2008

Quote of the week: George Carlin

“So, how can I talk about something eminently familiar to them, on my terms, in a new way,...

Why I'm Mad at Otis Spunkmeyer

Last week I had an experience that made me think the marketing folks at Otis Spunkmeyer should...

Is your business neurotic?

I recently came across a most enjoyable, sticky blog that anonymously publishes people’s...

I wish I were a satellite

There are about 8,000 man-made satellites orbiting earth at five miles per second this very minute...

Marketing to money-strapped customers:...

This is part three in a three-part series on marketing to money-strapped customers. Now that...

Marketing to money-strapped customers:...

This is the second in a series of three on marketing to money-strapped customers. Previously, we...

Marketing to money-strapped customers,...

This is part 1.5 in a series of three on marketing to money-strapped customers I could not pass up...

Marketing to money-strapped customers

This is the first in a series of three on marketing to money-strapped customers We’re all...

Listen

Popquiz: Whose brand is this?

Click the image to the right. Can you tell me which company these words describe? What...

How a booming hot dog stand does zero...

I live in a college town, home of both UVU and BYU, which means we have tons of cheap places to eat....

Why I hate spammers more than you

We all hate spammers. I don’t know a single person who wouldn’t want to run into one in...

I'm self-smarted, basically, by myself

Watch this video. It’s a hilarious interview with a prisoner who talks about how he...

Why I hung up on the pizza guy

Customer Service (CS): Thank you for choosing XXX Pizza, would you like try our Fantastic Friday Special?
Me: No, I actually...
CS: It comes with a free order of "Nutso" Bread, an extra large Supreme pizza, and your choice of Caesar or garden salad. It's a limited time offer, and it only costs $22.99.
Me: No thanks, I think I know...
CS: Is this for delivery or takeout?
Me: It depends. How long is the wait?
CS: It depends.
(Awkward silence, broken by grumbling stomach.)
Me: How about right now. How long is the wait for delivery versus pickup?
CS: Pickup is always faster.
Me: I know, but if it's going to be less than 40 minutes, I'd rather just wait here than drive all the way out there.
CS: If you pick it up, we can have it ready it 20 minutes.
Me: It takes me twenty minutes to get there, and twenty back, then I'm looking at 40 minutes, you see.
CS: It takes the delivery driver the same amount of time to get there as it would for you. We don't drive twice as fast.
Me: Yes, I know but...(Googling other pizza places)...how much is it for just a medium pizza with pepperoni, olives and fresh tomatoes?
CS: What do you mean fresh tomatoes?
Me: You put them on after it comes out of the oven instead of before...
CS: It's $7.49 for a plain cheese and $.99 for all the toppings. Sliced tomatoes are extra.
Me: End communication.
CS: What?
Me: (click)

Quote of the Day: Pulitzer on Messaging

“Put it to them briefly, so they will read it; clearly, so they will appreciate it;...

Say a lot with a little

I’ve been doing a creative exercise lately that challenges me to tell a story in just a few...

Marketing Tip of the Day

An underused and very important aspect of good marketing is this: Talk Straight. Simple, right?...

Hilarious customer feedback

The following is an actual Continental Airlines customer who is upset with his seat and provides...

Why you should ALWAYS proofread

Today we had a close call and almost pushed a page live with this text, promoting an upcoming...

The most common marketing mistake

Back in college we had to design brochures for the U.S. Army Reserve for a pro-bono capstone...

Five Free Sales & Marketing Tools

No time for long introductions today. Here are a few FREE marketing tools you can use for your...

How to sell boring stuff like life...

If you can be successful at marketing some of the most boring products in the world, then imagine...

Should FREE be in your business model?

You may have read the Wired article “Free! Why $0.00 is the Future of Business”...

4 Good Smells that Make Sales

Of all your marketing efforts, using smell to influence customers is probably not one you’ve...

The worst product label ever? Maybe.

Please never do this with your product labels (click to enlarge). It’s just not a good idea to...

The 6 Most Bizarre Marketing Campaigns...

Either the people who came up with these campaigns are completely out of their minds, or they...

Open Letter from Marketers to Business...

Dear business owners, It’s been a long time since we had a heart to heart talk, and we feel...

Two amazing marketing ideas you can't...

