What’s Your Story?

It never ceases to amaze me how much brand loyalty influences our daily purchases.  When we go to the store to buy a product, we stroll down the aisle and pull the items right off the shelf.  Before reaching the aisle and even perhaps the store, we usually already know what product and brand we will be picking up without putting much thought into it. How did we get to this point? Think about it. I inherited several of my mother’s brand loyalty habits. My mom purchased only certain brands and once I was old enough to buy my own products, I followed in the same pattern without ever thinking about it. Growing up, my family always used Crest toothpaste. And now, it’s the only brand I buy.  I am sure I am not the only one impacted by a family member’s purchases. Read the rest of this entry →

When most of us think of marketing, we think of a department in the company that creates ads, direct mail, commercials, etc. But marketing is so much more than just a few “creative” people sitting around writing tag lines.

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Thanks for stopping by again! This week we’re going to explore the basics of innovation, and the best place to start is with some clarification and definitions (i.e. the boring part). People often times get innovation confused with invention.  Around here we view an invention as an idea made concrete, while innovation involves ideas and their successful implementation into practice to create value. In other words, you invent an advanced mousetrap when you build an actual contraption; you innovate a new method for catching mice when you create a successful series of steps that add value to the field. Read the rest of this entry →

Everyone wants to make the right impression – whether it’s in person, by phone, email or other mode of communication. We practice what we’ll say, spend time crafting a solid email introduction, make sure our hair is neat and breath is fresh. But when it comes to social media marketing, some of us show up with bad form and no game plan.

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I’ve been attending quite a few great webinars lately – but none of them really gave me a jolt of life and inspiration like the one I attended on Tuesday presented by HubSpot that featured Gary Vaynerchuk, author of Crush It! and host of Wine Library TV – a vlog (video blog) all about one of my favorite topics, wine (I’ve created a Facebook group dedicated to that very topic!). Maybe it was the copious amounts of Starbucks bold coffee coursing through my veins, but a major fire was lit under me as I listened to Gary’s discussion about infusing passion into storytelling and interacting with customers to create dialogue and cultivate relationships.

You might be wondering how a guy who blogs about wine has earned the reputation as a best-selling author, social media guru and in-demand speaker. To anyone who attended, it was probably obvious:  Gary is absolutely passionate about everything he does. He lives, breathes and drinks(!) what he loves.

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If you’ve been following trends in the world of business over the last few years, you know that the way business is being conducted has changed in new and dramatic ways. From social networking to the growth of digital strategies such as viral marketing campaigns, getting out a message to the right people at the right time has become critical to business success. We’re seeing that the services our clients are using are changing and we are responding to these needs by adapting how we do business, too. Read the rest of this entry →

Successfully marketing your product or service is an intricate function of your business.  In whatever sector your product or service lies, marketing is a key element and involves a host of pre-planning, projections, persistence, and sometimes – prayer.  Those aren’t the only 4 P’s that you will utilize in your marketing efforts. Read the rest of this entry →