Is The Print Ad Dead?

Recently on a LinkedIn group, someone started a conversation on whether or not print advertizing is dead.

Back to The Basics

As we head into summer here, I thought it might be useful to put together a quick summer reading list. If you haven’t already read these three books, go get them now: The Art of War (kindle) (Apple Books) The Book of Five Rings (kindle) (Apple Books) The Prince (kindle) (Apple Books) If you have … Continue reading “Back to The Basics”

Outbound Marketing

Everything from web-site design, to search-engine marketing (SEM/SEO), to trade shows, to television commercials, classic outbound marketing, also known as marketing communications (MarCom) is the nuts and bolts of any marketing campaign. It can also include branding, publicity, and public relations, which I already discussed under brand.

Inbound Marketing

The epitome of marketing, according to Peter Drucker, inbound marketing is perhaps the least understood subdivision of marketing. In fact, it’s so poorly understood that many modern marketers have started to misuse the term — using it specifically as a synonym for Internet marketing or generally as an antonym for outbound marketing. This couldn’t be … Continue reading “Inbound Marketing”

Brand

Building the value of your brand, and building raport with your customers, employees, investors, and the public at large is a critical part of your marketing campaign.

Marketing as A Science

One of my credos is that marketing must first and foremost be a science. That’s not to say we marketers are discovering big, universal truths over here, the way mathematicians or physicists might be. But it is to say that we’re using the scientific method to find little, local truths about how you can best … Continue reading “Marketing as A Science”

Marketing is Measuring

Continual Improvement Marketing is only as good as its results. That’s why I strongly encourage both state-of-the-art analytics, and continuous improvement. Every action you take in marketing has a cost associated with it — and hopefully an associated reward. You must treat your marketing dollars very judiciously, and seek to continually get the best possible … Continue reading “Marketing is Measuring”

Marketing 101

Just What Is Marketing? If you look marketing up in a dictionary, you’ll get something along the lines of, “the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.” That does give someone who’s never encountered the word before a decent understanding of the notion. But how, exactly, does … Continue reading “Marketing 101”

Small Business Marketing Goals

Before you set off trying to do this thing called “marketing”, there is probably no single thing more important than that you understand your goals. Specifically, you should have goals at varying degrees of granularity (e.g., strategic goals vs. tactical goals), and regardless of their granularity your marketing goals should be desireable, measurable outcomes.