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What is inbound marketing and how can I use it for my organization?

With the number of options available to consumers today, many of the traditional marketing techniques get filtered out as “white noise”.  Because of this and the importance of the web, many businesses are using newer techniques called “inbound marketing” to achieve their lead generation goals. The basic concept behind inbound marketing is that you draw Read more about What is inbound marketing and how can I use it for my organization?[…]

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How do I differentiate my business from the competition?

This age old question will persist forever as new businesses, and therefore new competition,ares created every day.  Regardless of how innovative your idea is today, by tomorrow 30 “me too” companies could pop up doing the same thing, maybe for less money since they didn’t have to “invent” it.  Of course if you have some Read more about How do I differentiate my business from the competition?[…]

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What should my first small business marketing plan look like?

For many small businesses, marketing is an optional thing that you do if you have extra money, which often is not the case.  Now that doesn’t mean that they don’t spend money on trinkets and sponsor the local baseball team, its just that they don’t put together an intentional effort to market their business.  If Read more about What should my first small business marketing plan look like?[…]

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How important is brand identity?

Let’s get right to the point on this one.  Having a strong brand identity can be the difference between having a business from which you can make an “ok” salary or having one that thrives and provides well for you, your family in future generations, and the community you serve. Now that we have answered Read more about How important is brand identity?[…]

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Bad customer service isn’t limited to assaulting your customers

While United Airlines has recently given us a clinic on how -not- to treat your customers, there are far less obvious ways that you can abuse your customers without even realizing it.  We have discussed how important it is to simply recognize your clients on a regular basis and that can cure a lot of Read more about Bad customer service isn’t limited to assaulting your customers[…]

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Break out your No. 2 pencil to make a memorable statement

Think about how many telephone calls you receive in a day, how many emails you respond to or simply delete, and how much junk snail mail you receive.  Now try to remember a single one of those from more than a week ago.  Any luck? For most the answer is likely no.  However, can you Read more about Break out your No. 2 pencil to make a memorable statement[…]

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Be top of mind for your prospects and clients

When business is going well and customers return time after time to buy from you, its easy to lose focus on some of the things you used to do when building up your initial book of business.  Before you had clients, you likely had to do things to let prospects know that you existed and Read more about Be top of mind for your prospects and clients[…]

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How do I eliminate my business competition?

Running a business is hard enough when things are going well and you are selling all you could hope to sell.  Regardless of whether you sell a product or service, and even if you were first to market, if it’s worth selling there will be competition because others will want to get a piece of Read more about How do I eliminate my business competition?[…]

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How long does it take to build a new website?

Having been in the website business for years, it was always amusing to me when a prospect for a new website would delay their decision to go forward with our web proposal, but then would hound us about how quickly it needed to be up and running as soon as they signed.  While this may Read more about How long does it take to build a new website?[…]

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What should I expect from my website?

While it may seem obvious to people in business today that they need a website, many don’t understand exactly why or what they should expect from their site.  As is true with most business tools the answer to this question depends upon your business and your target audience but here are some goals you should Read more about What should I expect from my website?[…]