Tips, thoughts and topics on marketing for small to medium-sized businesses in Michigan and throughout the world. Contributions by Chris Slocumb, Casey Frushour, as well as other members of the Clarity Quest team.
I'm a super huge fan of Tom Peters. I attended one of his speaking engagements in 1995. This seminar and his book The Pursuit of Wow! were largely responsible for me starting Clarity Quest a few years later.
However, I don't know what he and his team are thinking on his new website. Did anyone tell him that red is the most difficult color to read? I know the exclamation marks are his brand element, but using them in the navigation menu is completely over the top. There's so much information on this site, I easily lose interest because I can't quickly figure it out.
Ok, maybe I'm ADD after a long day but compare Tom's site to Seth Godin's. I think you'll see the huge difference.
Here's my prediction...big ad agencies and PR firms are history.
Seth Godin is dead-on about specialization in his new book, Meatball Sundae. Firms that start as exciting, different, and specialized and stay that way prosper. Our firm is a perfect example - we handle only technology companies.
However, as companies focus and specialize, they cannot service clients within one agency. Successful marketing and advertising firms are building a web of contractors and partnerships on which to rely. Most already do have a "virtual network".
How many "partners" does your company have? Are they all inside your normal channels? Why?
Oh, and sorry Hillary for plagiarizing your title.
According to Forrester, 11.2% of online adults in the U.S. publish a blog at least once a month. Of the same group, 24.8% read a blog and 13.7% comment on a blog at least once a month. The numbers are higher for youths. Of online youths, 20.8% publish a blog, 36.6% read a blog, and 26.4% comment on a blog at least once a month.
However the complete Business Week article details why some businesses are shifting from blogs to social media sites. It's an interesting idea now that Twitter posts are being indexed by Google and only takes seconds to write compared to the longer time commitment for a well-written blog post.
View my appearance along with Linda Girard, co-founder of internet marketing company Pure Visibility on Michigan Cable 15 in Bloomfield Hills. We discuss all things marketing including internet marketing, marketing for small business and how marketing can help the stagnant Michigan business climate. Thanks to our host Robert Katchadorian for the invitation and lively discussion.
Using local geography in your online key phrases can be an extremely effective tactic when your business wants to rank for competitive keywords. By exploring local search, small business owners and marketers can benefit from both direct lead generation and general brand awareness.
Recent research by the Kelsey Group reported that 70% of Americans consult the web before making local buying decisions, while 36% of search engine queries now request local results. We use geographically-rich terms for many of our clients. Vision Computer Solutions would have a tough time ranking for "computer repair" but ranks on Google page one for "Michigan computer repair".
Daniel at Wordtracker wrote a great article covering more on the long tail of local search.
I listened in a a great teleseminar with Seth Godin, Dan Pink, Rich Sloan and Debbie Weil today. One point I especially liked...they renamed "prospects" to "guests" and stated marketing, especially online marketing, is all about creating a dialogue with a tribe of people with common interests.
There's a great article in today's Ann Arbor Business Review about the need in this state for more entrepreneurial and risk-taking spirit. Nathan Bomey does a great job exposing the differences in attitude between the West Coast and Michigan.
In Michigan if your business fails you are labeled a "failure". In Seattle you were labeled "experienced".
During one of his medical school rotations in Idaho, my husband received a great piece of advice from a very experienced rural physician. He said to have a successful practice you have to be "affable, available, and able" and by far the least important is "able". Interesting perspective from a doctor.
I was reminded of the "Triple A" speech upon reading Kevin Kelly's riff about free. Highly recommended. I love his paragraph about trust...
"There are a number of qualities that can't be copied. Consider "trust." Trust cannot be copied. You can't purchase it. Trust must be earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited (at least for long). If everything else is equal, you'll always prefer to deal with someone you can trust. So trust is an intangible that has increasing value in a copy saturated world."
Customers usually forgive you for "ability" mistakes - everyone makes them. However, they rarely forgive you for not returning phone calls or being rude.
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