What’s the difference between a great company that outperforms the market and an average company? Great products, services, strategies and execution … and your employees are responsible for those successes. A company can accomplish far more with a strong team in place than it can with an average one. Recruiting is essential for building a…Read More
You probably know that publicity in the media can be extremely valuable in building credibility and awareness for your company. A legitimate news story is an endorsement that can reach a wide audience for very little cost beyond your own creativity and time. It can help you Build awareness about your products/services, expertise and people…Read More
If you’re running a survey or a test, how many responses do you need for your data to have a “statistically valid sample size?” It’s often a difficult goal to achieve, but without valid data, you can’t trust your test results. When you’re determining the statistical validity of your data, there are four criteria to…Read More
Wondering how to increase your email response rates? Here’s the #1 tip: Shorten your subject line! There’s been a lot of buzz about Return Path’s recent analysis on email click-through rates. Using data from two years’ worth of client campaigns, here’s their discovery: Subject lines with fewer than 50 characters generated a 75% higher click-through…Read More
Have you (or someone you know) spent a bundle on a pay-per-click campaign with negligible results? Or are you shying away from paid search because you’ve heard that it’s expensive and difficult to manage? (If you’re new to paid search, here’s a quick intro.) In any PPC campaign, it’s important to watch your bids and…Read More
Do you know how much profit your customers produce over their lifetime? “Customer lifetime value”, or “CLV”, is a valuable metric that helps you target your most profitable customer segments and understand how much you can spend to acquire them. How does the theory work in action? Let’s say you sell two products: widgets and gidgets,…Read More
It’s amazing what great paper and envelopes can do for a direct mail campaign. They aren’t necessarily cheap, but they can lift your response rates and give you more creative firepower. If you’re purchasing large quantities, the internet may not be the most cost-effective place to buy paper. But if you’re doing a small mailing…Read More
Are you generating enough leads to meet your revenue goals? If you’re winging it, you’re less likely to hit your numbers. If you have to feed a village, you can’t toss your line and hope for the best. Instead, tie your marketing campaigns into your company’s customer and revenue goals. A few simple calculations can…Read More
Whether you’re cold-calling a prospect or trying to pitch a high-level marketing partnership, you’ll likely run into a roadblock early on. A gatekeeper. Now I have no trouble dealing with gatekeepers, but I’ve been doing this for 20 years. It takes practice and confidence. But if you or your team can’t get to the decision…Read More
Many B to B companies are just getting started with search engine marketing. If you’re one of them, you’ll want to know the difference between two basic types of programs: “paid” & “organic” search. But first, how big is search engine marketing? U.S. and Canadian advertisers spent $5.75 billion on it in ’05 — and it could reach $11…Read More
Do you need to create sales documents that you can easily email to clients or post on your website? If you’ve never created a PDF, you don’t need to hire a graphic designer to do it. You can download free or low-cost software to create PDFs from your Word, Excel, Powerpoint or other printable documents/files….Read More