Catching up on my reading, I've noticed more people talking about the idea that bigger (in terms of market share) is not necessarily better. David Maister has an excellent post on his blog about the pursuit of growth for the sake of growth in professional...
As I was looking through a package of advertisements from a chamber of commerce, I was reminded of the saying "actions speak louder than words". I don't know about you, but I was lucky enough to receive this advice 3 or 10 million times while growing up, so...
Last week I spoke about the importance of the importance of educating your referral sources as well as your prospects. In today's Best-of Weekly, Marketing Sherpa has a case study (Open access until Oct. 29th) about a couple of companies who use automated e-mail...
Changing your mindset is one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your referral business. Start today to make referrals an expectation of doing business with you. Going back to Monday's post, you have to first deserve referrals. Then, make sure you...
Not getting the right kind of referrals is a common frustration for small business owners. In order to get the kind of referrals you want, you have to take the time to teach your referral sources how to spot your ideal prospect. Even though people love to give...
Since yesterday's post was about referrals, I thought I would continue that theme through the week. Few small business owners take the time to fully (and narrowly) describe their target market. Fewer still have defined their target referral sources. Before we can...
Yesterday, I saw what I thought was a good example of working with a strategic partner. I say “thought”, because on further review, it appears that the tactic of teaming with a strategic partner is not supported by any underlying marketing strategy. As I was leaving...
While reading Seth Godin's small is the new big , I came across the entry The Two Obvious Secrets of Every Service Business. The "secrets" are 1) Take Responsibility and 2) Pay Attention to Detail. This reminded me of one of the obvious, but essential...