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We welcome the submission of articles relating to current leading edge practices in strategic marketing for inclusion in our website. The work needs to be original and of reasonable length. If selected, we retain the right to make minor formatting changes, which we will review with you in advance of publication. We will credit you fully for your work.
Seven Tips for Your Business Planning
Labor Day, the official end of the summer season, marks an important milestone in the annual cycle. Days get shorter in a hurry, temperatures start cooling, the summer harvest has already peaked, children head back to school and businesses focus on closing as many deals in the pipeline as possible before year-end. It is also prime time to get your strategies tuned-up and operating plans developed so you’d be raring to go come next year.
Here are seven important tips to help you get your strategic and operating plans ready for the coming year.
Critical importance of relationships in international trade
Gene Rostov, president of General Resource Corporation, is the third generation in a family doing business with third generation business partners in Japan and China. He tells a compelling story of the importance of personal relationships in overcoming unanticipated obstacles.
Clarifying today’s marketing tactics terminology
CMO magazine recently conducted research on marketing tactics in use. Fifteen tactics were identified, and I can think of a dozen more. Buzz marketing, stealth marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, keyword marketing, e-mail marketing, permission marketing, one-to-one marketing, even no-marketing marketing… these are just a few of the marketing tactics used in today’s rapidly changing marketing environment. Many of these were not around a few years back, some will fade away, while additional new ones are sure to follow. It seems that the marketing profession is in a constant need for innovative tactics to break through the messaging glut that consumers are exposed to, and have largely tuned out.
Here’s a quick review to help with basic understanding of these tactics.
Five Guidelines for Making Your SWOT Humm…
A mainstay in strategic planning is SWOT
analysis, which is analysis of internal
Strengths and Weaknesses, and
external Opportunities and Threats.
While frequently done, this activity is often poorly
applied and the resulting under-utilization of the
SWOT analysis potential has given the process a
lackluster name with some who have used it.
Here are five guidelines for maximizing the yield
from your SWOT analysis.
Is Your Marketing Worth It?
A simple question, but with a very complex answer.
Once upon a time, it was enough just to be doing marketing – attending industry conferences, sending out mailings, taking customers out to lunch, doing advertising and public relations… After all, you were active, busy, getting the word out, promoting the brand. But no longer. Today’s tightening cost pressures force you to measure the impact of each of your marketing initiatives, and maximize the return on every marketing dollar.
Zuhair Suidan discusses marketing in the new era
Click here for the fall 2005 audio interview with Zuhair Suidan.
Get executive agreement on the ‘Top 3’
Few would question the importance of having executives within a firm share a common vision, agree on the
firm’s top objectives, and then the major strategies and plans to make those objectives real. Most
realize that the leverage executives yield through the resources they control is severely diminished
if they are driving in different directions than their peers on the executive team.
The alarming reality is that if you ask each member of the executive team, individually, a series
of questions which are core to the business strategy, and then compare the answers, in far too many
cases you’d find major deviations, disagreements, and at times positions in direct conflict with one
another.
‘Quotable Quotes’ to spice up your meeting
Looking for something to spice up your meeting lunch or coffee breaks? Try a slide show of these
charts. Some contain nuggets of wisdom, a number are inspiring, others are humorous, one or two are
mind-teasers. Hope you enjoy them. Recommended additions from you are most welcome.
Markets Globalize, So Should Your Marketing
The internet, pervasive communication tools, and air travel have flattened the competitive landscape. These technologies enable vendors in most any country to compete with you on your home court. They also present you with the opportunity to compete globally. If you choose not to grow globally, you essentially elect to play defense -- protecting your turf against companies who consider the world as their market. Going global puts you on an even footing with them.
Why should I buy from you?
“Why should I buy from you?” How many times have you heard this as you sat across the table from a customer presenting your company, products and services? Maybe you have heard it directly, maybe not; maybe you are just not listening closely enough. But answering this question succinctly and convincingly is critical to your technology company’s success.
Market Management Fitness Assessment
This assessment gives the marketing professional a quick reading of a the key fitness indicators of the market management function, with a focus on market planning and product marketing. How does your company rate? What are the implications? What actions can you, or will you, take to improve the market management function?
What The Heck Does Marketing Do?
This article describes the full scope of the (capital M) Marketing,
stressing that it goes far beyond the traditional responsibilities of (small
m) marketing functions in most organizations.
Top Ten Reasons For Hiring A Consultant
In the spirit of David Letterman’s Top Ten lists (though not in reverse order), we assembled Top Ten lists of why to hire a consultant, and why not to.
Ten Commandments For Marketing Planning
Marketing planning is a fundamental process at the core of every successful business. It has a direct bearing on a company's financial well-being. This article highlights key levers that determine the success or failure of your planning efforts. You may think of them as the 10 Commandments of Marketing Planning.
Doing Business In The Middle East
A Primer for the American Corporate Director
High among your priorities as the director of a large corporation is supporting your firm's business growth. One of the leading options for growth is the entry into new and emerging markets such as the Middle East. This article provides Middle East regional highlights, discusses major business opportunity sectors and provides ideas for success.
Marketing Planning Workbook
This 100+ page workbook is intended to be used as an aid in developing your marketing plan. It outlines a structured, industrial-strength yet easy-to-use, 10 step process, with multiple deliverables in every step. Its main benefits are:
- Demystifying the marketing planning process
- Assisting in developing a plan for the planning project
- Providing a proven, easy to follow structure
- Providing fill-in-the-blank forms for the deliverables in each step of the process
- Identifying areas where knowledge is lacking
- Speeding the planning process and yielding a quick 'taste of success'
- Creating a work plan to proceed, and most importantly,
- Developing the marketing plan
The marketing planning workbook is available in hard-copy form only, or in hard-copy and machine readable form. We generally provide it to our consulting and marketing skill building clients as part of our engagements. It is available for separate purchase at the following price schedule:
- Marketing Planning Workbook, hard-copy only $100 each plus S&H
- Marketing Planning Workbook, soft-copy only (MS Word format) $100 each plus S&H
- Marketing Planning Workbook, hard- and soft-copy (MS Word format) $125 each plus S&H
Please contact us to order.
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