Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

I get this question several times a week these days so I thought I would address it here.
The answer to this question is part advice, part marketing 101 soapbox speech.
So, what will a blog do for your business?
In most cases, little to nothing.
Now, before you fire off an email to ask if I’ve gone [...]

This might be a little hard to swallow for some but it pays long range dividends and is so very easy to do.
Have you ever made a pitch for a client or some new project only to get that voicemail or email telling you that they have decided to go with XYZ company, but thanks [...]

Forbes Magazine just published the annual Best of the Web issue and this year’s focus feature is “Blogs That Matter”
The magazine lists an editor’s choice of 6-8 blogs in about 15 categories and highlights some of the best blogs going.
I am proud to say that Duct Tape Marketing was chosen as the Forbes Favorite for [...]

A marketing approach that has worked wonders over the years is to sit back, view the current landscape and then find a way to present a marketing argument that goes against a current fad or perception.
This strategy can be a great way to win occasional media attention. Media folks are commonly taught to get “both [...]

Many of my clients tell me that they just never seem to get around to doing the marketing they know they must do.
Here’s the simple solution I offer to this common dilemma.
Write it on your schedule every day. That’s right, it’s pretty simple. Schedule marketing just like you do any other meeting. Block off from [...]

I suppose you get these calls too but here’s a rough approximation of a cold call sales call I received recently.
“Uhm, I don’t know if you even buy what we sell and I’m sure you don’t know anything about me or my company but I want to take about $175 worth of your time so [...]

The use of a guarantee as a way to reduce a potential buyer’s risk has long been employed by savvy marketing people.
In some circles, a guarantee has become a required aspect of the sales process.
But, what if you did more. What if you created a guarantee that did far more than simply warranty satisfaction [...]

Laserfit, an Austrualian men’s customer tailor and Referral Flood owner, had this to say recently about generating referrals.
“As yet I have not got my system together but I have started by setting the expectation that our customers refer us to their friends and colleagues if they are happy. If they agree, we offer them a [...]