I just read a great article by Jay Deragon on Digital Nashville and he talked about the astonishing fact that so many who are in business today don’t really know what is going on in this “New Business Era”. He posted this very interesting chart that gives you a great snapshot of just how fast things are changing when it come to your customers behavior. Check out Gary Hayes Social Media Count below.

Oh, also bookmark Jay’s website while your at it. He has a great forward thinking mind!

Also, while you are at…

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…

Mind boggling! The entire business landscape is going through a metamorphous of sorts…nothing is business as usual anymore! Really, nothing is!

I see business sector after sector old standby models falling apart everywhere. New approaches are being developed; existing business systems are being redefined and challenged while others are completely collapsing. It’s as though someone took a giant stick and hit the business piñata and bam!!! We have an explosion of winners, losers, new kids on the block staking claim, giants falling, bewildered and confused executives and shareholders, fraud, fear, excitement, status quo and just as Elvis Presley said “A…

What an Amazing  job Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas did in creating a visual road map for today’s online conversation sphere.

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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…

Good post by Seth Godin which is simple but true regarding promoting and spreading the word about your business in today’s economy.

A recent research report which was aimed at determining the state of small business website and online advertising spending points out…

America’s 14.6 million small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) were responsible for more than $6.7 billion in locally generated, locally targeted interactive advertising in 2008 – more than half of the US total, according to a recently released report from Borrell Associates, which predicts these numbers will grow significantly as activities continue to shift online.

Here is the kicker, many Marketers don’t understand about small businesses though. The report also indicated more than two-thirds…

STRATEGY ONE – Strategy is King…Status Quo is Dead!

Of all the things that entrepreneurs and small business owners fail to do, one of the most serious is strategic marketing planning. Strategic marketing planning in today’s marketplace IS the most important thing you should do. A Strategic Marketing Plan is a management tool that determines which steps to follow, and the methodologies and times to reach certain objectives. Gone are the days where marketing planning is an isolated activity! It has to be perfectly linked to the rest of the business functions (First contacts, billing, assistants/virtual, production, personnel, etc.)

STRATEGY…

Lately I have been hearing all over the web ‘marketing is conversation‘ and you better be on board with social media or you are not marketing.

I say that’s hog wash (I get it! Like pigs wash!).

I am not going to be arrogant enough to say I have the total explanation of what marketing means or what it is because I believe it encompasses really everything you do in your business.

But I will say I know it is about a whole lot more than conversation. No doubt, conversation is one of the “tools’ or methods we can use…

If you have not seen the videos or heard about the incredible voice of Great Britain’s Susan Boyle yet you must not come out very often!

Most have heard because her story has been all over the internet.  But more importantly its what her story of ‘most unlikely to succeed’ has done to touch the heart of millions of people around the world.

Susan looked the part of an average person (like most of us) but when she appeared on TV show Britain’s Got Talent and she begin…