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5 Marketing Metrics Where Close Enough Counts
It has been said that “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” Things have changed. The time has come to update the old adage to “close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and marketing analytics.” The numbers we use to grow...
Planning to Succeed in 2013
The beginning of a new year is a great time to renovate your business. People are trained to expect change with a new calendar but you have to act quickly. The window of opportunity where resistance is at a minimum is only open for a short period....
Pinterest for Business: How to Convert a Personal Account into a Brand Profile
The fact that Pinterest only offered personal accounts didn’t keep businesses from jumping on the hottest new social platform. Personal settings were manipulated so brands could keep their image while participating. It wasn’t the best scenario, but...
How to Give Your Twitter Page a Brand New Look
Customization of your Twitter page has been limited to an avatar and a background picture until now. The new profile options allow adding a custom header that will appear on the web page and mobile apps.After reading the announcement on the...
Social Media: The Next Frontier for Yellow Journalism
In 1897, Fredric Remington was sent to Cuba to cover the Spanish-American war. His boss, William Randolph Hearst, planned to use the war to increase circulation and grow his newspaper empire. After assessing the situation, Remington reportedly...
Why You Should Benchmark Internal Metrics
Benchmarking establishes a reference point so you can gauge the success or failure of marketing and service strategies even when there isn’t an obvious cause and effect. We naturally want to know how our results compare to our competition and try to...
Are Happy Customers the Goal?
Serving customers well is the foundation of every successful business. Rarely will a company with sub-par service grow and prosper. People expect quality in customer care but is top-notch service enough to create loyalty and sustainable growth...
Why Benchmarking Against Competitors Doesn’t Work
One statement in “The Numbers that Really Matter to Your Business” got a lot of attention because people didn’t agree with it. I wrote, “There is simply no way to compare metrics from different companies and deliver realistic results.” Responses...
Why Benchmarking against Competitors doesn’t Work
One statement in “The Numbers that Really Matter to Your Business” got a lot of attention because people didn’t agree with it. I wrote, “There is simply no way to compare metrics from different companies and deliver realistic results.”...
Customers and the Numbers that Really Matter for Your Business
Creating benchmarks that work to grow your business and improve profitability along the way requires an intimate knowledge of your company, customers, and team members. Your competitors’ metrics choice rarely matters except to provide fodder for...
The Numbers that Really Matter for Your Business
Creating benchmarks that work to grow your business and improve profitability along the way requires an intimate knowledge of your company, customers, and team members. Your competitors’ metrics choice rarely matters except to provide fodder...
The Numbers that Really Matter for Your Business
Creating benchmarks that work to grow your business and improve profitability along the way requires an intimate knowledge of your company, customers, and team members. Your competitors’ metrics choice rarely matters except to provide fodder...
Customer Acquisition: The Fourth Pillar of Social Media
Customer acquisition is the only pillar of social media that cannot stand alone. Brands can attract tens of thousands of fans and followers without ever acquiring a new customer or making a single sale attributable to the channel. Ouch! That’s scary...
SEO: The Third Pillar of Social Media
Social search is the most underutilized marketing tool available today. The combination of the search engine power with social network opinions works together to influence people’s buying decisions. Search results with social proof have more...
Customer Service: The Second Pillar of Social Media
Delivering quality service is the cornerstone of every successful business. Start-ups can’t grow into sustainable enterprises without it. Established companies lose market share when service levels drop. The need for a good customer...
Customer Service: The Second Pillar of Social Media
Delivering quality service is the cornerstone of every successful business. Start-ups can’t grow into sustainable enterprises without it. Established companies lose market share when service levels drop. The need for a good customer experience is...
Customer Retention: The First Pillar of Social Media
Keeping customers actively buying products and services is a key component of every marketing and service strategy. The longer people remain in the buying funnel, the greater their lifetime value and contribution to corporate profitability. People...
Integrated Marketing: 4 Reasons Social Media is Needed
Creating a successful integrated marketing strategy is a necessity in our multichannel marketplace. Silo management of marketing channels wastes resources and reduces results. The days are gone where dominating one or two channels was enough...
Social Casual vs. Direct Qualified Prospects
Every sales person knows that there is a difference in prospects. Leads provided by people who love your products and services convert better than those found in the phone book. Prospects who request catalogs generate better response rates than...
Social Casual vs. Direct Qualified Prospects
Every sales person knows that there is a difference in prospects. Leads provided by people who love your products and services convert better than those found in the phone book. Prospects who request catalogs generate better response rates...
