A New Twist on Customer Relations Mike Armour How do you view your relationship with your customers? When asked that question, small business owners generally answer with statements like, "I’m the seller and they are the buyer." Or, "I’m dependent … Continue reading
Category Archives: Marketing
Without a history of sales, a new company has little data with which to forecast potential income. It’s challenging, therefore, to know if revenue projections are realistic. To help resolve this issue, I’ve developed a proprietary Revenue Goal Feasibility Tool. It’s specifically designed for businesses which have one or two owners and which receive their income primarily from services which at least one of the owners delivers. Businesses which market both products and services can also use the tool for establishing realistic revenue goals for the service side of the business.
Continue readingOne fact alone should make you determined to have a quality business card: unless you have a high-traffic website, more people will see your business card than any other item in your marketing inventory. Yet business cards do not always serve us well. Or at least not as well as they should. Startups in particular make common mistakes in the design and production of their cards. Here are some of the most serious mistakes that you want to avoid.
Continue readingPeople starting a small business often devote themselves primarily to what they will offer rather than innovating the way in which they will offer it.
Continue readingWe all have strong feelings about certain issues. Whenever these issues come up in conversation, we snap to attention. We tune in more intently. We become fully engaged with what is being said. Marketers call these emotionally-laden topics "hot button … Continue reading
In the previous issue I emphasized how vital it is for startups to brand themselves proactively from the very beginning. This article continues the discussion of branding by examining some of the tools that you use in establishing your brand.
Continue readingWhen is a business big enough to start thinking about developing its brand? The answer. From day one. Your brand is the identity that you have in the marketplace. If you do not define that identity purposefully, you will end up with a default identity defined by chance and happenstance.
Continue readingI once started a business which exceeded its first year revenue projections by tens of thousands of dollars. How? Largely by securing a high margin account within weeks of startup. Then, eighteen months into the engagement, the client was forced … Continue reading
Have you ever noticed how many successful book titles have a number in them? For instance, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Concrete, specific numbers always seems to … Continue reading
Once your basic business plan is in place, your startup needs a well-defined marketing plan. Track Two of our LeaderTrack Small Business Coaching Series guides you through the vital steps in creating a long-range marketing plan.
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