Saw a post today on one of the blogs I read where the reader had this idea he was going to offer to manage social media for small to medium size businesses by outsourcing it in India or Malaysia.

He indicated a busy businessman would pay $20 month to have their Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo or Bebo account updated, messages replied and so on and this would be way cheaper than hiring a new employee in-house or contracting independent U.S workers.

Sounds reasonable right? Well I guess it is if you want a…

After all the bad PR Toyota has had lately, somebody over there came out swinging with a new ad series all built around life in the “Daddy Like Swagger Wagon”.

This is a great example of how creating and leading with relevant stories built around the lifestyles of your target market can be a hit like the campaign Toyota did with this targeting young, hip families.

They created an entire  “Swagger Wagon” destination to promote the Toyota Sienna. Notice they led with the lifestyle story not pushing boring specs on vehicle MPG’s, safety features, etc. No! They led…

Ahh the mature woman! Something all of us girls grow up to be…well hopefully. As I have embarked on this leg of my personal journey I have noticed more than ever the lack of significance placed on my role, generation and participation in the marketplace.

Is it marketers have counted me out? Do they think I am over the ‘hill’ and no longer am a substanable source of revenue for their bottomline?

It could just be our fascination and even obsession with “being young” but whatever it is…marketers that ignore this market segment are pretty stupid in my books.…

Aah…the Thanksgiving holiday!

For many of us it conjures up memories and emotions of wholesomeness, family, fall colors, great food and of course, being thankful to God for all of the blessings we have.

Despite the fact Thanksgiving is just about being swept off the map and overshadowed as a major holiday these days…it will always be a significant holiday I will respect and honor in my lifetime.

I believe Thanksgiving 2009 offers up a special opportunity to those of us in business. No doubt it’s been a tough year for many of us here in the U.S. despite what…

You’ve seen them, spinning those huge signs on the corner of a busy street.

Some are really very entertaining, dancing and performing while others, well…just spin the sign.

If you’re anything like me, I bet you have even felt sorry for them, especially when they are out in the hot sun or cold weather.

Coming home from grocery shopping this week I saw a spinner for Little Caesars’. He was spinning a sign that was shaped as a guitar of all things which may have been because we are in the Music City area (Nashville, TN),…

I, like most Americans have grown so weary of the unbelievably bad customer service in the everyday marketplace both online and off in this country.

Until recently, we as consumers did not have a very easy and effective way to share with the masses our experiences nor were we very successful in getting attention to our plight regarding bad service and products from the very companies we had the conflict with. The old “on hold forever 800 number” was many times the only recourse we could take against these offending businesses.

That was until technology put the tools in…

Fired up my Twitter this morning and checked what the hot topics of the day were and my goodness…#unfollowdiddy was really buzzing!

So I decided to check out what was going on and lo and behold, many fellow tweets were voicing their not so nice things about P Diddy (Sean “Diddy” Combs).

See for yourself…

#unfollowdiddy is trending so I read his tweets. He’s less of a jerk than I expected, but arrogant as he**. Twitters taking him down a peg.

#unfollowdiddy FOLLOW ME FOR A FREE #unfollowdiddy T SHIRT -ONE WINNER EVERY HOUR SM L XL

Good

…

Twitter tweets were buzzing today about their frustration and anger with Old Navy’s $1 Flip Flop Day.

Apparently the marketing gurus in this company (and most other corporations for that matter) have not taken into consideration every move they make…we are watching them…and Twittering!

All over the country people were Twittering about their unhappy experience in “real-time“.  This is the power of the Social Network folks!

It’s for certain, many folks on were not happy campers. Just look at some of the comments I saw coming across Twitter…

one dollar flip flop

…

21st Century marketing is understanding your emphasis is on a Client not on a Customer.

What’s the difference?

Selling to a “Customer” is a transaction relationship involving an exchange of goods or services for money, versus selling to a “Client” for whom the salesperson takes responsibility for guiding and advising by taking on a stewardship role.

Big difference!

Two-thirds of all online users visit social networks and blogs, according to data from Nielsen Online. And the largest growth in social media users last year came from the 35- to 49-year-old group.