5 New Rules and 5 Proven Principles for Marketing Success
Advertising, B2B Marketing, Creative, CRM, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media Advertising, B2B Marketing, Creative, CRM, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media

5 New Rules and 5 Proven Principles for Marketing Success

In this new, technology-driven world of marketing, do the proven principles of marketing strategy still apply? Or are there new rules for marketing success? Here are five new marketing rules created by the enormous impact of technology plus five time-tested marketing principles -- and the reasons to consider both in a smart marketing strategy.

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Why It’s a Mistake to Take a Break from Blogging
B2B Marketing, Creative, CRM, Marketing Strategy, Public Relations, Social Media, Websites B2B Marketing, Creative, CRM, Marketing Strategy, Public Relations, Social Media, Websites

Why It’s a Mistake to Take a Break from Blogging

If content marketing is part of your smart marketing strategy, consistent blogging is essential. In fact, letting your blog lapse can be a big marketing mistake. How do I know? I just did it. Here’s why a break in blogging can be bad for your business – and five ways to get your blog back on track.

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6 Marketing Lessons I Learned as the Mother of the Bride
Advertising, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy Advertising, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy

6 Marketing Lessons I Learned as the Mother of the Bride

Brides are spending big money on weddings. According to the Wedding Report, the cost of an average wedding in the U.S. is $25,200. Market research firm IBISWorld estimates that the U.S. wedding industry has grown to $55 billion in annual sales.That’s a lot of cake, tulle, and flowers – and as the mother of the bride, I can tell you from personal experience that it’s also a fascinating example of what works (or doesn’t work) in sales and marketing. Here are six lessons for your smart marketing strategy that I learned as the mother of the bride.

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B2B Marketing Strategy: 7 Ways to Sell to Influencers
B2B Marketing, Creative, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Public Relations, Sales Strategy, Social Media, Websites B2B Marketing, Creative, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Public Relations, Sales Strategy, Social Media, Websites

B2B Marketing Strategy: 7 Ways to Sell to Influencers

One of the trickiest aspects of business-to-business marketing is selling to influencers – people who are not end-users of a product or service but whose opinions influence the purchasing decision. Here are seven tips for marketing and selling to influencers in a smart B2B marketing strategy.

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10 Bad Marketing Habits to Break in the New Year
Advertising, B2B Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy, Social Media, Websites Advertising, B2B Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy, Social Media, Websites

10 Bad Marketing Habits to Break in the New Year

Even the best marketers can find themselves stuck in bad habits – harmful behaviors that limit the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and waste valuable marketing resources.Like breaking any bad habit, the New Year is a good time to make a fresh start. Here are 10 ways you could be hurting your marketing and recommendations for a better approach from a Cleveland, Ohio marketing consultant.

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Advertising, B2B Marketing, Creative, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media, Websites Advertising, B2B Marketing, Creative, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media, Websites

Association Membership Marketing: 12 Steps for Success

Member acquisition is a constant challenge and a top priority for most trade associations. Who do you target? How do you reach prospective members? And how do you convince them to join your organization?Here’s how the American Advertising Federation-Cleveland (AAF-CLE) developed a successful membership marketing strategy and campaign that exceeded its goals and laid the foundation for future member acquisition.

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Advertising, B2B Marketing, Creative, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy, Social Media, Websites Advertising, B2B Marketing, Creative, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy, Social Media, Websites

11 More Timeless Tips for Smart Marketing

How to be a smarter marketer:11 more timeless tips for creating smart marketing strategies from Cleveland, Ohio marketing consultant Jean Gianfagna -- part 2 of a 2-part post

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Creative, Marketing Strategy, Social Media Creative, Marketing Strategy, Social Media

How to Use Your Brand Voice to Be Heard in Social Media

Social media is the noisiest place on the planet. Every day, there are over 1 billion Facebook posts and 400 million Tweets.If you’re straining to be heard amid the social media din, try using one of your most powerful marketing assets: The voice of your brand.Here’s why brand voice is important in a smart marketing strategy, especially for social media marketing.

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CRM, Marketing Strategy, Social Media CRM, Marketing Strategy, Social Media

How Breaking a Customer Promise Can Hurt Your Brand

our company’s brand represents the value customers receive when they interact with your business. It's a promise: When you choose to purchase from us, this is what we will deliver to you.When you break that promise – through defective products, shoddy workmanship, or poor service – you might lose the customer.But in this age of social media, you might also lose your reputation. Remember the musician who made a YouTube video about United Airlines breaking his guitar? It got more than 12 million views and spawned a whole culture of people creating videos so showcase their service complaints.How can you avoid mistakes that hurt your brand? And what can you do if those mistakes happen? Here are four insights from my recent experience for your smart marketing strategy.

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B2B Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy, Social Media, Websites B2B Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy, Social Media, Websites

7 Ways to Get Results from Your Business-to-Business Blog

Every marketing guru (including me) is telling their clients to blog, for lots of good reasons. But blogging is a big commitment. Do blogs produce real results for B2B marketers? Does blogging truly lead to fame and fortune? I’ve just completed my second year writing a blog about marketing strategy. Here are seven ways I’ve used the blog to increase visibility for my business (fame) and get new clients (fortune) and some blogging tips for your smart marketing strategy.

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How to be a Great Content Curator on Social Media
B2B Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Social Media, Websites B2B Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Social Media, Websites

How to be a Great Content Curator on Social Media

The most successful social media marketers create and publish a high volume of original content through blogs, videos, white papers, and other vehicles.But they also share quality content produced by others. Gathering, sorting, and republishing content from other authors that you believe your followers will value is called curation. By being a great content curator, you help customers, prospects, and colleagues find the “good stuff” online and know what to read. This not only makes you an informative and influential social media contributor, but it also helps attract new followers. Here’s how to find, filter, and share the best content with your social media followers in a smart marketing strategy.

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Branding at Birth: How Young is Too Young for Marketing?
Advertising, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media Advertising, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media

Branding at Birth: How Young is Too Young for Marketing?

Did you see the recent article in Adweek about efforts by major consumer marketers like Disney to establish brand preferences in children ages 0-3? The Next Great American Consumer by Brian Braiker provides a fascinating look at this development. Braiker says branding at birth is “a trend—fueled in part by the growth of digital devices—toward aggressively targeting a demographic that didn’t exist, in marketers’ eyes, until recently: infants to 3-year-olds. By getting their logos and iconic characters in front of babies—even those with still-blurry eyesight—they hope to establish brand-name preference before she or he has uttered a word.”Is this a smart marketing strategy? Or is this the scariest thing you’ve seen all week? The answer to both questions is yes. Here’s why.

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Shut Up, Already: How Over-Marketing Kills Relationships
CRM, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media CRM, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media

Shut Up, Already: How Over-Marketing Kills Relationships

Permission-based marketing is now at the heart of relationships between companies and their customers and prospects. People opt-in to receive your emails, like your company on Facebook, subscribe to an RSS feed from your website or your channel on YouTube, or follow you on Twitter or LinkedIn.But having permission to market to someone isn’t a license to bombard them with marketing messages. In fact, not knowing when to shut up is a classic marketing mistake.Here’s how over-marketing can kill a customer or prospect relationship and 7 ways to avoid this costly error in your smart marketing strategy.

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