Inside the Envelope

You know the game. You start with a deck of playing cards and slowly begin to stack them together, carefully leaning one card against another at just the right angle, until you've created a solid wall of cards. You build the house higher and higher, one card and one row at a time, all the while moving around carefully so the whole thing doesn't come crashing down. Building and growing a business can sometimes feel like building a house of cards. If you have one or two clients providing the bulk of your revenue, your business can begin to feel as precariously unstable as that playing card wall. Wal-mart is a giant corporation. Stories abound of how they've made and also broken some of their vendors. But you don't have to be a Wal-mart vendor to find your company in this tricky situation. No matter how safe you think your relationship with a large account might be, life tends to throw you curveballs. There are no guarantees. If that one large account leaves fo...

Every marketing piece should have a call to action that helps direct the reader to the next step. Whether you want them to click a link, download a file, or contact your business, here are a few tips to ensure your call to action gets noticed and utilized: Keep it short and simple using action verbs, such as call, buy, register, donate, or subscribe. Be specific about what you want readers to do. For example, if you want customers to contact you to set up an appointment, don't just say "contact us." Make it easy for readers by using a direct shortcut link to your sign-up page or order form, versus sending them on a wild goose chase through your website. Create urgency with a deadline such as "offer expires May 31" or "order now and get a free gift!" Include a benefit for contacting you. Instead of saying "Download our whitepaper," say "Expand your customer base with these 10 tips." Popularity sells. If your information is...

Once a business is established, it's common practice to add products and services in the name of diversification and the desire for more profits. It's a wise business move to choose products and services that will appeal to customers you're already doing business with. But what's the point of diminishing returns? When does adding more products become less profitable or even start losing you money? Lego is known for its beloved interlocking toy bricks. The company has been around since 1949. You and your children have probably built many fun projects using their colorful, iconic blocks. As with many other successful brands, Lego decided to diversify. The Denmark-based company added games, movies, clothing lines, and six themed amusement parks (Legoland). Lego added many new colors to the primary colored bricks originally available. Costs were added at a much higher rate than new profits to pay for all this diversification. The once very profitable company...

You've probably heard the saying, "People like to buy, but they don't like being sold to." But you may wonder what it really means. It means that people are buying what you sell. It means people are spending money. But it also means that people are only willing to open their wallets and part with their money if one condition is met first. That condition is met when you've presented a clear value proposition. Wikipedia defines a value proposition as "a business or marketing statement that describes why a customer should buy a product or use a service. It is a clearly defined statement that is designed to convince customers that one particular product or service will add more value or better solve a problem than others in its competitive set." In plain speak, this means a prospect won't buy from you until the value of your products and services is clearly presented in such a way that the decision to buy is second nature. This value must als...

If you're looking for a creative way to grow and create new business opportunities, you may want to consider a marketing partnership. By bringing two (or more) complementary companies together, businesses can tap into audiences they may not normally reach, providing exponential marketing exposure and increasing their customer base. When considering a marketing partnership, it's important to choose a company that aligns with your product quality, reputation, and overall business strategy. By partnering with a company that has a high reputation of providing quality products or services, you can not only increase your perceived value, but also provide customers with additional reasons to purchase from you. Rather than joining forces on all aspects of marketing, many businesses create a marketing partnership that is targeted to a specific market sector or audience. They typically maintain their individual identities and continue to sell outside the partnership. One exa...

One of the primary reasons a prospect comes to a website is to learn more about a business. The prospect wants to learn not only what you do and how you do it but -- more importantly -- why you do it. There are many competing businesses in your industry and community. Statistics have shown that one of the most visited pages on any company website is the About Us page. Why is that? Whether you are a B2B or a B2C company, your prospects are people first. So it's natural for them to want to know more about the people behind the company they're considering working with. Prospects hire the people in the business, not just a faceless company. Unfortunate Reality The sad truth is that most company About Us pages are filled with industry jargon. Or they're carbon copies of all the other websites in their space. This makes them boring to read and easy to bypass quickly. Clues You know you've landed on one of these About Us pages when the page is filled with b...