As business owners, we owe it to our employees, clients and our communities to give a second thought to identity theft, before thieves do. Identity theft is not primarily a high-tech crime. Think of dumpster-diving, stolen wallets, credit cards or checkbooks. Think of postal fraud, theft of personal papers from cars, homes or businesses. A […]

Large corporations spend lavish amounts seeking names for their products that grab a consumer, or convey positive feelings. Book authors do the same. As do magazine writers. So, say you are planning something that needs a name: your new company, a speech, an article, your website, your email address. STOP! Stop, and think. Don’t go […]

Ever had one of those conversations where you wondered what the topic was and the only word you could identify was “I”?
As a marketer, I often recommend marketing yourself. However, there comes a point, rather quickly in any conversation when the other person tires of hearing “I”. So, the problem is…
How’s the weather over there? […]

What’s in a brand name? Everything! Think of these brands: Coke, Barbie, Hershey, McDonalds, Madonna, Pepsi, Bono, Microsoft, Kleenex, Xerox, Steven Spielberg, Dell and GM. Did you notice that brands can be things, replicas of people and actual people? Brands are the public perception of a thing or person. Companies work very hard to establish […]

If you own a web-based business, you’re probably aware of the need for things like link exchanges, lead-purchasing, SEO copy, banner ads and all of the "traditional" ways to get exposure on the World Wide Web.
But did you know that article marketing is by far the best way to build your brand while at the […]

I love Pepsi. It’s that slightly sweeter taste and the all-American logo combined with the non-conformist statement that, well, it’s not Coke.
Yet Pepsi has been consistently #2, and there’s nothing wrong with being #2 if that’s your goal. But Pepsi’s goal is to be the #1 preferred brand (notice I didn’t say ‘taste’ – we […]

What’s Your Brand?
A brand is a product/company personality that helps distinguish it from the competition. It evolves out of the product essence. So, what’s yours? Quality? Service? Price? Whatever it is it’s something your marketing must reinforce across all communication channels, from business card to TV spot. Even your office space. You can’t brand yourself […]

Companies have been branding their collateral materials such as letterhead, envelopes, business cards, etc. for years. In fact, we often identify a company by its familiar logo or special color scheme. Branding works!! At the same time, many companies send customers and vendors large files, proposals and presentations on CD-Rs. Since CD-Rs have become the […]

The one thing that everyone has in common is that we are all consumers; we all buy. Every day, from daily small purchases, like your morning coffee and newspaper, to big monthly or yearly purchases, like a television or a car. But what influences your decision on what and where to buy. Surely, you have […]

Imagine if Yahoo! had been named TheInternetDirectoy. Or StarBucks was christened “Premier Coffees”. The names would be far more descriptive than their current ones. But they wouldn’t embody the essence or spirit of the companies they represent. Even if they offered the exact same goods and services, it’s unlikely Yahoo! or StarBucks would enjoy the […]