Most of us would rather avoid confrontation. Unfortunately, we live in a world that is not free of it. We have to be dealing with difficult people and situations in our business from time to time. Here’s the good news. In some ways, handling demanding people is a little easier online because that person isn’t in your face. You also have the luxury of time and to respond on your terms. Try these techniques the next time you encounter a troll, an upset customer or someone who is just plain rude. When Dealing With Difficult People, Keep Calm This is always so…

Any business that has a long life also goes through many different branding identities. If they don’t, the business may end up stuck in the past marketing to customers who no longer exist. For instance, a demographic such as women in their 20’s, looks completely different today than it did 20 years ago. Since a company’s brand is about the audience more than anything else, it’s important to consider how things change. Look at a company like Johnson & Johnson. They have been around for over 120 years. If they kept the same branding over the years, it would be…

A brand is essentially the reputation of any company. In the day-to-day operating of a company, it’s confronted by a plethora of challenges. It takes a particular sort of person to grow a company while hurtling these obstacles. Brands that I admire are typically ones that are leaders in their category. There are the obvious ones that catch the global eye. Companies like Apple, Google and Virgin. But locally there are also companies whose brand shines. They are on the front lines and manage to lead in their own ways. Their positioning differentiates them and that difference rewards them. Then…

Sometimes called a squeeze page, designing an effective opt-in page is an important part of converting all your traffic from leads to customers. If you don’t have a high converting squeeze page, you’ll miss out on a lot of new customers no matter how much traffic is sent your way. Target the Right Audience If you’ve done your research then you’ve chosen a specific persona or target audience in which to direct your opt-in page. You cannot build an effective opt-in page if you’re trying to target more than one type of person with your content. Reducing the number of…

Designing a website that works well and appeals to your audience can be a difficult task if you don’t know where to begin. There are so many schools of thought about what the right color is for a particular type of website. Colors evoke emotions, and you want to be careful about which emotions you evoke. The look and feel of your site is almost as important as the content you publish. When choosing colors you have to let go of what you think you like, and stick with conventional wisdom. Many people who are new to web design want…

How many companies can you think of that tout customer service, great pricing, guarantees and transparency? They supposedly embrace social media and pretend to get the benefit of the web. They absolutely want their customers to know they love them. They expend a great deal of time and money trying to convince the great unwashed that they are the genuine article. They appear to be doing all the right things. The tricky word here is “appear.” They appear to be doing all the right things. Like any brand, it’s not enough to “appear” to be doing anything. To do so…

A brand is a far reaching thing. It involves more than just the obvious. A good many businesses have brands that are less than they ought to be. They’re not the kind of company to take bold moves and create a unique experience. I am quite frustrated when I see companies play loose with their visual brands. Take the accompanying photograph. When this business took over the building and removed the old lettering, they took the cheap way out and failed to bother re-surfacing the facade. What you have is what looks like the building was sprayed with bullets. Ironic…

Marketing is nothing without opportunity. Every business — even the largest and most recognizable brands — are marketing at every chance they get, and holidays are one of the best ways to capitalize on a great opportunity. Everyone from big-box retailers like Best Buy to your local car dealership is known for having great sales on weekends surrounding Columbus Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day and the like. So, for the upcoming July 4th holiday, use it to your business’ best advantage. Learn how you can capitalize on 4th of July merriment with these simple marketing incentives. Many people associate July…

In a lot of ways starting a business and giving birth to a new brand can be an exciting process. No one knows who you are yet, so they have nothing to build an opinion on. On the other hand, since there is no formal introduction yet, everything about you is essentially rumour at this stage. A good place to start your brand is PR. Having a basic introductory website, and a weekly update to media, will help build interest and keep your information factual. Any contact with suppliers and potential customers should alway be cordial. How you treat any…

Chris Bennet of 97th Floor shares some wonderful content strategy ideas. The heart of the message – repurpose your content. Check out the presentation to see how he suggests doing it. [slideshare id=35806228&doc=smxadvancedseattle2014final-140612134327-phpapp01]