How Do You Educate a Customer? (Part 1 of 3)
October 22, 2009, 9:50 PM
Convincing people who don't already feel the need is hugely expensive. More expensive than most small companies can afford. Educating customers is not a cost effective advertising strategy for most small business.

Is a Radio Remote Broadcast a Good Investment?
October 14, 2009, 6:25 PM
Remote broadcasts are traditionally expensive. But as advertising sales remain weak in this economy, advertisers are being offered discounted rates on almost all advertising, including remote broadcasts. And that prompts a critical question: is a radio remote a good investment ...

Does a Successful Zebra Need Its Stripes?
September 02, 2009, 6:40 AM
What passes for most business strategy is simply a "me too" game of "We do what they do, but you should buy from us instead." Unfortunately, "we do what they do" makes your business blend back into the herd. You’ve ...

There Is No Word-of-Mouth 'Marketing'
August 23, 2009, 10:30 PM
Apologies to WOMMA aside, I'm not convinced that Word-of-Mouth marketing exists. Why? Because adding the word "marketing" assumes that it's something the business causes to happen. Word-of-Mouth may be influenced by business, but by it's very nature it can never ...

Free Coffee and the Incremental Discount Coupon Tactic
August 03, 2009, 10:55 PM
Follow these list management steps to make a discount program work for your store or product.

Grocery Shopping, Rising Tides, and Maintaining Market Share
July 26, 2009, 8:50 PM
For the last couple of decades the financial tide has kept leaky, non-ship-shape, unsafe businesses afloat, too. Money has been cheap. Credit has been easy. And it seemed that anyone with an idea could find someone to finance it, purchase ...

Hope is Not a Strategy for Greater Return on Advertising Investment.
May 17, 2009, 9:00 PM
If advertising is an investment, you should expect to see a predictable profit from that investment. Invest a dollar in advertising, get back four, or five, or six. At the very least, shouldn't you get back a dollar ten? But ...

Three Levels of Word-of-Mouth Which Determine Your Professional Reputation
April 30, 2009, 9:50 PM
Shoppers who get what they expect will probably not give the interaction with that business much thought. Word-of-mouth commentary happens when the actual customer experience differs from the expectation. Delighted, wowed, or amazed customers spread positive word-of-mouth. Disappointed, disgruntled, or ...

Reticular Activation: How the Human Anatomy Prevents Ads from Reaching "Everyone"
April 19, 2009, 8:05 PM
"Familiar" is only one of the conditions the reticular system watches for.

Testing Advertising Response in the Store
February 25, 2009, 9:45 PM
If Ralph forces customers to ask for the item, and tallies the sales, he believes he'll have a fair test of the effectiveness of that newspaper ad. He's wrong. He's not testing the advertising at all. What Ralph is measuring ...