A student asked me the other day what the greatest marketing challenges facing business today were and whether I think these challenges are different than they have been historically. That’s a great question and I’ve pondered it for a while.
Ultimately, what I decided is that Continue reading “Greatest Marketing Challenges Facing Businesses Today”
I’ve spent most of my career working for large organizations so developing and managing budgets is second nature to me. In fact, I *like* budgets — they provide both a planning guideline and a framework against which decisions can be made. In my case, those decisions have generally been related to marketing expenditures. Given a certain organization goal, and considering past activities and their costs, how much do I think I will need during the subsequent year to meet or exceed those goals. I like looking at and considering data this way and I like having a benchmark against which I can measure effectiveness of my marketing expenditures.
But, to my surprise Continue reading “Marketing Budget Best Practices”
Whether starting a new business, expanding an existing business, or simply introducing a new product or service, it’s a good idea to start with a plan – a business plan. To some, developing a business plan may seem like an extremely time-consuming and unnecessary task. It doesn’t have to be. Business plans can range from the simple to the complex–but should include the same core elements. Here are “7 Critical Business Plan Elements”: Continue reading “Business Plan Best Practices”
In an online discussion I was recently involved in, prompted by my blog on Borders’ recent announcement, I was asked whether I thought PR could be the answer for businesses that are feeling the pressure from increasing competition and ever-narrowing margins. My short answer: “Yes, I think that PR, in a broad sense, can definitely help businesses in our current environment.” What businesses Continue reading “Is PR the Answer? Remaining Relevant in Changing Markets”
Have you started conversations in your organization about what Borders’ downfall might mean to you? If you haven’t, you should. While it may seem like the bookseller’s situation is far removed from your own, I’m here to tell you that you are vulnerable. If your strategic planning activities (which, I’m hoping, are ongoing and not just once a year, or less…) are not considering these types of activities occurring in your external environment, you could be at risk. Continue reading “Today Borders – tomorrow Macy’s, BestBuy, Target? You?”
Many managers struggle with choosing a management technique for the decision making process. Some managers tend to simply issue orders based on their own judgment and expect obedience, while others actively engage their subordinates in the decision making process. Listed below are some common management styles along with some of the pros and cons for each. There’s nothing necessarily right or wrong about any of these styles, but some are more appropriate in certain situations than others. Continue reading “What Kind of Manager Are You?”
I recently responded to a reporter’s request for perspectives on Facebook’s new feature that allows people to have business pages as well as personal pages and whether it will make a difference in the way small businesses use Facebook to market to customers and prospects.
These types of questions are always interesting to me because they seem to prompt a somewhat Continue reading “Could Facebook Business Pages Make Sense for You? (This is a trick question!)”
As I work with clients and speak with groups about strategic planning, I find that the #1 “problem” that business people have with planning is actually implementing the plan! It’s a bit like the “glass ceiling” I think. Something happens at the point that the plan is complete. Well, actually, all too often nothing happens! Why is that? A number of reasons I think. Continue reading “Strategic Planning: It’s All in the Implementation!”
A business colleague recently asked for some advice on how to handle people in meetings – in this case, strategic planning sessions – that dominate the conversation. It’s a common problem and, I’d venture to guess, that any of you reading this have been involved in a situation where this has occurred.
Here are some of the suggestions I shared: Continue reading “When They Talk *Too* Much – Facilitating Planning Sessions”
Despite all the hype and attention in the media, only eight percent of Internet users are Twitter users according to a recent study by Pew Research. That means 92 percent of those online are *not* using Twitter. Wow! I suppose I shouldn’t be entirely surprised. While I have some “online business colleagues” who are active on Twitter, most of my traditional business colleagues and the vast majority of students in my university classes Continue reading “Only Eight Percent of Those Online Using Twitter?”