Operations

Kevin -- Those are really excellent points about an ad -- start at the end. Additionally, I advise my clients to give their ads the "Who Cares?" test: 1. Start with a grab 'em headline. 2. Follow with a transitional sub headline. 3. Make the body count. 4. Give them a reason to call -- now. Making sure that each ad conforms to these four items helps them create the ad that will get their business results. Denise ...

Simple yet powerful! Thanks Denise.

I found it interesting that a couple months ago my two oldest sons (ages 11 and 9) went to the Internet to find the telephone number of a pet store they wanted to visit...to purchase a rat. The rat is another story. That their first thought was to search for the store through the Internet is telling. They will never know what it was like before the web; they'll never remember the Internet before broadband. As broadband penetration rates continue to climb, wireless technologies advance, and mobile devices become ever more inexpensive, I expect this will be commonplace across even the most "remote" parts of the country.

I couldn't agree more. As a person under the age of 35 who has recently started his own business, I can tell you first hand that print media was not even a consideration for how to reach my potential customers. I am relying on a novel on-line only approach, utilizing a blog as a marketing tool. You can't start conversations with potential customers in a print ad.

I think that applies to certain companies yes, but then again not to all. In my case, the field I'm in is extremely unprofessional and my competition is your "average joe". Therefore my marketing strategy is overwhelmed with professionalism and an effort to make my company seem bigger than it really is. I accomplish this by tagging as many voices to my company as possible letting my potential customers know that we are a bigger and better company than our competition's. My company has only been in business for close to 2 months and i have experienced an overwhelming amount of success considering the short amount of time i've been in business. So I agree with your basic point of the blog being that a company must stand apart from its competitors, you just have to take the time to analyze their business tactics.