Small Business Strategy Archives -

A Study in Contrasts: Companies That Go the Distance, and Those That Don’t…

Whatever happened to…

Over the past decade, we’ve seen a number of iconic brands simply disappear without a great deal of fanfare. On the other hand, we’ve seen the meteoric rise of new players that quickly captured the hearts, minds—and wallets—of consumers. But will they be able to sustain their gains? Only time will tell.

Here we take a look at some of the “losers,” and some of the “winners” and try to determine what it is that keeps a brand strong. Continue reading “A Study in Contrasts: Companies That Go the Distance, and Those That Don’t…”

Getting Local With Your Social With a Customer-First Approach

Social media can be a great way for businesses of all types and sizes to connect with their audiences and stay connected with them! In fact, for small businesses in particular, a social media strategy focused specifically on customers (rather than prospects, or the masses) offers the greatest potential to not only keep but to grow business.

Continue reading “Getting Local With Your Social With a Customer-First Approach”

When Considering Your Marketing Goals and Objectives, Get Real!

Many of you have probably been at goal-setting seminars or workshops where the leader will pose a question like: “Would you like to make more money?,” and, of course, everybody nods or raises their hand. Then the leader will approach a workshop participant and Continue reading “When Considering Your Marketing Goals and Objectives, Get Real!”

Stop the Insanity! Are You Continuing to Make These Same Mistakes Over and Over and Over and…?

You’ve no doubt heard the definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.”

It’s a common malady in the business world, and particularly evident these days during tough times. Companies know that the results they’re getting aren’t what they’d like to see and are not likely sustainable, yet they don’t quite know what to do about it. So they keep doing what they’ve always done in tough times – they Continue reading “Stop the Insanity! Are You Continuing to Make These Same Mistakes Over and Over and Over and…?”

Does Market Share Matter? Maybe. Maybe Not.

Does market share matter? It’s an old argument I had a number of years ago with an organization I worked for. They were very focused on market share. I didn’t think they needed to be. That focus, I felt, kept us from pursuing other marketing objectives that IMO would have been more meaningful.

Despite the fact that many large companies and brands do focus on market share, it doesn’t always matter.

A simple example will illustrate: Continue reading “Does Market Share Matter? Maybe. Maybe Not.”

Creating Content: A Role for Your Contacts and Connections

Group Of Multi-Ethnic People Social Networking

As content marketing has emerged as a top go-to tactic for marketers of all kinds in all industries, the challenge that many have been faced with is how to generate the massive amounts of content often required to feed the funnel. Even large organizations with internal staff dedicated to marketing and communications often find themselves turning to others for content creation.

That’s certainly a great thing for firms like ours, and we help a number of individuals and organizations create a variety of content. But there’s another great source of content that can be leveraged in big and small ways to help feed the demand for content: Continue reading “Creating Content: A Role for Your Contacts and Connections”

Tips for Finding Experts in Content and Content Marketing

I do a lot of presentations (and since the pandemic emerged, webinars) on marketing-related topics. When I do, I try to provide as much practical and useful advice as I can. I don’t worry about “giving away my secrets” for a couple of reasons:

They’re not that secret—they’re just good, proven, elements of effective marketing and communication.
Telling someone how to do something rarely translates into the ability to actually do that something.
The small business owners and entrepreneurs—and, often, even senior and very seasoned marketing executives in large organizations—simply don’t have the time to do it themselves.

They often need to call upon others—agencies or freelancers—to help them out. Continue reading “Tips for Finding Experts in Content and Content Marketing”

When To Give Your Work Away, and When to Charge

I saw a very interesting question in an online group I monitor recently: “Is it ever a good idea to give your work away?”

In this case, the question was related to consulting services but the question could just as easily apply to companies selling tangible products. And, perhaps, it is in comparing the two ─ services and tangible products ─ that this answer can make the most sense: “Yes, there are definitely times when giving your work─or your products─away can be a good idea!”

But when?

Continue reading “When To Give Your Work Away, and When to Charge”

Companies That Stand the Test of Time: What Does It Take?

Vinyl records. Audiotapes. Typewriters. Carbon paper. That white stuff that Mike Nesmith’s mom invented that we used to use to correct typing errors. Rotary phones. The Post Office (well, not yet…). Look back over the past 10, 20 or 50 years, and you’ll find countless examples of products and services that simply no longer exist — or that have morphed into something else. Products and services that, for whatever reasons, have become obsolete.

We tend to think primarily of obsolescence being driven by technology, and that certainly is common these days. But obsolescence can occur due to non-technology-related impacts as well. Continue reading “Companies That Stand the Test of Time: What Does It Take?”