Jul

28

Speak Small Business’s Language

July 28, 2005 | Leave a Comment

Today while researching something else, I ran across this short piece over at Banktech.com.  It has priceless advice not only for banks marketing to small businesses, but for any vendor targeting the small business sector:
“…[I]n order to succeed, bankers first have to speak the language of small business. In other words, don’t give business owners a choice between […]

Jul

26

IT Marketing - Marketing Sherpa’s “What’s Working”

July 26, 2005 | Leave a Comment

Yesterday I listened to Marketing Sherpa’s conference call “What’s Working in IT Marketing: Latest Stats.”  It was based upon various sources of market research, including responses by over 800 companies to a very recent survey. 
Some interesting nuggets came out of the call that I thought you might find interesting:

Anne Holland, publisher of MarketingSherpa, pointed out that any information technology provider […]

Jul

25

Consider the Emotions Motivating the Small Business Owner

July 25, 2005 | Leave a Comment

A large number of small business owners are in it for the lifestyle.  But lifestyle may not be what you think.  They actually work very long hours with more worries than if they were employed elsewhere.  This article (link via Wayback Machine) in the Herald Bulletin describes it:
Starting your own business not for the faint of […]

Jul

14

Streamline Your Sales Processes for Happy Customers

July 14, 2005 | Leave a Comment

According to the SBA’s Office of Advocacy:
“Advocacy’s research shows that small businesses pay an average of $6,975 per employee annually to comply with federal regulations – 60% more than large businesses.”
I cite this statistic here as an example of how extra paperwork, extra meetings, or extra staffing hit small businesses harder than large businesses. 
The same goes for lengthy sales […]

Jul

10

The Dangers of Gender Demographics

July 10, 2005 | Leave a Comment

Demographics can be a tricky thing.
On the one hand, demographics are a time-honored way of defining and segmenting purchaser groups.  On the other hand, trying to predict buying behaviors based on demographics alone can be dangerous, if the thinking behind them is overly-broad.  
This article from USA Today, offers a case in point.  The article describes women-owned […]

Jul

7

Customers Say They Get No Respect Online

July 7, 2005 | Leave a Comment

The largest 100 companies in the United States don’t do a very good job responding to customers online, as a general rule.
Only 35% of the largest companies achieved a rating of good or excellent in the way they treat customers online. 
The others fall down in a number of different areas:

Almost half of the largest companies do […]