If there’s one thing we’ve become more aware of recently, it’s the damage and misunderstandings that can come from stereotyping large groups of people, whether politically, socio-economically, racially, or otherwise. The same is true of generational stereotypes like Boomers, Generation-X, or Millennials. No group composed of tens of millions of people is a monolith. Read… Continue Reading
Customer Surveys Create Value
I have a not-so-secret fascination with psychology, so some of my favorite classes during my MBA program were those that helped illuminate aspects of human behavior in the world of economics and commerce. I still remember in one of Douglas MacLachlin’s Market Research classes learning that simply the act of *asking* customers how they feel… Continue Reading
Content vs. Content Marketing
In a nutshell, content is the words and images that you use to tell your story, communicate information, talk to your audiences. It can come from a variety of sources both inside and outside of your company. Content Marketing is the art and science of strategically deploying that content across different channels—web, email, social media,… Continue Reading
Infographics for Fun and Profit
As a bit of a design geek, I love the creativity and visual appeal of a good infographic. As people more and more are tending to scan content online rather than reading word for word, presenting concepts in an eye-catching infographic can be more effective than traditional blog posts or emails. Learn more: What Is… Continue Reading
Keep Your Eyes on These Trends for 2017
Whether you are creating detailed content or innovative social-media campaigns, here are some trends to look out for in 2017. The 5 Marketing Trends to Keep Your Eyes on for 2017 Continue Reading
Marketing + Sales Synergy
For 4 years I ran both the marketing department and sales support department of a B2B services firm. I saw first hand how connecting early-stage marketing activity all the way through the sales process yielded results. This article from the Content Marketing Institute summarizes some steps that organizations can take to getting marketing and sales teams… Continue Reading
How to speak Designer
If you struggle to communicate what you want to your graphic designer, here are 10 typographic terms that will help you get the point across. With thanks to my fellow WBO member, Caffeinated Communications. https://caffeinatedcommunications.com/typography-lingo-10-terms/ Continue Reading
Anatomy of Email Outreach
For anyone who struggles to manage an email marketing strategy or keep generating fresh, impactful email campaigns, here is some great information to keep in mind (with credit to Contently.com and OnlineCourseReport.com). How to get results without alienating your audience! Continue Reading
Women in the Workforce
Some great stats and information here about women’s progress (or slow progress) in today’s business world (with credit to All Business Schools): Continue Reading
Putting Gas in the Engine: Financing, Part 1
You’ve got a brilliant business idea. You’ve researched your markets and competitors. Maybe you’ve even written a kickin’ business plan. That’s all good, but to really get a business going, it is inevitable that you’re going to need some money. If you’ve got enough socked away to get your company off the ground, congratulations! However,… Continue Reading
When to post to social media
To get the most bang out of your social media buck, you want your content to generate exposure and engagement. The place to start is figuring out when you’re most likely to reach the largest number of people, whether you’re using LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, or other platforms. The chart below has some good general guidelines… Continue Reading
The Social Media Landscape
This graphic provides a great quick reference guide to the leading social media platforms. In the past I’ve told my clients: LinkedIn: this is a place for networking and professional connections. It’s like a business event where you talk shop with people, meet and greet, and hand out business cards. You’re connecting with like-minded professionals or… Continue Reading
What’s the Value of having a LinkedIn Business Page?
One of my clients recently posed this question to me. The company is in a very networking-intensive field and had felt the pressure to establish a more polished LinkedIn presence to promote the business. But beyond this basic necessity, they were really trying to understand how the page could be part of a more powerful,… Continue Reading
Doing Good While Doing Well: Social Purpose Corporations
Do you have a great idea for a socially-responsible business? Are you concerned about how your company impacts society and the planet? As of June 7, 2012, a new form of business corporation— the social purpose corporation—is available in Washington state that allows corporations to adopt charters taking into account values other than pure profit maximization… Continue Reading
11 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Business
This is brilliant wisdom about the realities of being an entrepreneur. All true, and said much more cleverly than I could by Stephanie St. Clair: 11 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Business. Continue Reading
Dipping a Toe in the Water of B2B Social Media
I’ve been working with some clients recently on setting up social media programs. Â It can be a bit daunting for a small business to figure out which platforms (Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, Pinterest . . .) are a fit, get branded pages set up, create content that makes the best use of each… Continue Reading
A Brief History of Marketing
I recently discovered the show Mad Men—yes, I know I’m way behind the times on this television phenomenon, but running two small business ventures simultaneously for the last few years has seriously cut into my media viewing! If you’ve seen the show, maybe you’ve been as fascinated as I have at the glimpses it provides… Continue Reading
Accelerating Small Business
The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced a new initiative to set up small business accelerators around the country. Noticing that the bulk (60%) of VC firms and start-up capital investment is focused in just three states—California, New York and Massachusetts—the SBA wants to foster start-ups and entrepreneurship more broadly around the country. Washington state… Continue Reading
Social Venture & Non-Profit Funding
We’ve looked at some of the various funding sources for typical growth-oriented start-up ventures. But what about funding for social ventures—companies and non-profit organizations whose primary mission involves social or environmental responsibility, or that benefit a community or cause? For the last year or so I’ve been working with a not-for-profit organization in Seattle’s inner… Continue Reading
An app for proposals?
Serial entrepreneur Scott Wilson recently suggested that there should be an iPhone app for writing proposals.  If you’ve ever had to put together a written sales proposal or  slogged through an RFP (Request for Proposal) response, you understand his pain. Writing proposals is a necessary part of the business-to-business sales process, and it can be… Continue Reading