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]

When someone clicks through to your “about us” page they’re looking to connect to you in a completely different way than if they click on any other page of your website. They are genuinely seeking to know how your company can solve their issues or fulfill a promise made. They want to see what makes your company (and you) tick. Your about page is a balancing act that requires you to focus on your target audience even while you are talking about yourself and your business. It depends upon your ability to speak with humility while understanding the words that…

Picking a great domain name that fits your brand is an important business decision. Likely, up there with some of the most key decisions you’ll ever make, and one you may be stuck with for a long time. Therefore, it is important that you take the time to give domain naming some thought before you jump in without considering the factors involved. 1) Consider Your Business Model Your business model consists of what you sell, to whom you sell it, and how you deliver it. Understanding these facts about your business will help you consider why you need a website.…

There’s a great deal of discussion these days in regard to branding and re-branding. Typically branding is seen to be the domain of the big players in the marketplace. But what was formerly thought to be only available to them is now available to the rest of us – small and medium size enterprises (SME’s) who wish to use strategy to win. They are intrigued that they can absolutely succeed through taking a leadership position. SME’s turn to graphic designers to facilitate their “branding.” It’s this writer’s opinion that a good percentage of graphic designers see branding or re-branding as…

When you’re picking a telephone number to promote your small business, getting a memorable phone number, rather than any string of digits, could make a significant difference to how many of your customers, or potential customers, respond. So, what constitutes a memorable number? This can depend on a number of factors, including whether you want your business to be recognised in a particular geographic location, whether you want to offer free calls to your potential customers or whether you’re a charity or other not-for-profit organisation. Some examples of memorable numbers include: 020 3151 1555 0800 955 22 55 0333 444…

Understanding Your Sales Model For all the talk about the best ways to shift traditional sales models and techniques to the online world, there’s one important aspect you always need to keep in mind. In contrast to a traditional brick and mortar store, an online customer can’t really look at the product you’re selling – they can see pictures of it, but they can’t actually pick it up in their hands and look at it directly. This is why it’s absolutely essential that you effectively tell them about what you’re selling. You accomplish this by writing solid product descriptions for…

I read an interesting blog today. The author felt that using differentiation as a brand strategy was misguided. He felt that being different wasn’t enough considering that many people purchase things based on a commitment in their minds. Being different wasn’t enough of a reason to change their minds. I think he was well intentioned but he took ‘different’ too literally. Using his theory, it’s easy to understand that if you’re a fan of say, Apple products, it’s not likely that your next purchase will be swayed by a brand that is completely different than Apple. Different doesn’t necessarily mean…

You have a concept for a product and a business plan — or maybe you already have the product or service, itself, all ready to go. But, you can’t market a product or service without a name. It’s the single-most important aspect to your marketing strategy, so it’s imperative that you choose wisely. If you have kids, chances are that you thought long and hard about what to name them… you looked at every angle: Would other kids make fun of them on the playground? Would it be a name that could transition from childhood to adulthood? Would there be…