What’s Working in Marketing

Idk what’s going on this week, but it’s only Tuesday and I’ve gotten more than the usual number of questions that fall under the heading of “Really Bad Marketing Advice.” To the credit of my friends and clients who’ve been asking, they knew something was fishy. So they got a second opinion from, well, me. [...]

I love the speed with which new Internet development tools hit the market. Here’s one that let’s you create a mobile app in just a few minutes. App Factory from Mippin.com. $20 to create the app, $750 each for distribution in an app store. Android and Windows Phone 7 are currently supported. The iPhone is [...]

If you mention the phrase “social media” in front of senior execs, don’t be surprised if the color drains from their faces. It’s a Gen Y-dominated world that many business managers just don’t get. Worse, there is a lot of fear about what can and can’t be said with respect to your employer. How do [...]

Your buyers’ time is extremely valuable. In a recent survey of automation end-users, we found that buying teams are getting bigger. In fact, 4-5 people are now influencing the short list and purchase decisions, on average. And your customers are keenly aware of the challenges this presents as they want to reduce the buying cycle [...]

I don’t care how old you are, there’s no denying it…digital communications are now the norm. With easy access to each another, this means even more of your workforce is interacting with customers and prospects on a regular basis. But what are they saying?!?! Not every email and phone call goes through an approval cycle. [...]

I had the pleasure of brainstorming with Rogers Corp. recently. Market Development Manager Ken Kozicki came up with this great idea of Knowledge Sharing Days for the new group he’s put together. They gather every quarter or so to spend some time together, expanding their knowledge base. This week they started with a great technical [...]

I ran across this article, 9 Social Networks Your Business Should Be Using, and did a double take. Those of us who focus on the technology and manufacturing markets would be greatly misled by this list: 1. Facebook, 2. Twitter, 3. Foursquare, 4. LinkedIn, 5. YouTube, 6. Quora, 7. Flikr, 8. Tumblr, and 9. Meetup. [...]

Millions of personal blogs can be found across the Internet. Some aren’t worth the digital ink they’re written with; others are filled with interesting information about a person’s area of expertise. Here’s a journal about one person’s journey through the horrors of chronic Lyme Disease (something our own family knows all too much about). The [...]

As the days progress with this oil spill, one thing keeps circulating in the back of my mind:  This could have been BP’s shining moment. But it’s not, and in fact, as every day passes, the brand perception of BP continues to swirl down the perception drain. Their CEO botched opportunities to build support and [...]

Social media may be getting a lot of attention these days, but search engines are still top dog when it comes to researching information about a branded product. Note I said “branded.” Even if the person knows the name of the company making the product, they start their search on a search engine. According to [...]