There you sit.  You’ve got credit card in hand, visions of a new widget burning in your mind, and you can’t get anyone to answer the phone at the store where you’re trying to place your order.  Are you a bit annoyed?  Frustrated?  Downright angry?  Are you considering calling another store – or even forgetting [...]

Just because you’ve relied on the same marketing strategies to drive your sales year after year doesn’t mean you can expect similar results in a down economy.  In fact, being complacent about your marketing program may be much more damaging to your business than it would be in a soft market.  So what can you [...]

Want to increase your sales by up to 35%? Ah…I thought that would get your attention.
If you think marketing is only catchy print ads and Super Bowl commercials – you’ve been watching too many rerun episodes of Bewitched.
Marketing is – write this down in indelible Sharpie – anything you do that affects your customers!!!

So, it [...]

Find out what your customers really want.
How? Ask them! This is the local store version of an Awareness, Attitude, and Usage study (AAU). Develop a list of questions that ask for information about your customers – how they rate your business and what they would do to make their visits with you better. Keep [...]

No one can doubt that Winston Churchill faced some of the most tumultuous times in history. And, no matter what difficulties your business is facing now, it’s unlikely they are as insurmountable as the storms of World War II that faced the British Prime Minister. But, through all his periods of trial and doubt it [...]