Business Development

SMB Owners: Are You Segmenting Customers?

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

We make marketing blunders when we don’t know who it is we’re marketing toward or when we try to treat all of our customers the same way. The truth is that our customers are not the same. They don’t take to marketing the same way, they don’t want the same things and they’re not equal in what they mean to our business. By segmenting customers into different “buckets” or personas it allows us to create a more targeted experience, while alsoRead More

From Small Business Trends

SMB Owners: Are You Segmenting Customers?

Posted in Business Development, Small Business

Navigating Your Small Business Through Recession

Friday, February 12th, 2010

As a small business owner myself, I understand the worries of small business owners and entrepreneurs during times like these.  The most important thing to remember is to not panic.  You can make it through business rough patches with the same attitude you use to get through each day: build your brand, provide excellent service [...]

Posted in Branding, Business Development, Marketing, Small Business, Small Business Marketing

Customers Trust Transparent Experts

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Every year Edelman releases its Trust Barometer report (Executive Summary) to measure consumer confidence in business and, if we’re taking a cue from Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, identify the biggest ‘trust agents’ helping them to make their decisions. This year the findings are getting some people wondering about the overall impact on social media.

Social media has always “worked” because people trusted the advice and recommendations of people ‘like them’ over the cold marketing they were accustomed to. They trusted thatRead More

From Small Business Trends

Getting Bloggin’: Customers Trust Transparent Experts

Posted in Branding, Business Development, Small Business

Client Gift Giving Tips For Small Business

Monday, January 18th, 2010

We all love presents, right? Of course. Think about the times you’ve received a gift from a vendor. It probably made you smile, and you likely felt it was pretty thoughtful (unless you got fruitcake. Then you might have felt confused). Now think what you did after you got the gift.

Posted in Business Development

What the industry wants

Friday, January 15th, 2010

It’s easy to get trapped wondering what consumers want, and then being frustrated when you can’t get what you cook up in front of the people who want to buy it.It’s easy to forget what industry wants.Supermarkets don’t want unbranded fruits and vegetab…

Posted in Business Development, Business Ideas, Strategy