Everybody wants referrals.  But many people are uncomfortable asking existing clients or customers to refer new ones.  So don’t.  Instead, try this approach that one of our clients shared with us.  When you talk to an existing client or customer, describe the kind of prospect you think you serve best — your ideal candidate.  Go…

A company in central Massachusetts that specializes in retirement living — independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing and so on — is very particular about a lot of things.  One of the biggest is that they never call any campus a “facility.”  It’s always a “community.”  This may seem like a small thing, but if…

Recently, we mentioned that 90% of the people who see your ad will read the headline and nothing else.  That applies to subject lines in e-mails, too (check your open rate lately?) as well as digital ads.  Several people have asked how you can change that number.  Simple.  Write a headline or subject line that…

It may be years away or much closer, but one thing is certain: sooner or later, the economy will cycle downward.  That means two things for you now.  First, there’s a tendency to give marketing less attention when things are booming and business is good.  But that’s when you need to market robustly, to take…

Just a few short years ago, no one would have imagined that people would pay hundreds of dollars for headphones.  Beats by Dr. Dre changed all that.  Aside from having terrific timing, entering a market that was about to explode, they did one very smart thing.  They didn’t sell the headphones.  They sold a lifestyle,…

Statistics suggest that 90% of the people who see your marketing message will read the headline and move on.  And that suggests that most of your time should be devoted to creating headlines that will grab attention, make someone curious, be a bit shocking or otherwise engage your audience.  This is true whether it’s a…

With all of the press about millennials, one crucial fact is often overlooked: they’re still people.  They have the same needs and emotions that people have always had.  They just have different avenues to learn about and pursue their needs and wants.  Millennials still respond to a powerful story, to memorable service, to convenience, to…

While the tools for marketing are changing, two fundamentals aren’t.  One is that two out of every three of your marketing messages will be overlooked or ignored.  The other is that the value of repeated exposure depends on those exposures coming close enough together to build on one another.  Place an ad once a quarter,…

There’s a good chance that your website is showing its age.  How do we know?  Because websites age much faster than we care to admit.  Changes in the way sites are coded, in the devices on which they’re viewed, in the way search engines find them and in the way people use them all happen…

What do you do when you’re one of many in a crowded marketplace?  You step away from the crowd.  A case in point is Snickers.  The popular candy bar switched tactics, leaving behind the commercials that talked about what a tasty treat it is, and positioning it as the cure for those moments when you’re…