Marketing For Power Packed Business Growth

There are two things to say about this blog.

1) I like the fact that the blog is purely about the authors efforts to market a book so that it becomes a best seller.
2) It's showing clearly how other people can get into the best sellers lists too.

Some of the things that Warren discusses are now well known, such as posting comments on Amazon on related books. But the thing I noticed was that he creates a new blog for each new project. Something I intend to emulate for my book "How To Leap Ahead Of Your Competitors".

I've produced my first edition and anyone who emails web@acornservice.com with the word "blog" can get a copy. I'm adding more content for a second edition and would welcome feedback about what else would be useful for an SME in today's business world.

Marketing to Women Online: Should a Man or a Woman Design Your Site?

This is an interesting point that all lurking web designers are probably already aware of.

That women do think differently than men.

In fact looking at this blog the message we should be getting is that we should be designing for women. Because men would definitely benefit from the points made about navigaton and from taking the big picture view and then drilling down into more detailed categories.

The one that I applaud is that everything should be obvious.

I rely on that old adage KISS which unwinds into something like Keep It Simple Stupid.

Stop Random Acts of CRM, August 18th, 2005 RightNow Technologies

Peppers and Rogers are at the forefront of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) field.

This paper is written by one of their consultants. It's interesting because it shows the reason for having a systematic approach to looking after your customers. Usually this is enshrined in a computer CRM system.

Having implemented a number of CRM systems myself, including 2 awards winning ones I've seen the beneficial results that occur when customers are looked after.

But CRM can be a bit like the "Emperor's New Clothes" if only lip service is paid to using it no benefits accrue and it is simply an expensive contact management system for some of your employees.

What intrigued me about this paper was not really it's content but its title. Because it got me thinking on a slightly different tack - in fact I've started writing an article about it.

When completed the article will highlight the problems of random acts of super human excellent customer management which aren't backed up by the employee's company.

Let me know if you'd like a copy.

Be seeing you...

We seem to need to have physical evidence of the amount of money we've spent on our marketing.

Brochures and to a lesser extent web sites fill that need.

However, brochures are almost always designed by a creative whose main aim is not to make the brochure sell the product or service.

A creative's main aim is to get other creatives and friends, relatives and the poor companies they've done the work for to say "Wow. That brochure is so well designed".

Maybe they'll win a design award. Which encourages them and their compatriots to continue to create well-designed brochures.

Now. Like you I have nothing at all against good design. In fact I think it's an important part of the package that a firm presents to the world.

The difficulty I have is when the brochure doesn't do it's job because it's so busy shouting that it's well designed.

What is a brochure's job I'm sure you're wondering?

Usually it shouldn't be to raise brand awareness alone. Although companies do expect it to do that.

It shouldn't be simply to act as a reminder for what the salesman either will say or has said face to face or over the phone.

It's not simply a list of every product or service you'll ever deliver.

Its job is pure and simple. To get a sale. Either by creating an interest in a prospect for them to talk to a salesman or leading the prospect to a web site or phone number to buy.

That's all. If it can't do one of those jobs you've wasted your money.