Do you use coupons to promote your business? In the first half of 2011, coupon redemption volume reached $1.75 billion despite a decline in coupon distribution, according to NCH Marketing Services, Inc. Today’s consumers, whether businesses or individuals, are value-oriented and looking for deals. There are pros and cons to coupon marketing, but if you [...]
A few days ago, the writer of an op-ed piece in the local paper said that we needed to get "corporate money" out of politics and suggested that the way to do that was through legislation. I disagree. We've got plenty of laws. We don't need any more of them. (Although I wouldn't oppose a [...]
No, this isn't a rant about English-only or bilingual workplaces -- it's a rant about corporate jargon sparked when I read an article by Laura Vanderkam, "Why you should cool it with the corporate jargon." I understand how internal jargon develops and why using acronyms can save time if everybody understands the code -- but [...]
Satisfying your customers is not enough to keep them—you need to make them loyal so they’ll keep coming back to you instead of another supplier who does enough to satisfy them. Here’s how to turn your satisfied customers into loyal advocates: 1. Find out what your customers want and provide it. Don’t guess; ask them [...]
How many ways can your customers communicate with you? Recently a friend of mine was evaluating two companies who were vying to provide a service to her church. One had a product with a pricing and service package that was clearly superior. But that salesperson would only communicate by phone -- he didn’t use email [...]
Recently a Florida high school teacher was suspended for controversial comments he made about same-sex marriage on his personal Facebook page. Pro golfer and ESPN analyst Paul Azingercaught some flak from ESPN for comments he made on Twitter about President Obama’s performance. The high school teacher was reinstated and ESPN is handling the Azinger [...]
If you’re in business today, you have a website. In fact, there’s an excellent chance you have multiple websites, or at least multiple domain names pointing to your primary website. Choosing those domain names must be done with care. You can use different domain names as tracking devices to test your various advertising and promotion [...]
Have you considered camel mail? No, I'm not talking about an alternative to the postal service; I'm talking about the design of your direct mail pieces. Camel mail is an envelope with a hump that indicates there is something unusual inside. The hump sparks curiosity and most people won't be able to resist opening the [...]
The highest quality e-mail database you can build is one where your subscribers have purchased from you and have opted-in to your list. These people are ripe to become repeat customers—as long as you don’t chase them away. I do a lot of online shopping and I like getting e-mails with specials, discounts and new [...]
Recently I discussed the possibility of ghostwriting a book for someone who might have been (but will not be) a new client. The story illustrates everything you should not do when you’re looking for a writer for any project, but especially for one as important and comprehensive as a book. I was introduced to this [...]