A trend in website design is to cram everything you can onto every page. It’s a bad trend. Even if a lot of companies are doing it (mostly to attract those search engines we mentioned earlier), it seldom makes sense. A site can quickly become cluttered and push visitors away. Organize your site the way…

Too often, the goal of a company — and sadly, of the creative professionals it enlists — is simply to make their website, brochure or other marketing messages look pretty. But while visual appeal matters, it can — and often does — undermine the primary purpose of any marketing vehicle, which is to sell. An…

When a single person walks into a bar to meet someone, he or she isn’t trying to meet everyone in the place — just that special someone. It’s tempting for a company to market as though they want to reach everyone. But for the vast majority of businesses, there are certain people or companies who…

Creating website content is tricky. On one hand, more relevant content helps the search engines find your site — which helps potential customers find it. On the other hand, people often tend to scan websites rather than read them word for word. This means you have to balance your SEO needs with copy that’s written…

A recent visit to a restaurant’s revamped website turned up a lot of stuff. But not the restaurant’s hours. Now think about why people visit a restaurant’s website. It’s a pretty safe bet that finding the restaurant’s hours is one of the top reasons to visit, along with a menu and directions. Yet several people…

Fear of falling behind is a terrible thing. It makes a lot of companies feel like they have to jump on a marketing idea just because it’s the cool thing or everyone seems to be doing it. But what if creating a 6-second vine doesn’t do anything for your business at all? Digital media has…

With all the focus on using social media to display your expertise, it’s easy to overlook the impact of a real, live seminar, workshop or demonstration where presenter and attendees interact in the moment and the expertise has to be real and deep. Why do people still attend concerts, plays and ballgames when they could…

Next time you’re at your local Redbox or Best Buy, notice how similar — and similarly gruesome — all the covers are for horror movies. Now think back to two of the biggest and scariest: The Exorcist and Alien. The poster / cover for the former? A nighttime image of a man standing under a streetlight outside a…

A study of commercial customers who changed suppliers unearthed a horrifying statistic. Nearly 70% of the time, when they switch suppliers, it’s because of poor or nonexistent communication from their representative! After spending all that energy on sales, doesn’t it make sense to devote some to keeping in touch with those customers? Who’s responsible for…

Have some information you want to make sure your customers or prospects remember? Think infographics. Scoff all you like, but they’re one of the keys to the success of publications like USA Today. And they’re good for business. They help people retain information, they convey a lot more with a lot less, and they help your…