Carolyn Higgins is the President and founder of Fortune Marketing Company. Her personal mission is to help small businesses stop wasting money on advertising and promotions that don’t deliver and help business owners implement an effective marketing system that will bring in more customers—consistently. For more information about Fortune Marketing Company visit the Fortune Marketing Company website or blog.
The holidays are just around the corner! Here are 6 ways your business can build holiday marketing campaigns that help you increase holiday sales this season. Read more »
How many presentations have you sat through where the first words out of the presenter’s mouth were something like this “My name is Susie Sales Lady and I have been selling lemonade for 10 years. I started my lemonade business because when I was 6 years old I had a lemonade stand and I am absolutely... Read more »
The subject of spam came up recently in one of my small business marketing workshops, and I realized there is a lot of confusion about spam in the small business community. We all seem to have a general idea that spam = bad, but don’t really understand the ins and outs. What is it exactly?... Read more »
I opened up the bright blue Val-Pack envelope this morning like I sometimes do, more out of a marketer’s curiosity than anything else. I don’t use coupons; it’s too much of a hassle for me to save a few bucks. But I do leaf through the coupons just to see who’s advertising, what they’re advertising,... Read more »
Recently a client asked what I thought about the businesses on Facebook who seem to be obsessed with boosting the number of “likes” of their business page… and here’s my two-cents: Boosting your numbers and trying to prove how popular you are is just like old-school “blast and pray” advertising. You blast as much “stuff”... Read more »
I don’t know what it is about Marketing, but everyone on earth seems to think they can do it. And yet I see so many people NOT doing it or wasting thousands of dollars and not getting results. I see business owners try the same things over and over, wasting more money, more time, and... Read more »
Finally, small business owners everywhere realize they need an online presence if they are going to compete in today’s world. Small business owners who just a year ago adamantly argued that their customers aren’t using the web are now jumping on board and admitting—yes, indeed they are. But slapping up a website just for the... Read more »
Whether he meant to or not jolly old St. Nick created one of the most recognizable and beloved brands in the western world; one that children have adored and parents embraced for centuries. Santa Claus has endured wars, depressions, scrutiny (is he real or not??), imposters who tried to tarnish his image (ala The Grinch), and even... Read more »
I’m old school. I came up in a time when the customer was always right (even when they weren’t!). In my first job at Dunkin Donuts, I learned quickly what that meant. I was 14, given the job because my mother, who managed another store by the same owner decided I needed something to “keep... Read more »
You decide to throw a dinner party. You want it to be the type of dinner party that people remember fondly and talk about for years. Imagine that you will serve an amazing meal and that your guests will rave about the delicious food, the great atmosphere, and the wonderful conversation. Now imagine throwing it... Read more »
Is your small business kinda slow these days? Are customers just not calling and coming in like they used to? It’s probably because you’re using the same old marketing and advertising you’ve been using for years. It’s time to change it up a bit. When’s the last time you looked at your messaging and marketing... Read more »
I was never a fan of Lady Gaga. I grew up in the age of Madonna rolling and gyrating all over the stage in her fetish-style costumes and Ozzy Osbourne biting the heads off bats. Lady Gaga and her outrageous outfits and risqué lyrics didn’t faze me. She was just another wannabe exorbitant artist that... Read more »
Marketing is about more than attracting new customers to do business with us – it s about keeping, nurturing, and “wowing” the ones we have so they buy from us again and again and rant and rave about our company to everyone they know. Read more »
Oh – I’m guilty of it too. We get caught up in the day-to-day of our work; answering phone calls, putting out fires, payroll, inventory, life.... But the fact is, the long-term success of any business is dependent upon finding the time to invest in the future. And one of the surest ways to insure your business will be around for the long-haul and continue to grow and flourish is to implement and use a marketing plan (and a system). Read more »
If I were to ask 100 people to define “Marketing” I’d probably get 100 different answers. The problem is “Marketing” has become a nice little euphemism for dirty words like “advertising”, “sales”, and “direct mail”. I want you to be aware. We all know we need Marketing, but be smart; learn what that really means and don't just trust any salesperson who calls themselves a marketer and walks into your shop selling the marketing idea of the week. Marketing is a process - it's not a one-time deal. Read more »
You’ve been in business a while. You’ve been buying advertising, tweaking your website, spending a fortune on yellow pages and attending all kinds of networking groups. Yet your pipeline is empty; you don’t know from where your next job, project or sale is going to come—or even if it will come. You have no idea... Read more »
Here’s a conversation I have all the time: Business Owner: “Almost all of my business comes from referrals. So I don’t need to do any other marketing.” Me: “Great, then you have all the business you need!” Business Owner: “Well, no. I’m pretty slow right now. ” 100 percent of zero is still zero Does anyone... Read more »
I constantly hear things like “most of my business comes from referrals,” and “word of mouth is the only marketing I need.” But when I ask these business owners, “So, how’s business?” I hear, “slow,” “things are tough right now,” or “I don’t have enough customers.” By far, word of mouth—or referral—marketing is the best... Read more »
Article by Carolyn Higgins Pick up a newspaper, magazine or advertising circular and look at the ads. What do you see? A whole bunch of the same thing: a list of services; a company name; a tagline; a pretty graphic; and maybe an offer. Most businesses think of advertising in one of two ways: Put... Read more »
I’ve talked to a lot of small business owners over the years and I’ve heard a lot of excuses as to why they don’t advertise, promote, or otherwise market their businesses. I want to share the top three excuses I hear and try to defuse them. 1. “I don’t have the budget” I know times are... Read more »
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