File these under the “I Wish I’d Thought of That” category. Two new magazine ads...

Quote of the week: Dr. Seuss on not...

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any...

Learn how to spice up your SMB...

Here is an event so great that it’s even worth going to Houston for - The Small Business...

How to Market Your Business for $50 or...

Last part in a three part series I’ve saved the last of my fifteen tips on how to market your...

How to Market Your Business for $50 or...

Part Two in a Three Part Series In the first part of this series, I covered a few good ways to get...

How to Market Your Business for $50 or...

Part One of a Three Part Series Can’t afford to have an ad agency on retainer for $10,000 per...

7 Marketing Sins that Will Stifle Your...

For most small business owners, a successful marketing program is like the elusive blue whale; you...

If your products stink, marketing won't...

Case in point: the Chevy Malibu. Here’s the story. For years, the most important car an...

Dunsity Award: Sports Authority

Please, please never let your small business do what Sports Authority recently did with an email...

5 things you can learn from Ralph Nader

Small business owners can learn some things by being more like Ralph Nader. How? Well, surprising...

The Cheapest, Best Market Research You...

Market research can take many forms and price-tags. Some companies hire research firms to...

What's with the floating logos?

Have you noticed this? It seems like lately more and more companies are using their logo as...

Three tools you can use to spy on...

Understanding your competition is one of the most important things you can do to develop your...

Memo: New format, again. What do you...

The evolution of this blog continues, but we’re really close to our final destination, so to...

Should your company name have "AAA" in...

Why are there are so many companies with “AAA” in their company name (like this)? So...

Should you axe your marketing spending...

Q&A with Beth GoldsteinWith the economy showing signs of a possible recession, many small...

Quote of the week: The next generation...

“I’ll “friend” British Airways, which will say, “We see you’re...

Dunsity Award: Edelman Public Relations

This month’s award goes to one of the globe’s largest PR firms, Edelman, for their...

Awkward! The Marketing Motivational...

“Are you holding yourself back from the success you deserve? Do you want guaranteed...

Pure Genius.

If you can find a marketing person who can come up with things like this, your business will make...

Don't tell me you don't have a marketing...

Why? Because customer service is the new marketing. At least, that was the topic of a conference in...

Entrepreneurs, Beware of Jack-Master...

With the economy showing signs of weakness (and investors acting like panic-stricken lemmings), now...

Case Study: How NOT to Handle Direct...

Not many small businesses dare to delve into direct mail marketing, sometimes for good reason. Take,...

Sony, for once, might come away with a...

After a grueling, years-long battle, it’s starting to look like Sony is finally on the brink...

So you can't afford a Super Bowl ad...

Next Sunday you’ll probably be watching America’s most hailed sporting event, the Super...

Quote of the week: Steven Hawking on...

“I find that American & Scandinavian accents work better with women.” (In...

Get a FREE Marketing Plan Template - No...

I’ve written previously about the importance of creating a marketing plan for your small...

If I Ran the Water Company: A Disruptive...

It’s been a long, snowy winter so far here in Utah. Alta ski resort is reporting 17” of...

What You Can Learn from the Wine...

Tim Hanni is one of the leading wine experts in the country, he’s one of the first two...

Quote of the week: Foresight Edition

“We were trying to convey the controversial issues with a strong and provocative...

Quiver Report: Survey Tools

Arrows for your marketing quiver One of the best ways to learn about your customers is by -...

The Five Phase Marketing Approach

Do you ever feel like the task of marketing your business is just too much? And how do you know what...

Being like a cockroach = success

Cockroaches are one of the world’s most persistent pests. Why? For starters, roaches would be...

Learn from Chileans, cash in

If you don’t follow the sport of racing, you may not have heard that the Dakar Rally was...

Here's another case of believing in what...

On my previous blog I posted about a man who had invented a new style of baseball cup (article) who...

25 Reasons You Don't Need a Tagline

After my last post, I started wondering how useful taglines really are to a business. So I did a bit...

This has to be the worst. tagline. ever. I still have no...

What'd we do New Year's Eve? Burned some...

Forget fireworks and confetti to celebrate bringing in the new year. The French have a much wilder,...

I want fresh pizza, I want my pizza now

There is a BBQ & pizza place in Orem, Ut that is considering making a change to the way they...