Out marketing competitors is easy if you do it right. It takes a combination of work and savvy, but the results can be positive. Frankly, the competition often makes it unusually easy. They talk about what they are going to do, but never get around to doing much. They’re successful at missing marketing opportunities.

But not everyone. For example, a 44-store dry-cleaning chain responded to requests for submissions for family business of the year and the other for community service. Detailed proposals were prepared and submitted and the company took top honors in each one, which brought widespread recognition and additional opportunities. read more »

It’s what we don’t want to think about that always gets us. The CEO of one of the nation’s largest banks thought the Board of Directors was behind him, when they were actually going behind his back in finding a replacement. How could he have been caught off guard?

Being caught off guard may be the most pressing business issue of the day. Just when we think we have our arms around something, particularly when it comes to marketing, we’re not only surprised, but also embarrassed.

Here are eight issues that constitute a short course in avoiding marketing stupidity: read more »

People are breathing a little easier and optimism is up. Some “experts” tell us, “The worst is behind us.” Yet, spending time convincing ourselves that the “cup is half full” is both an irresistible and totally dumb exercise. It wastes personal and business resources, doesn’t change anything and diverts us from taking positive action.

It you want to get a head start on the competition in the year ahead, here are nine tools that will help you make a difference in 2010: read more »

People are breathing a little easier and optimism is up. Some “experts” tell us, “The worst is behind us.” Yet, spending time convincing ourselves that the “cup is half full” is both an irresistible and totally dumb exercise. It wastes personal and business resources, doesn’t change anything and diverts us from taking positive action.

It you want to get a head start on the competition in the year ahead, here are nine tools that will help you make a difference in 2010 read more »

This is about the three most important words in business today - marketing, selling, and most importantly, customers.

The scenario is simple: customers have changed, while marketers and salespeople are struggling to figure out what’s happened — and happening. read more »

While the economic data continues to send confusing and conflicting messages, the mood of the nation seems to be coming down on the side of increasing optimism. It’s difficult to decide whether we’re guided by hollow hope or well-grounded facts. It may be both or, quite possibly, neither.

But one thing’s for certain. Negative thinking has worn out its welcome. We want to believe that we’re on the verge of an upturn. read more »

We comb the news for even the slightest indication that the recession is at long last fading into history. We are so preoccupied looking for hopeful signs about the future, we miss the extent to which life has changed over the last two years, particularly the business environment.

“Just take me to the money” declares a successful sales executive in a meeting with colleagues and co-workers. Surprisingly, perhaps, his words are met with uneasy silence. Even in sales, the world has changed. read more »

Paying attention to business is one of the major benefits of a recession. Ford figured it out. And so has Starbucks by bringing back the founding CEO, closing nearly 1,000 marginal stores and — most significantly — introducing their own instant coffee. This could be a brilliant move. While proudly passing up their $4 cup of coffee, we take the instant stuff home and keep a little Starbucks in our lives.

But the recession has worn on so long, we’re tired of hearing so much bad news. Yet, pushing all that aside misses the point and so do all the layoffs and foreclosures. read more »