothing distinguishes your…
Read anything offering marketing tips and you will be encouraged to learn who your customers are. You want to understand the demographic make-up as well as their likes and dislikes and, of course, what they buy. Yet, so often that is the end of the effort. Getting the data can be done with registration information,…
Let’s start with a paraphrased quote – “Marketing is everything you do” – Jay Conrad Levinson This quote is distilled from a slightly longer one in Levinson’s book, “Guerrilla Marketing.” I have used it for years when talking about marketing. Marketing should be on your mind from the moment you have an idea. Why? Because…
Question 1: What product or service in your business adds the most to your bottom line? I hope you answered that question without even needing to take a look at your financials. This may not be the product or service that necessarily provides the greatest return per item. You may sell only one a year….
“You have to be odd to be Number 1” – Dr. Seuss. What makes your business different from the competition? This question is one to constantly think about. Being different, or being odd as Dr. Seuss writes, is just another way of reminding you to help your customers identify your business and your business niche….
Let’s begin with a story. It’s a story about a man who was upset with the way things were done. The man decided to compile his issues and then post this for people to see and comment. Because of a new technology, his message was not only read by the community but reached far and…
Do you steer away from the competition? Or do you embrace the opportunity and locate beside your competitors? Often small-business owners will tell you that they would be happy if they had no competition. Yet having no competition may mean you are selling something that no one wants. Given that thought, the same owner may…
I am old enough to remember the line, “It’s a bird. It’s a plane” as part of the Superman comics and television show. But I haven’t had a reason to think much about this line until I recently got my car serviced. My dealer has moved into a new building. It’s nice. As you enter…
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