The Latest On Marketing
How to Build Your Sales and Marketing Funnel
We have all heard the term “sales funnel.” A bunch of us have heard of a “marketing funnel.” Few see them as different and equally valuable. Almost no business tracks them and analyzes them. Why is it that so many business people – smart ones, too – talk about...
Can Your Business Use Content to Compete?
During the week of February 6, 2017, Huffington Post – one of the most successful online-first publications in our still short history of the Internet – posted content on 10 media platforms over seven days. In total, HuffPo added 1,665 posts to the Internet over that...
Are Big Marketers REALLY Pulling Out of Digital Advertising?
“Digital advertising sucks.” This is the mantra shouted by many top advertisers over the past year. First it was Procter & Gamble last year. You know, that company that just so happens to be the largest advertiser in the United States. P&G tried an early...
Gearing to Shake Things Up? Take a Lesson from Cadillac
In 2013 Cadillac sold 182,543 cars. That’s 15,211 cars per month, and 507 per day. That seems like a lot. And, in many ways, it is. In fact, those numbers sound like a healthy company. At an average price of $62,352.50, that’s $11.3 billion (with a “B”). Which is...
Don’t Skip Strategy Day – Why Search AND Social Are Essential Together
Have you ever seen those dudes walking around with massive arm muscles and skinny legs? They work out hardcore, but they skip leg day. The same thing happens in business. There is an old business concept that I apply to every piece of business I work on. It goes like...
Don’t Forget To Get The Basics Right
Too often we get mired into the weeds of our businesses. I like to say that we get too busy working IN the business to work ON the business. On Marketing is guilty of this, too. We drill down and stay in the weeds on all of this marketing communications stuff we do....
3 Search Marketing Tips for 2017 You Should Use Right Now
We cover a lot of ground in On Marketing. An area we have underserved a bit over the past few months is search. Especially organic search. It would be wrong to assume that we haven’t covered that because search is increasingly irrelevant. It’s not. In fact, recent...
How and When To Schedule your Social Media Content
Let’s talk scheduling and social media. In my line of work, I see all kinds of different approaches to scheduling social media content. Here are the two most common styles of content publishing on social media I see: 1) The DEFCON 1 Method: The content is done and it...
Why Facebook’s Audience Insights Matters For All Marketing
One of my jobs in writing this column is to pass on cool marketing tools to you all. Buckle up, because today we are discussing one of the most interesting and useful digital tools available to anyone – the Facebook Audience Insights tool. First things first, this...
Super Bowl Ad Review – Cultural Moments And Building Brands
I like football. But I love advertising. So, when it comes to the Super Bowl, I actually do prefer watching the ads to the game. I found this out about myself years ago, when I would unconsciously shush people when the ads came on, but gab away during the game action....
Warren Buffett Washes Down Cheetos with Cherry Coke
I recently had the distinct pleasure of seeing Warren Buffett speak at an event. The books and articles written about him elevate him to nearly superhuman abilities. Some claim he can see the future, or that he turns everything he touches into gold, or that he can buy...
Quit Dismissing the Value of Conventions
Limited budgets force tough decisions sometimes. Consider the issue of attending a trade show or convention. Trade shows cost a lot. You have the hotel, the show ticket itself (they are usually about $1,000), the food, the car rental or cab, etc. Plus, it’s tough to...
Becoming the Best Can’t Be Cheap or Easy
Ferrari. What do you think about when you hear that name? The name conjures beautiful images to mind, right? The first few things I think of are the color red, the prancing horse, that sound, and decades of Formula One racing success. But, there’s another reality,...
5 Essential Habits of a Professional
I often joke that the difference between being an amateur and being a professional is that professionals have success on purpose. Okay, I’m only half joking. The truth is, everyone has a job. For some people, the ambition ends there. But, professionals take pride in...
Time for a New Business Resolution
Woohoo, it’s 2017! We made it through 2016! Have you made your resolution(s) yet? Have you dusted off the treadmill? (I’m recovering from back surgery at the moment… so that’s my excuse!) Making a resolution is a healthy way to challenge ourselves into improvement as...
5 Essential 2017 Marketing Predictions
Sure seems like this year flew by, didn’t it? We have covered a lot of territory this year in On Marketing. As we enter the final couple of weeks in 2016, let’s shift our focus more on the future and plan our efforts for 2017. Because I’m a student of marketing and...
A Holiday Challenge That Will Transform Your Business
One of the reasons I love the holidays so much is that I take some time to think. Everything slows down. Everyone is usually a bit kinder. That’s the way I articulate “the magic” of the holidays. It’s a bit idealistic. But if you look for it you’ll see it, too. It is...
How To Recognize Good Customer Service
It may not surprise you that I like to read. In fact, I have more desire to read than I have time to read. My reading list is long, and ever growing. I am fortunate to have a wonderful group of friends and colleagues who routinely recommend books to me. I actually...
Black Friday Lessons for Every Business
How was your Black Friday shopping experience? Being the marketing nerd that I am, I can’t resist the urge to visit a few stores on Black Friday. The experience in each store varies widely, and often in interesting ways. You can learn a lot about a business, its...
Brain Science and Effective Websites
Today is the final piece in a series where we have explored website building from a variety of useful angles. First we examined how we should set and enforce our expectations of a website. Then we explored the common traits that all effective websites have before...
5 Website Technologies That Show Off Your Business
We have discussed a lot of information about websites lately. That’s on purpose. Websites, in general, have a long way to go to better and more effectively tell the story of a business and enable its growth. Last week we focused on the quality and volume of content...
Quit Disrespecting Your Website Content
If you want a persuasive and effective website that is easily found online, you need a lot of pages of content that are well optimized for search engines. The content must also be readable and convincing to humans. Search engine rules are constantly changing, and...
Essential Habits of Effective Homepages
Last week we talked about the basics of a quality website. Today we confront a fundamental truth about all websites that often goes missed. Your website is the essential marketing material for your business. We usually don’t think about our website that way, though....
What Do You Expect Out of Your Website?
Today’s column is the first in a series I’m doing specifically on websites. Why websites? Despite the fact that technology is advancing rapidly, the website remains the single most important marketing material you have. If your website stinks – meaning it doesn’t tell...
How to Lead Your Industry
You love your team. You love your products. Your customers have great things to say about you. But, it’s been almost a decade since the company has experienced meaningful growth. What gives? For this ailment, a prescription of industry leadership is usually best. But,...
Is Your Marketing An Investment or An Expense?
If you see your marketing as an expense, it’s just a line item on your budget. That’s about it. You know you need to do marketing, so you pay for some. It’s not a daily thought, it’s not something you check up on a lot, it’s just something that gets done. A task to...
Why Top-of-Mind Awareness Still Matters
With so many highly measurable digital marketing tools and fancy mobile marketing programs and data-based marketing models it’s pretty easy to forget about the old standby marketing methods. For example, when was the last time you considered the value of...
Content Marketing Makes Your Advertising Work
Let’s talk about autopilot advertising, and advertising equity. Autopilot Advertising Earlier this week the guy who handles our pest control came through the office. The office was abuzz with our usual chatter and meetings and whatnot. In our focused state, it was...
3 Stats To Build your 2017 Marketing On
It’s planning season! Time to forecast next year, and build the marketing plan that will deliver the goods. If you’re building your plan, and the digital portion is underfunded consider restricting your approach. Here are a few digital marketing data points you can...
Plan Your Positioning To Spur Growth
Well, this is ambitious. Is it possible to effectively articulate the importance of knowing how to position your company in the market in just a few hundred words? Nope. So why am I writing this column on the subject of positioning your business? Because a well...