The buzz over the internet as a marketing vehicle has always been about measurement – it’s easier to tell exactly how many people saw your ad online or visited your website than heard your radio spot or read your newspaper ad.  But web measurement turns out to be far from an exact science.  Already, the…

When it comes to marketing to your target audience, size matters.  The larger the audience, the less you should invest per prospect, all other things being equal.  For example, if you’re in charge of bringing in six large corporate clients over the next six months, you would expect to invest more in marketing directly to…

A critical factor in website construction is navigation: how easy is it for a visitor to find his or her way around?  Navigation is just as important in all other marketing media, but seldom receives the same attention.  Look at any print advertisement, banner, billboard, direct mail piece, brochure or even television spot.  Is it…

These days, word-of-mouth marketing has a lot of buzz behind it. But it’s hardly new, nor is it limited to big corporations.  At its most basic, it means generating referrals from existing clients or customers.   Yet few companies ever let customers know that they’d appreciate referrals, or acknowledge them in any way when they…

If you’re getting a group of employees or managers together for a brainstorming session, remember a few simple rules that can help make your time much more productive.  Keep your sessions short – the generally accepted limit for any single session is 45 minutes.  Have someone facilitate who has experience and has no stake in…

Microsoft may be know for its success, but there are lessons to learn from its failures.  The software giant has tried twice to introduce a competitor to Adobe’s Photoshop, without success.  They’re now taking their second run at introducing a file format to compete with PDF.  And they’re working hard (with little success) to out-search…

When companies want to get feedback from customers, they usually take one of two approaches: a focus group or a survey of some kind.  But consider your website.  While most sites include a “Contact Us” page, you seldom see “How are we doing?” in the menu bar.  Think about adding just such a page, which…

Not the characteristic – just the word itself.  In the golden days of advertising, the word “quality” signified a more expensive, upscale product, one that was finely-crafted and very distinct from other products of its kind.  Decades later, terms like “quality control” and “quality assurance” have changed the way we hear the word; now it…

Think of your favorite business – a place you look forward to visiting.  It could be a restaurant, a bookstore, a coffee shop, a clothing store or any kind of business.  Why is it your favorite?  What makes you look forward to going there?  Write down everything you love about them.  Now ask yourself –…

Looking for the best place for your marketing message?  Watch where your customers naturally pause.  Become an observer.  Where do customers come to rest in your physical space, online, on the phone or while reading their statements?  Can you engage them at this point, where they’ve already slowed down for a moment?  The only way…