In a 2005 MIT study, “Zero as a Special Price: The True Value of Free Products,” the power of free was demonstrated by offering Lindt® Truffles &  Hershey’s Kisses® , first at 15 cents for the Truffle & 1 cent for the Kiss, then at 14 cents for the Truffle & the Kiss offered for free.  The [...]

Under new FTC guidelines released this week, bloggers and other “word of mouth” marketers who make an endorsement must disclose if there are material connections with the seller of the product or service.   A material connection can include payments or free products received by the endorsers. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) press release [...]

A new study shows that marketers are slowly making the transition to social media marketing with 63% stating they will increase their social media marketing spend in 2009. clipped from www.emarketer.com Let’s talk about budgets. It took a while. Even though tens of millions of users were flocking to social media sites every day, most [...]

Even though many times there is more creativity in budgets than ads, the easiest way to get a marketer to groan is to tell them to do a marketing budget. The Marketing Budget Process The first step in establishing a marketing budget is to remember that marketing goals are simply a means to achieving business [...]

“Reports of my death have been highly exaggerated.” Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) We last discussed Awareness Activities, the first in the three categories of marketing opportunities.   While I have been advised by some in recent times that offline marketing and advertising is dead-finished- no more, I think there are a few gasps of [...]

Awareness Definition: knowledge Antonyms: ignorance, insensitivity, obliviousness, unawareness, unconsciousness (Answers.com) A marketing strategy is designed to outline a strategic process that allows businesses to concentrate their limited resources on the best opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. From the numerous potential opportunities that exist, a marketing plan can [...]

Arguably the best point guard ever to play in the NBA, Magic Johnson, exemplified the qualities required of a point guard – running the offense, controlling the tempo, ensuring players are communicating and having a complete understanding of the game plan. In a similar manner, marketing positioning is the point guard of your marketing communications. [...]

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Sun-tzu, The Art of War, 722-481 BCE or 403-221 BCE Anyone that has spent much time in the corporate world has heard this quote more than a few times, but in the real world of small business, can it still be applied to knowing your competition? Absolutely. [...]

Surprisingly, many companies approach marketing with a goal to sell some stuff to somebody. Not so surprisingly, their resources are quickly spent with little or no gain. Targeted Marketing Target marketing is a term used to define a company’s approach towards focusing marketing and sales efforts toward specific market segments.  Examples range from broad:  business [...]

My husband recently received an invitation from a local doctor to attend an evening that included free botox for  guests and suggested that he “bring his girlfriends and make it a girl’s night out!” Well, I guess someone had a bit of a marketing database glitch. Know Your Customers Nearly every business continually tries to [...]