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Hosting events can be expensive. But the biggest problem I notice in planning is not low budgets; it’s simply the failure to anticipate problems. Did nobody check the slides beforehand? Not to belabor the obvious, but shouldn’t planning be the operative word in event planning?
Do you have a to-do list? Isn’t crossing something off your list one of the most satisfying things ever? Those crossed off items certainly give us a sense of accomplishment and are visual cues that we’re getting stuff done, being productive and succeeding. But what if we’re not? What if those to-do lists are deceiving us? Did you have any inkling before now that focusing on your top-priority tasks could be sabotaging your success? Here’s why and what you can do instead.
Businesses spend a lot of time answering “what” and a lot of money answering “how,” but perhaps the most important question you can ask is “who.” After all, what good is the perfect product if nobody buys it? So just WHO are your potential customers? The more details you know about your target market’s daily life, the better you can understand and predict their actions which in turn will help you determine the best time and place to reach them. Find out how you can determine “who” your audience is and where to start looking for them.
The 30 second pitch is an essential marketing tool. Also known as “the elevator pitch,” the idea is to explain who you are and what you do in the short amount of time it takes to ride an elevator from the ground floor to the top floor. The way we do business today has evolved so while you may never actually use your 30 second pitch in the proverbial “elevator”, there are plenty of places where you will use it; both expected and unexpected places. Every person you meet is a potential client. Whether you’re at a tradeshow, getting a latte or at your daughter’s soccer game, a business opportunity can present itself anywhere. Be prepared with your 30 second pitch. Here are some tips for how to craft your pitch to make the most of a first impression.
If you are running a business chances are you either have a presence on the web or will in the future. For many businesses, especially those just starting out, a simple out-of-the-box website solution may be all that you need to meet business and marketing goals. But for other businesses looking to capitalize on the strengths of the internet and emerging technologies, a custom website or application can be far more worthwhile. Making the transition to a web-based app is easy for some and difficult for others, but there are ways to avoid spending loads of cash on specialized labor to end up with a web product that does not yield a return on your investment. The solution is to let the MVP drive the process. No, not the Most Valuable Player; the Minimal Viable Product. Find out how this iterative approach can save you a ton of time and money and keep you from wasting any.
Holiday gift giving and marketing actually have a lot in common. They both fill needs, solve problems, make life easier, and hopefully, make people happy. To make either work, you have to know a little bit about who you’re reaching and think about what makes them happy.
This post was inspired by the complete frustration of working with clients who not only lack photo management skills, but also seem to lack any concern for the problem. In fact, most of them don’t perceive a problem at all. This is dedicated to everyone who has spent time or money on product photos, field photos, stock photos or any photos at all that are important to your online and offline marketing efforts.
As a web marketing agency we are called upon by our clients to create and execute ideas, but many times, we work alongside the marketing departments of those companies and are called on to offer our opinion on who would be a good hire for their internal staffing needs. Here are three of our suggestions based on our experience.
Read our editor's delicious interview with The Word Chef!
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