In all the frenzy over social media like Facebook and LinkedIn, don’t forget that your website is probably still a prospect’s first impression of your business.  And one of the easiest ways to make sure your page shows up high in search engine rankings is for lots of other sites to link to yours.  That…

Assumptions are dangerous in business.  Yet many business owners and marketers assume that they know their prospects.  But what they may actually “know” are stereotypes or assumptions based on their own preconceived ideas rather than real research.  The best investment you can make is to take a close look at your best customers, and learn…

Trust is a valuable – and increasingly rare – asset in business.  And if you look at the companies that enjoy the highest trust from customers, they tend to be run by enthusiasts rather than numbers people.  People trust Apple more than Microsoft because Steve Jobs was wildly enthusiastic about what Apple made.  You trust…

We’ve had light bulbs for well over a century.  So how is it that candles are still around?  In fact, how is it that there are whole stores devoted to selling candles, and that the industry generates over $2 billion a year?  It’s a great example of two ideas.  First, if you can find new…

It’s no secret that physicians are reimbursed less these days for the care they provide.  Sooner or later, more doctors are going to turn into niche marketers.  Imagine a pediatrician’s practice that only makes house calls – and only to private pay clients.  Maybe there are two doctors who stagger shifts so they cover everything…

It’s amazing how many great innovations have their origin in anger or frustration.  When Ermal Fraze was frustrated because no one had brought a can opener to a picnic, he invented the pull-tab to open soda cans.  When he was frustrated at seeing all those pull tabs on the ground, he invented today’s pop-top, where…

Everyone claims to have the best people providing the best service.  Here’s how you can tell if it’s true.  When someone has a bad service experience, do they downgrade their impression of you as a company – or do they assume that single person is an outlier and not representative of you?  If the former,…

When salespeople are making their pitch, a frequent question they field is, “Who are some of your clients?”  Why does this matter?  Because, like it or not, we’re defined by the company we keep.  So here’s a thought: consider your vision of who you want your company to be (you do have one of those,…

In a 2003 interview, the late singer Donna Summer described being stuck when trying to write a song.  Sitting at the piano, she noticed a Stephen Bishop album lying there, and asked herself how he would approach the song.  Almost immediately, the line “It must have fallen out of a hole in your old brown…

In a price-sensitive world, the temptation is to grow profits by cutting costs.  But what about increasing your prices?  In any economy, people will always pay more for certain attributes.  People pay more for speed, for convenience, for “green” alternatives, for new technology, for flexibility, for the chance to help a cause and much more. …