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  • Relationships. Trust. Delivery of superb value. These are core ingredients of a successful service firm. Talk to 100 service firm marketers and leaders, and they'll all tell you (and most of them believe it) that their firm is at the top of their industry in each of these categories. Why, then, do service firms typically do such a poor job of bringing relationships, trust, and value into their marketing mixes?

  • At a time when America is still feeling the sting of a prominent columnist being paid handsomely by a third-party for writing favorable opinion pieces; the nation's most respected newspaper publishing fabricated stories; and television stations running government-supplied and funded video news releases to report stories about the war, more greed is not good. And it's not just happening among the nation's elite news organizations.

  • In tradeshow marketing, it is tempting to boast about the busy buzz at your booth and how many leads you generated. But don't succumb to temptation. You would be so much better off if you paid attention to lead quality instead of quantity. One secret to tradeshow success is your ability to qualify prospects on the tradeshow floor. Here's why.

  • Reverse engineering is the process of working back to a solution from an end result. In the era of result-oriented marketing (how did we ever afford to do it differently?), reverse engineering can help marketers refocus their efforts and resources to ensure marketing delivers results that are in line with business goals. Let's start with a simple scenario.

  • Consumer preference services are a proven tool to curb the invasive use of personal data through cold calling and cold mailing. They protect the integrity of the marketing industries that rely upon telephone and post. But they fail to address the root cause of customer abuse—data gathering, CRM, and analytical processes that systematically abuse customers without their knowledge. Here is the first of a two-part argument for an identity preference service to protect the integrity of the entire relationship marketing industry.

  • As marketers, we are continually investing in strategies that set customer expectations about how our goods and services will perform. Through advertising, sales meetings, product demonstrations, and so on, we craft a message that we think clearly sets a compelling vision. But so often, that vision focuses only on the goals and expectations of the customer relationship. You also need to think about the feedback component, letting your customers know how they are doing as they use your goods and services.

  • How often has a sale been lost after we believed the customer clearly understood their problem and would make a logical, quality decision?

  • When should companies allow declining, aging brands to finish their life cycles? When should they opt to revitalize them? There are hard questions for companies in view of fast-changing consumer demands, increasing global competition, and diminishing awareness of heritage brands among younger consumers.

  • Too often, companies ignore search optimization simply because senior management does not understand it well enough to provide the necessary leadership and support. And if top management does not view it as priority, marketing and sales people are disinclined to pursue it. They will apply traditional, "accepted" tactics, shying away from one of the most efficient, measurable ways to get in front of prospects.

  • The gig is up. Your customers think it's simply too much work to reap the benefits of a "loyalty program." So here's the classic experience customers have with loyalty programs. After reading this, how loyal would you be? Scratch that. After reading this, how much of this makes you downright exhausted and inclined not to buy from a company that makes you jump through such hoops?

  • Companies sometimes have two names: the company name and the brand name. This week: How do you find a dream name for a company or product?

  • Last week, we ended the first part of this two-part series with a discussion of the perceived entry barriers to marketing to Hispanics. Now, we take a brief look at the tactics that marketers use to reach the Hispanic market, and discuss in depth Search Engine Marketing as an optimal way of reaching Hispanics.

  • When Netflix launched in the late '90s, most people thought its developers were nuts. Even with the dot-com era in full bloom, the idea of renting movies via mail struck most as somewhat ludicrous. Looking back on Netflix's startup story, one of the co-founders shares five customer-focused lessons that stand out as critical in creating the then-innovative Internet business.

  • A successful differentiation has two defining characteristics: (1) It is not imitated by your competitors, even though (2) it brings you unmistakable success with consumers. Impossible, you say? Not quite.

  • How can B2B companies truly differentiate their offering and be relevant to customers over the long term? This is where brands come in.

  • This second article in a series focuses on implementing a successful business blog. It dissects the steps of selecting development tools, working out a content plan for launch, making a debut, developing a style and personality, handling responses, monitoring consumer discussion on your subject, and enjoying the process. Here are nine valuable tips for implementing and launching a blog.

  • Marketing research isn't just a way to collect opinions, measure awareness, or test positioning statements any more. Packaged correctly, your research itself can be your message. You can turn your results into media stories that attract favorable publicity and establish you or your business as an authority. Or you can craft compelling premiums—reports, guides, or booklets—with must-have information that generates leads.

  • You play by the rules. Your list is confirmed opt-in. You have spent time writing a compelling message and an inspiring call to action. Your graphic designers have designed a stunning custom email. You then send the email to your list but find that deliverability rates are lower than you planned—mostly because none of your recipients at a major Internet service provider (ISP) received your email.... Uh-oh.

  • Problems cost money. More often than not, however, the only cost that customers and sales people focus on is that of the proposed solution. The most critical cost, the cost of the problem, remains the best-kept secret in the selling world—and certainly the most overlooked.

  • Who doesn't have a business blog these days? Maybe you? Fret no more. Here are the necessary steps to planning and implementing a corporate blog. This first article examines the key decisions on subject, mission, audience targeting, market survey, blogger selection, securing of a corporate champion, and the "go" decision.