What’s Your Sustainable Competitive Advantage?

competitive advantageLet’s talk about strategy for a second.

If the Internet has torn down so many of the traditional barriers that prevented businesses from becoming successful, why is making money online so much harder than doing business in “the real world”?

Well, strangely enough, the lack of barriers is actually a disadvantage since it pushes more competitors into your market. This actually makes it HARDER to do business online, rather than EASIER.

Also, you must keep in mind that if you DO become successful, other people will begin to copy you… or even automate your tactics! If you haven’t properly defended your position, they can quickly move in to drown out your lead generation channel.…

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Paper Marketing is Not Dead

direct mail marketing with postcardsJudging by the tone of most marketing blogs, you would guess that all business was either conducted on Google or Facebook. But it’s easy to forget that many of the tried-and-true methods of the past are still just as valid today.

Take postcards for example… they’re fantastic!

You can just load up your prospect list in Excel, run the stack through your ink-jet printer, and you’re ready for the mailbox. There are no letters to fold, no envelopes to stuff, and (for large volumes) no stamps to peel.

Postcards also work great in tandem with your online efforts. If you record a different themed webinar every month, you’ll have a new reason for prospects to engage with you in each mailing.  …

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Four Attractive Ideas for Growing Your Small Business & Bottom Line

marketing ideasHere’s the hundred and first time you’ve heard it:   it’s a tough market out there.

Small business owners are flooded with more priorities than they can handle, ranging from raising capital to streamlining processes to everything in between.   Whether a function of not enough time in the day and/or limited know-how, marketing, advertising, and promotional tasks are quick to slip through the cracks.   But they don’t have to.

Luckily, the following four promotional strategies require little time, know-how, or budget.   What’s more, they are proven concepts that will help to increase your business’s recognition, pool of customers, and most importantly, your bottom line.…

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3 Ways Small Businesses Can Compete With Bigger Names

competing with big businessBeing a small fry in an ocean of much larger fish is certainly not anyone’s idea of fun. And when you’re a small company who’s not only worried about the competition but also trying your best to just stay afloat amidst the strong currents of the business world, you feel overwhelmed and find it hard to cope.

Rather than being a drawback all the time, being small in a world of giants does have its advantages.…

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Branding: Authenticity Is Key To Long-Term Success

branding keys to successWe hear story after story about organizations trying to reinvent themselves or wondering why they have lost market share or stakeholder support. Often times they are so close to the root challenge that they overlook it and try to advertise or promote their way out of slumping sales. A better approach: look deep to examine and refine your true brand essence and never loose sight of the essential emotional connection your brand must make to each guest, customer or stakeholder.

Over the years we have accepted the challenge of assessing and developing strategies to both launch and expand market share for operators and their suppliers in a multitude of industries.…

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High ROI Public Relations – Alive And Well

public relations marketing strategiesBy now, the predictions for 2010 have faded into the background and, for many, so have those business and personal New Years resolutions and top 10 lists.

So now that February is upon us and new products and technologies are on the horizon, here is a brief synopsis of things to do and avoid that will leverage your PR efforts.   These tips were created with the goal of a high ROI program that will support the sales process and the effectiveness of your company’s overall marketing efforts.…

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Email Marketing Tips For A Valentine’s Day Sales Boost

valentine's day email marketing tipsValentine’s Day is rapidly approaching, and whether you personally view it as the most romantic day of the year, filled with love and hope, or an annual ordeal splashed with tacky red and pink décor, there’s no question it can have a positive effect on many small businesses.

One of the best ways to take advantage of this potential bump in profitability is through email marketing. Email is a very effective way to bring highly-tailored messages to specific audiences. And since many people are prone to read into the gifts they receive from a significant or semi-significant other, it gives you an opportunity to use Cupid’s arrows to target your customers and prospects in order to move them to action.…

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Integrating Traditional and New Media Marketing

fresh marketing ideasA simple social experiment, IGotAnEnvelope.com, demonstrates that not all social-networking needs to begin on-line and how to successfully integrate traditional marketing with new media.

“Igotanenvelope is a continuous art project where people leave empty self-addressed stamped envelopes in public places to be picked up and filled by others, who then send them back.”

Once an envelope is returned the contents are displayed at IGotAnEnvelope.com. So what’s the point? …

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Expanding On The Grapevine Method

communication with consumersThe small business world is collectively holding their breathe in anticipation for what could possibly happen with the health care reform bill.   Till that time comes to pass, it is all about communications.

All business sizes rely on the classic concept of communication. The aim of communicating that a business exists involves television, social media networking, Internet advertising, business websites, and a slew of other methods.   However, the old ways are still the best ways for small businesses.

The power of communicating, via electronic methods, are well-documented to hold new keys to success.   Businesses that have something to offer to the public have taken to the net and expanded mega empires.  …

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How Social Media Can Affect Your Business in 2010

social media in 2010Social media websites grew at exponential rates in 2009. According to a report where Twitter grew at a staggering rate of more than 1000%, Facebook also achieved a growth rate of 228%. 2009 was also a year when most businesses joined social media websites like Twitter and Facebook to promote their brand. It is a well known fact that social media would be one of the most important factors which will affect all business either online or offline. So here are some tips that businesses should follow in 2010 for their social marketing campaigns.

Web 2.0 Customer Support: – Since most of your target audience would be using these websites, you have to make sure that you provide information about your products and customer support to your clients on such websites.…

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