Category: Small Business Marketing

Have you ever felt your small business’ customers were sharks? Have you ever felt like your prospects are sharking—I mean shopping—on cost, as well as always talking you down on price? Do you feel like the only nibbles you get are from prospects looking to get the best deal they can? Managing prospects who are… Continue reading Small business owners, are your prospects sporting a dorsal fin?!?

Advice from a graphic designer: how to select the right font or typeface for your small business Have you ever noticed that large businesses use the same typeface (or “font”) for everything? How boring! Could it be that we’re lazy or is there something more too it? No, it’s not laziness, there’s something a lot… Continue reading Five-Minute Primer: How to Pick Font for Your Company, and Why You Should Even Care

You ask for a discount from your videographer or graphic designer. They give a big one—should that trouble you? How often has a prospect asked you to drop your prices? Have you ever heard, “I like your products/services, but can we do something about the price?” If you’re running a small business, you have. Below… Continue reading What should you think when your videographer, marketing agency, or graphic designer cuts their price at your request

Naming your small business—what you need to know before making a big blunder Have you ever looked at a company’s name or brand name and asked yourself, “How in the heck did they come up with that?” If you had the opportunity to ask the company that question, you might be surprised at the answer.… Continue reading A small business owner’s guide: A crash course in avoiding bad business and brand names

Consumers hate risk, so does your small business add or remove risk from your customers? I’ve had the same barber for the last ten years and the same deodorant for the five. How about you? I’ll bet that you have a trusted barber/stylist, and if you’re like me, once you find a deodorant you like,… Continue reading Does your small business make the risk or take the risk from your prospects and customers?

What’s similar about losing weight and finally getting marketing assistance Business owners are overwhelmed—are you one of them? Like jugglers trying to keep too many colored balls in the air, they’re faced with the never-ending task of keeping everything on track and everything moving in the right direction. With too many distractions and too little… Continue reading Is your small business approaching a point of pain when it comes to your marketing efforts?

What is brand consistency and why does that matter to your small business or dental/medical practice? Have you ever noticed that all of the Old Navy television commercials and online promotional videos all have the same look and feel? How about the mailers that you receive from Staples, Office Max, or Best Buy? They’ll feature… Continue reading What brand consistency can do for your small business

Tell-tale signs that your small business badly needs marketing help Having an online promotional video, ineffective marketing strategy, or small business brand is a lot like a piece of spinach wedged in your teeth, a bad-comb over, or leaving your fly open: everyone sees it; it looks bad, but no one will say something about… Continue reading How you can tell when your small business desperately needs marketing help

A car salesperson’s approach to getting business referrals—don’t follow his example Last month I bought a shiny new car. The car’s nice, but I wanted to share my experience with the sales rep I worked with, and the dealership that ultimately took care of me by not really taking care of me. It wasn’t so… Continue reading Small business referrals—why some companies get them and others don’t

Five essential questions every client should ask when reviewing a videographer’s demo reel or graphic designer’s portfolio Before you give a nickel to a videographer or creative professional you want to make sure you’ve thoroughly gone through her demo reel, past videos she’s filmed, or creative portfolio. Make sure that you’re impressed with what you… Continue reading Insider small business advice—Unraveling the hidden truths behind a video marketer’s demo reel or designer’s portfolio