How do you get people to know they need your product or service? One way, is to assume they know they need it and assume they are actively looking for it. All you have to do is sit back and offer them a series of reasons ...READ»
Everyone’s talking about the latest buzz-term de jour – “social marketing.” It started with blogging, then it spread to Facebook and LinkedIn, and now it’s Twitter… The idea goes something like this – create a ...READ»
Based on my last post, I thought it might be helpful to
present several ideas about how to get small/young companies to focus on
investing in strategic marketing, early in the product/service development
cycle.
First, let's look ...READ»
Your company is only as good its people. An awful cliché, but it is usually true. Hiring the wrong people is the most critical mistake a small company can make, so it makes sense to learn from others. Here are some important hiring ...READ»
“We don’t want to let the cat out of the bag too soon.” “We know what our customers want, for god’s sake, we are average users ourselves” “We need to focus on our product; customer feedback will delay the ...READ»
This is the first installment in a series of “mini-articles” that examine the top major mistakes startups and small companies make. This post looks at how blindly following a company vision cause a young/small ...READ»
Young companies have small margins for error. Mistakes made early on can sink a company before its gets off the ground. Here is a list of 10 common mistakes made by young, small companies.READ»
As the fall marketing “season” gets underway, now is a good time to propose some simple and free ideas for tracking web leads. In many businesses today, the way to create sales leads is to run a variety of marketing ...READ»
I have spent the last few weeks reviewing a number of startup websites and I can’t help but notice the same design flaws in most of the sites. Young companies, often started by technologists, are sure that their technology or ...READ»
A follow up to a previous post about customer service - below are a few more experiences that definitely go in the “don’t do” column of how to successfully market your company, product, or service….. Have you ever tried ...READ»
Pick up any book in the Marketing section of your local bookstore, or a current magazine on the newsstand and you are sure to see at least one article about one of the following"how to" topics – such as:
...READ»
I recently took my wife’s mobile phone in for servicing. At the service center, the waiting room was packed with people, but like a well-designed ant farm, there seemed to be a method to the madness. A well-groomed clerk handed ...READ»
I recently had an opportunity to be part of a tour that visited some of the big software companies in Silicon Valley. The group met with business development groups and also met with venture capitalists. After observing the ...READ»
In today’s business environment, people are just not traveling. So how do you get the message out? One way is the webinar. I have found webinars to be very effective, if you know how to do them properly. This post will cover some ...READ»
Well, here’s another post about what to do in a downturn, particularly if you are selling an innovative product or service to business. Truth is, in a downturn, when people worry about their job and their company’s viability – ...READ»
When selling to organizations or professionals, I find it useful to consider the following three constituents when building your set of marketing messages:
The buyer – this is the person or groups of people who ultimately ...READ»
As 2008 turns to 2009, many of us in the marketing world are planning our programs for the next 6-12 months. For young companies operating in an elevated state of uncertainty, it is even harder this year to know where to spend the ...READ»
“Times are tough.” “Budgets have been cut.” “You have to preserve valuable cash until the storm blows over.” “The competition won’t be spending money on marketing now, so there is less pressure to spend money ...READ»
I am underwhelmed by the amount of tips provided by “new media” consultants about how to sustain an ongoing marketing program. The emphasis of such programs often centers around the latest “hot” tool or service, like Facebook, ...READ»
30 November 2008
OK, so you have completed your first product/service and you are ready to launch. Now what? Planning the actual launch event/vehicle is crucial to your company’s success. Here are several items you will need to ...READ»
So what can you do to prepare for your launch? Here are some concrete suggestions:
Get out of stealth mode early – Unless you have some idea that is completely steal-able and you need to launch and grab market share ...READ»
Launching a startup takes more effort than most founders think. Founders are often convinced that because their product/service is so compelling, that it will be a cinch to get attention once the product/service is ready for prime ...READ»
One of the most difficult things to do in a startup is to correctly define and position the company’s first product/service. Done properly, your company gets off to an incredible start. Done improperly and you are in for at ...READ»
