If your business depends at all on attracting consumers age 18 – 34, you should already be thinking about social networks.  Examples like Flickr, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook abound, and now command nearly 7% of all traffic on the internet.  If you haven’t already, it’s time to ask yourself whether you can create a social…

While good ideas propel business – especially business marketing – those ideas need to spring from a common source to be effective.  That source is a genuine insight or set of insights into your customers and their behaviors, especially as they relate to why they buy.  A single golden insight can instantly transform a business. …

Like it or not, we all think in stereotypes.  If someone’s introduced as an accountant, an actor or a pharmaceutical sales rep, our brains immediately plug those people into preassigned roles before we know them as people at all.  Prospects do the same with businesses.  So as you work on your brand, take a big…

A number of studies have all reached the same conclusion about the way we tip.  It turns out purely efficient service has no impact at all on the amount of the tip we leave.  Instead, what triggers our generosity is the warmth of our server; if he/she smiles at us, touches our shoulder or otherwise…

The Army’s Pegasus chow hall, located near the Baghdad airport in Iraq, could be excused for not serving the best food.  But Floyd Lee, the man in charge, won’t hear of it.  He believes that his mission is less about nutrition than morale.  So in spite of working with the same supplies and the same…

How do bands like the Police and the Stones get away with selling premium tickets for hundreds of dollars?  It’s not the view;  the giant screens that flanks the stage let even the cheap seats see the action.  For most concertgoers, it’s the experience – being able to say they saw Buffett or Bono from…

With housing starts in decline and an ever bigger drop in home remodeling, Sherwin-Williams is surpisingly in the pink.  Since Edward Williams hooked up with Henry Sherman in 1870, the company has been incredibly strategic in its product offerings and distribution.  For example, while housing may be in a funk, commercial construction is still steaming…

If a performer in one of Cirque du Soleil’s shows has a night off due to injury or fatigue, they’re always given a free ticket to see the show.  For many, it’s the first time they’ve seen the performance from the audience’s perspective, and they get to witness how each performer’s work meshes with the…

Someone we know called a doctor’s office recently to inquire about becoming a patient.  The first words he heard from the person handling the phones?  “Who’s your insurance carrier?”  Somewhat stunned, he responded, only to be told that he’d need to fill out a new patient kit, then return it to the office, at which…

One of the hardest challenges for any business, big or small, is to give its marketing time to work.  Companies often want to change out a campaign or a strategy before its impact can really be felt.  Without giving a marketing approach the time it needs to engage consumers and spur them to action, that…