As small business owners, managers, and marketers one of the issues we must confront each holiday season is whether or not to give price discounts as part of your planned marketing programs. The uncertainty can seem enormous. How much should the discount be? When should you run it? In what situations should it apply? Will [...]

Most small business owners know that positioning their companies as providing the same products or services in the same way as the industry giant can lead to disaster. Kind of like a Chihuahua waving a red flag in front of a bull; one twitch from the giant and they’re dead. Studying the competition and acting [...]

Sometimes a formula just isn’t enough. A reader, who recently read the Figuring Break Even Point piece from a few years back, was confused about how to use the CPM formula. I responded, explaining — in words and figures — how to figure the break even point using his numbers. Analytical Bobette was pleased with [...]

When updating your marketing plan, do you imagine the future and take into account how your business environment will change? Throw the current environment out the door, predict what will happen to turn your industry on its head, and plan for that? Perhaps too few of us take that approach. Most (including yours truly) tend [...]

If you had any doubts about the power (or swiftness) of social media, think again. Over the last several days, Johnson & Johnson has felt the downside of this power. Through social media such as Twitter (#MotrinMoms) and YouTube — and blogs across the Internet — moms rebelled at a commercial many saw as patronizing. [...]

Writing and distributing articles can be a high-ROI activity (thanks, Chris Knight, for that post), but the potential marketing uses do not stop there. Any place you use the written word represents an opportunity to “recycle” that content. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- Convert part of an article to [...]

As promised, I am sending notice of my review of Marketing Plan Pro 11.0 powered by Duct Tape Marketing before deactivating the emailed newsletter list. I found 11.0 to be different — and more effective at producing a viable strategic plan — than 9.0. I especially liked the new options of producing a: (a) quick, [...]

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Hello Folks -
I recently received a request asking my opinion of different marketing planning products. As I wrote a detailed response, it struck me that I’ve never published any planning tools reviews (duh!). Consequently, I’ve chosen to review my favorite piece of marketing plan software as we enter the planning season: Marketing Plan [...]

by Bobette Kyle
You are probably visiting WebsiteMarketingPlan.com to learn more about developing a marketing plan. If you are like many and the volume of information leaves you feeling a bit overwhelmed, the finite process and set of tools in a purchased package can help you focus in ways a freestyle approach to marketing planning cannot. [...]

by Bobette Kyle
Networking and marketing online through social media is catching on with a vengeance. Whether the goal is to attract customers, raise awareness, or personally market ones self, this relatively new approach means trial and error and miscues for many. Don’t let these mistakes sabotage your social marketing efforts.
Doing Nothing and Expecting Something
Like all [...]