This was one of my tweets this morning.
“Pay Relentless Attention To Selling, but don’t run the company like a salesman. Employees,indelibly inspired by the mission, can get it done.”
The Goose in 140 characters, including spaces.
The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising released it Bellwether Report on Monday, July 13, 2008 generally forecasting lowered budgets for communications spends among the survey’s 250 large UK-based companies. Only 37 companies reported plans to increase total marketing budgets.
A short list of the reports highlights are:
• This is the first fall in spending since the report started in 2000
• Without 2008’s Olympics, US presidential elections and Euro football 2009 spends will be down
• Lay blame on squeezed corporate profits
• Traditional media face the largest cuts
• Spending growth online will continue but at a slower pace
• More money is being directed to sales promotion activity
That’s over there.
Tomorrow we’ll take a look at the US market and some smart decisions you can make.
I learned about Mimi Ausland and her entrepreneurial instinct in May from a brief article in a local newspaper. Bow Wow Trivia hooked me. Please spread the word.
Just back from a week of business appointments on the East Coast and will catch up on blogging this week, as it unfolds.
Lots of memorable meetings and new friendships, but my mind lingers on the culinary experience enjoyed at the Chima Brazilian Steakhouse at Tyson’s Corner, just outside Washington, D.C. It’s the only restaurant we wanted to revisit the next day. . .for breakfast, lunch AND dinner!
True to their word, it’s “Sharing a one-of-a-kind experience.”
Don’t miss it if you’re in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta or Fort Lauderdale.
Time and again, when connected to a lead generation Web site, I reach the red line in the company’s marketing conversion funnel where I submit all of the information requested of me, positively expecting to then cross over it into their sales conversion funnel. Frequently, however, it doesn’t happen. They neglect me and lose me.
This means that all of the time and money invested in building the Web site and marketing it, building viral buzz with blogging and other tactics, capturing top search engine rankings and religiously testing to improve conversion rates on the call to action; it’s like full throttle until the last quarter lap, then they shut the engine down.
The logical interpretation for this is that management places more attention on marketing than it places on selling. How does this happen and what adjustments do you make to straighten out the bottleneck in the company’s end-to-end sales process?
continued later. . .
To read my thoughts in the article below:(click arrow at upper right corner)
MarketingProfs, a leader in strategic and tactical marketing, recently conducted a survey with Forrester Research to uncover changes in business-to-business marketing strategies and budget allocation. Survey results indicated sharp increases in spending and usage of Web-based marketing tactics.
According to the study, today’s marketing professionals face:
– Significant pressure to set clear objectives, plan tactics carefully and measure results
– Changes in marketing trends and use of new tactics, such as Webinars and other Web-based marketing tools
– Accountability for high returns on spending
Once your strategy is defined, flip the coin and develop your company’s stratdigi.
You can read or download the report below:
Yesterday afternoon I sent an email to a client in which I made a reference to Internet time, implying that since the business world is moving at the speed of blur, we need to put the inherent demands of our agreement on a faster track; effect a greater sense of urgency.
However, reading through one of the newsletters that arrived yesterday, I was reminded—every so importantly—that Internet time and world economic order time are two different concepts of time, and that they need to be reconciled when planning strategy, and stratdigi. Operating solely within the framework of one concept and disregarding the other completely will, undoubtedly, guarantee obstacles and challenges to your business progress.
You can get a short and very informative look at a psychological analysis of the economic-order time concept, and also at the propensity for commentators to continually proclaim the end of problems and a resumption of business as usual here. It includes a fascinating piece from Marc Faber documenting the various quotes about how well the economy was doing from 1928-32.
This read recalled to mind a book that I’ve read a couple of times to remind myself to always be circumspect when assessing the emergence of a trendy idea or technology. Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay, LL. D., is a read that’s tough to put down. You can enjoy it online for free here.
…offers stratdigists viable opportunities to consider for increasing sales volume and forging new customer relationships. 
Look at the majors and look at the minors, the niche auctions that may be direct opportunities, or indirect opportunities where you can establish a presence and perform some tactical promotions.
eBay is the undisputed gorilla on the plain, but there is a guerilla in the bush. Smart venture money predicts there will be a star rising against eBay just as Google emerged to assume leadership in search.
Think about an auction stratdigi for your products and services and determine if - and - you should surf with the wave.
A hero to many.
A friend to everybody.
A role model for men and women alike.
An authentic American.
The same man on and off the air.
Loved by everyone who knew him and knew of him.
A man who leaves legacies beyond those of journalist and political analyst.
Peggy Noonan: “Tim was a person with an exceptional amount of gratitude for everything in life.”
I’m missing him more than I would have ever imagined.
Tomorrow is Fathers Day.
Tim’s father won’t get a call from his son this year.
Tim’s son has lost his dad.
I am sad for his family.
I, too, mourn the loss.
Go here to read some early tributes from names in the news.