In the Zone

Whether you’re running a sales meeting, a product demo, or a training class, it can be hard to translate in-person presentation skills to an online event. But with travel budgets shrinking and the constant need for increased productivity, online meetings are a must for connecting with far-flung colleagues, customers, and partners in a cost-effective and [...]

As much as “holiday creep” is an annoyance, the answer is yes: if you want to book a hotel, function room, bar, restaurant, or other popular location for your winter holiday party, it’s time to start making some phone calls.
Event planners report that many businesses are waiting a little longer to book their holiday parties [...]

Plenty of experts will tell you that aggressive marketing spending makes sense in a recession – but there’s a chicken and egg situation you’ll have to address. If business is slow, you don’t have the money to aggressively launch new marketing campaigns; if you don’t launch new marketing campaigns, it’s hard to get business to [...]

I’ve had customers tell me they “found me on Google” – but it doesn’t sound like they were at my website. How do I find out what’s going on? Where else am I appearing?
There are plenty of directories out there that will include your listing without notifying you. Most often, they include basic listings for [...]

For most consumers, gift cards are a routine part of the retail landscape. They’ve steadily increased their coverage, from big chain retailers to smaller businesses in many industries. We recently talked to Dan Battista, Vice President of Sales at ProfitPoint, about how small businesses are using gift cards and the best ways to maximize [...]

There’s no greater feeling of accomplishment than seeing qualified leads generated for your sales team turn into customers. There’s also no greater frustration for a sales team than wasting time chasing down dead end leads. Figuring out the perfect balance is a skill your business needs to master.
That balance could very well be a lead [...]

I want to add email to my marketing plans, but I’m a small retailer with mostly local customers. What should I do to get started?
No matter what type of business you’re in or how small you are, email should be playing role in your marketing plans. Here are a couple of points to keep in [...]