May 1, 2009 Water, Water Everywhere, Not A Drop To Drink So, here you are, stuck in the middle of a recession. You don’t know when it will end, and you feel like it has already been forever. You worry. You complain. You stress over it. You toss and turn at night. What can you do? READ A BOOK! In the midst of all of this turmoil, you are veritably surrounded by thousands of books that can help you not only survive, but get stronger! Don’t waste precious energy fretting…DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! There are many authors and many topics dealing with this business downturn. How about picking one up? Business…
April 3, 2009 Marketing Budgets: Cut and Regret…or Increase and Rejoice! Have you been ordered to cut your budget? Duh! Who hasn’t? Examining line item costs is always a good practice in any economy. But, when you get to your Marketing budget, BEWARE! Before you go slashing through that, remember the difference between trimming FAT and cutting into MUSCLE. In a soft economy, your competitors are cutting back on their marketing, so NOW IS THE TIME TO BEEF UP YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS, NOT DECREASE THEM! According to Forbes Magazine, “research shows that companies that consistently advertise even during recessions perform better in the long run.” In fact, “companies that…
March 27, 2009 Trying to save money using digital communications with your clients? Here’s something to think about: Email can be an excellent way to stay in front of your clients. But, what makes it good, makes it bad too. Huh? Email pops up about 12 inches from your clients’ noses, wanted or unwanted. He or she might be in the middle of a meeting. Or lunch. Or a conference call. And there it is, YOUR EMAIL, an undesired interruption. Compare that to traditional mail. An envelope, letter or postcard is held onto, put aside, read later. It is not so ultimately intrusive. PRINTED COMMUNICATIONS are subtle and polite….