Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash I’m a fan of B-12. My body finally made me quit, but once upon a time I was a hockey player. It’s no secret that adult hockey players reliving the glory days get the worst ice time. Often our “beer league” team would have a 10:45pm puck drop time…
DetailsPhoto by Elsa Gonzalez on Unsplash Vertical Integration is when you acquire (or become) a supplier or customer of your current business. It is growth via supply chain. And the most common way that a small business Vertically Integrates is by buying a building rather than leasing space. You can turn one of your biggest…
DetailsPhoto by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash You set up a marketing campaign. Everything looks to be going well. The phone is ringing, and you’re getting leads by email. Not every one is a perfect fit, but that’s ok because it’s not hard to sort through them and find the prospects you want. But what do…
DetailsPhoto by Anton Savinov on Unsplash Depending on what type of business you’re in, your equipment or your software tools might be holding your team back… buy you may not know it. Here’s how to find out: Ask your team and find out how they are being limited. The more they trust you, the more…
DetailsPhoto by Levi Jones on Unsplash Are you ready? If you hit a home run with your marketing campaign, be ready to service your new leads. It’s an easy mistake to make. A lot of business owners have a constant craving to drive leads to the business. That is often the simplest path to profit,…
DetailsPhoto by Aaron Lefler on Unsplash From budget to revenue. You cannot determine whether a campaign is successful unless you know what you would pay per lead. What is acceptable to pay per lead changes wildly from one business to the next. For example, real estate agents pay thousands of dollars in commission to a…
DetailsJust ask. Do people know what you are asking them to do? In marketing this is your “Call To Action” – if we’re getting nerdy (and you know we are), your “CTA”. Your CTA is probably the most overlooked (or overworked) piece of any average small business marketing campaign. When it’s overlooked, it is not clear…
DetailsIt’s not all just art. Yes, marketing is absolutely an art form. But when there’s commerce involved, you have to welcome science to the party too. Creativity is what you use to connect dots that have never been connected before, in order to compel people emotionally. Marketing absolutely needs this. Science is what you use…
DetailsPhoto by Afif Ramdhasuma on Unsplash Don’t miss. “Targeting” is when you choose exactly who your audience should be. But it can be sneaky… “overspending” might be disguised as “targeting”. This is because you could be targeting too widely (and overspending), or targeting too narrowly (and overpaying). If you are targeting too broadly, then you…
DetailsPhoto by Tosab Photography on Unsplash Two paths to marketing. When you’re launching a new marketing campaign, this trail splits at the trailhead. There are actually two paths that have different end goals, but both of them get you up the mountain. You need to choose between a Direct Response campaign and a Branding campaign.…
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