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Marketing: It’s ‘Declare Your Own Holiday’ Day!

Holidays are a natural time for most businesses to do some serious marketing.  Those are times of the year when everyone is  inundated with marketing on all fronts:  newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, catalogs, online banner ads, e-mail.  You name it, there is some form of holiday advertising at every turn.  If your business doesn't really lend itself to the usual array of holidays, you could declare your own holiday.  Yes, really. Holidays are natural times for small businesses to get their marketing machines going.  But those same times are when customers hit that enough is enough wall.  Fall is a [...]

By |2016-12-29T19:41:59-05:00March 23rd, 2011|Marketing|
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Protect Your Online Reputation and Company Brand

'Designing Strategies' Newsletter March - April 2011                      Volume 8 -- Issue 39  I know, I know, your mother told you that it's not nice to talk about people behind their backs. But, the truth is, people do it all the time. It would be nice if they only had nice, warm, glowing thoughts to convey about you, wouldn't it? Nice, of course, but there is no guarantee that will be the case. Too often, people are more anxious to share bad news than positive comments. It's up to you to [...]

By |2017-01-11T12:46:28-05:00March 18th, 2011|Branding, Marketing, Newsletter|
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Profile Customers With Laser Accuracy for Marketing Success

Far too many small businesses lack real focus when it comes to precisely who their customers are.  They have not taken the time to really think about who their customers are or what they need.  Perhaps they think it's too difficult or too much trouble to figure out. Maybe they simply miss the importance of profiling customers.  Not everyone is a perfect customer for you - you need to accurately profile customers to get to your ideal customer base.  Identify your target customers through accurate profiling. It is important to develop one or more detailed customer profiles or personas for your market planning.  Why [...]

By |2016-12-29T19:56:17-05:00February 28th, 2011|Market Planning, Marketing|
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Social Media Tips: What to Do and Not Do for Success

Social media is taking over the marketing scene at an extremely rapid pace. It is challenging to keep up with all of the social media tips, guidelines, and rules.  Often, business owners, entrepreneurs and their marketing staff jump into social media without taking the necessary time to research and evaluate their needs.  Hopefully, the following social media tips will help you put your small business marketing on track for success. Each social media platform is a bit different in terms of what you can post there or who the audience might be.  Taking the time to find the best platforms is [...]

By |2016-12-29T20:06:31-05:00February 15th, 2011|Marketing, Social Media, Strategic Planning|
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Marketing Research: Critical to Find Your Way to Success

Characteristics of failed businesses include lack of sufficient funding, lack of planning and lack of a vision of where and how owners want the business to grow and succeed. Statistics show only one in three new business start-ups survive beyond the first two years. Those with sufficient financing and a clear direction enjoy a much greater chance for success.  Another important missing piece of the business success puzzle is marketing research. Have you reached a plateau or stumbling block in your business and are not sure how to get past it to move to the next level? Some very basic [...]

By |2016-12-30T00:41:34-05:00August 30th, 2010|Market Planning, Marketing|
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Social Media: Planning, Policies, Terms of Use and Legalese

'Designing Strategies' eNewsletter    July - August 2010                      Volume 7  -   Issue 34   What you can learn through social media participation is endless.   I saw a Tweet on Twitter recently that caught my attention. I linked to Jay Baer's 'Convince and Convert' blog to read a guest post by Indra Gardiner: Protecting Yourself from Social Media Lawsuits. The title caught my attention in a big way, like only the word lawsuit can. Gardiner referred to a recent PRSA Counselors Academy event where attorney Michael Lasky, of Davis & Gilbert law firm [...]

By |2017-01-31T01:01:30-05:00July 16th, 2010|Market Planning, Newsletter, Social Media, Strategy|
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New Growth and Marketing Strategies to Fight the Recession

'Designing Strategies' Newsletter  January-February 2010                  Volume 7    Issue 31   Undoubtedly we have come through the worst recession most of us have ever experienced.  Companies large and small folded entirely, others merged to stay afloat. Some have been treading water for a very long time. It remains to be seen how far into 2010 these turbulent times will take us. News reports talk about the recession being behind us. Yet other reports talk of a jobless recovery, one of the big unknowns, as unemployment rates hover between 10-11%. Consumer confidence is not moving up [...]

By |2017-01-19T11:15:44-05:00January 19th, 2010|Growth, Marketing, Newsletter, Strategic Planning, Strategy|
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Prepare Marketing Strategy for Outside Influences on Your Small Business

'Designing Strategies' eNewsletter  January - February 2008            Volume 5 -- Issue 20   The 2007 Fortune 'Top 100 Best Companies to Work For' is out. Once again, several of our own have made that coveted list.  Milliken ranked 92nd , Herman Miller ranked  96th and Sherwin Williams was ranked 98th on the list.  Milliken  provides extensive hours each year for professional training of its staff, having an on-site fitness center, and allowing for telecommuting.  It was recognized for having a diverse workforce: 40% of their employees are minorities and 39% are women. They also have a strong nondiscrimination policy. Herman Miller was cited for their job [...]

By |2017-02-18T03:19:27-05:00January 18th, 2008|Market Planning, Marketing, Newsletter, Strategy|
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Prepare for a Mass Migration of Baby Boomers Toward Retirement

'Designing Strategies' Newsletter May - June 2007               Volume 4 - Issue 16   A crucial business facet that can be affected by the mass migration of Baby Boomers toward retirement is your company's market share and sales volume. If your business has been built over the years through contacts and influence with people of this age demographic, you may soon see that valued network disappearing. Your sales volume and market share may well disappear with them. If you are gambling on continued success based on an existing and static group of customers, you could be in for a [...]

By |2017-02-24T03:07:03-05:00May 24th, 2007|Generations, Market Planning, Newsletter, Strategy|
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Basic Market Research You Can Do In Your Small Business

'Designing Strategies' newsletter  March - April 2006               Volume 3 - Issue 10   Characteristics of failed businesses include lack of sufficient funding, lack of planning and lack of a vision of where and how owners want the business to grow and succeed.  Statistics show only one in three new business start-ups survive past their second year.  Those with sufficient financing and a clear direction enjoy a much greater chance for success.  Basic market research can also bolster your chances of success. Have you reached a plateau or stumbling block in your business?  Are you unsure how to get past it to move [...]

By |2017-03-08T02:53:11-05:00March 15th, 2006|Customer Relationships, Market Research, Newsletter, Strategy|
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