Wednesday, December 7, 2011

6 Steps to a More Marketable LinkedIn Profile

Somewhere along the line you started treating it more like a resume. It's time to fix that.

By Jeff Haden | @jeff_haden | Dec 7, 2011

Make yourself more marketable on LinkedIn

Flickr/Coletivo Mambembe

Today's Editor's Picks

Overall, LinkedIn is the best social media platform for entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals. Unfortunately, your LinkedIn profile may not be helping you to create those connections.
So let’s tune yours up with six simple steps:
Step 1. Revisit your goals. At its most basic level LinkedIn is about marketing: marketing your company or marketing yourself. But that focus probably got lost as you worked through the mechanics of completing your profile, and what started as a marketing effort turned into a resume completion task. Who you are isn’t as important as what you hope to accomplish, so think about your goals and convert your goals into keywords, because keywords are how people find you on LinkedIn.
But don’t just whip out the Google AdWords Keyword Tool and identify popular keywords. It’s useful but everyone uses it—and that means, for example, that every Web designer has shoehorned six- and seven-digit searches-per-month keywords like “build a website,” “website templates,” “designing a website,” and “webmaster” into their profile. It’s hard to stand out when you’re one of millions.
Go a step further and think about words that have meaning in your industry. Some are process-related; others are terms only used in your field; others might be names of equipment, products, software, or companies.
Use a keyword tool to find general terms that could attract a broader audience, and then dig deeper to target your niche by identifying keywords industry insiders might search for.
Then sense-check your keywords against your goals. If you’re a Web designer but you don’t provide training, the 7 million monthly Google searches for “how to Web design” don't matter.
Step 2. Layer in your keywords. The headline is a key factor in search results, so pick your most important keyword and make sure it appears in your headline. “Most important” doesn’t mean most searched, though; if you provide services to a highly targeted market the keyword in your headline should reflect that niche. Then work through the rest of your profile and replace some of the vague descriptions of skills, experience, and educational background with keywords. Your profile isn’t a term paper so don’t worry about a little repetition. A LinkedIn search scans for keywords, and once on the page, so do people.
Step 3. Strip out the clutter. If you’re the average person you changed jobs six or eight times before you reached age 30. That experience is only relevant when it relates to your current goals. Sift through your profile and weed out or streamline everything that doesn’t support your business or professional goals. If you’re currently a Web designer but were an accountant in a previous life, a comprehensive listing of your accounting background is distracting. Keep previous jobs in your work history, but limit each to job title, company, and a brief description of duties.
Step 4. Reintroduce your personality. Focusing on keywords and eliminating clutter is important, but in the process your individuality probably got lost. Now you can put it back and add a little enthusiasm and flair. Describing yourself as, “A process improvement consultant with a Six Sigma black belt,” is specific and targeted but also says nothing about you as a person—and doesn’t make me think, “Hey, she would be great to work with.”
Share why you love what you do in your profile. Share what you hope to accomplish. Describe companies you worked for or projects you completed. Share your best or worst experience. Keep your keywords in place, leave out what doesn’t support your goals, and then be yourself.
Keywords are important but are primarily just a way to help potential clients find you. No one hires keywords; they hire people.
Step 5. Take a hard look at your profile photo. Say someone follows you on Twitter. What’s the first thing you do? Check out their photo.
A photo is a little like a logo: On its own an awesome photo won’t win business, but a bad photo can definitely lose business.
Take a look at your current photo. Does it reflect who you are as a professional or does it reflect a hobby or outside interest? Does it look like a real estate agent’s headshot? A good photo flatters but doesn’t mislead. Eventually you’ll meet some of your customers in person and the inevitable disconnect between Photoshop and life will be jarring.
The goal is for your photo to reflect how you will look when you meet a customer, not how you looked at that killer party in Key West four years ago. The best profile photo isn’t necessarily your favorite photo. The best photo strikes a balance between professionalism and approachability, making you look good but also real.
Step 6. Get recommendations. Most of us can’t resist reading testimonials, even when we know those testimonials were probably solicited. Recommendations add color and depth to a LinkedIn profile, fleshing it out while avoiding any, “Oh jeez will this guy ever shut up about himself?” reactions. So ask for recommendations, and offer to provide recommendations before you’re asked.
The best way to build great connections is to always be the one who gives first.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

A Guide to Generating Leads on LinkedIn

BY Ann Handley | October 6, 2011|

To me, LinkedIn has always seemed like more of a place to hunt for a new gig than anything else. And since I haven't been in the job market for a while, I've paid it little mind.
Plus, I've always thought LinkedIn was kind of ... well, boring. If Facebook is a rave at a hip downtown hot spot, LinkedIn is a stuffy reception with piped-in music at one of those soulless function facilities conveniently located at the end of an exit ramp.
Does that sound harsh? For sure. But now I've realized that I couldn't have been more wrong.
While the early adopters flock to Google+ and our kids and moms become power-users on Facebook, LinkedIn is where business gets done. Execs from all Fortune 500 companies are there, and 59 percent of those active on social networking sites say LinkedIn is their platform of choice over Facebook or Twitter, up from 41 percent who called LinkedIn their most important social account a year earlier, according to a June report by Performics and ROI Research.

LinkedIn, it turns out, is a happening place. As of this spring, it has more than 100 million members in more than 200 countries, on all seven continents. In June--following a splashy and successful May initial public offering--LinkedIn counted 33.9 million unique visitors, up 63 percent from a year earlier, according to internet analytics firm comScore. That traffic meant it eclipsed Myspace as the second most popular social network on the web (after Facebook). (Of course, suggesting that LinkedIn eclipsed Myspace is a little like noting that the Rolling Stones are more popular than The Wiggles. The former remains relevant and continues to increase its audience, whereas the latter has limited and specific appeal--albeit to a passionate and loyal following.)
All of this adds up to making LinkedIn the dark horse in social networking. Or, as my friend Greg Straface calls it (he handles business development at Boston advertising and marketing agency PJA), the "unsung hero" of the social platforms.

It turns out--as I suspected--there's an awful lot of job searching going on at LinkedIn. But there's much more going on over there, too. Market-research firm Lab42 finds that top-level executives and entry-level workers use LinkedIn differently: Younger members use the site mostly to post résumés and network for jobs, while more experienced professionals use it to demonstrate thought leadership and expertise, promote their businesses, conduct market research and--perhaps most important--win new business.
So how might companies use it to win new business, specifically?

Target searches for keywords you've identified as central to your business. For PJA, Straface targets "VP of marketing," specific ZIP codes and company names to identify key contacts to call, e-mail, InMail (send a message via LinkedIn's internal messaging system) or forward a hard copy of his agency's portfolio.
Track who is looking at your profile and your staff's profiles. Straface then researches those companies in more depth, identifying their marketing directors and sending out the agency portfolio by FedEx to land on their desks the next day (and again following up with a phone call, e-mail or InMail).
Research, or as Straface calls it, do "reconnaissance" work. Watching (via Google Analytics) which domain names visit the PJA site on any given day gives him a clue about which companies might be in the market for a new agency. Back at LinkedIn, he can research the top decision makers to proactively approach--again, via a call, InMail or portfolio outreach.
Set up a company page. Setting up your business as a "company" on LinkedIn isn't going to generate a bunch of leads, but it does give you an opportunity to have a presence on LinkedIn beyond a personal profile to ratchet up your company's charisma. I like the way you can embed banner images and videos in your company page, as well as feed your blog posts and tweets. You can also feature your products on your page and seek recommendations for them. That's a kind of social proof that only enhances your credibility.
Discern patterns. Notice who's connected in your industry. In the marketing agency world, for example, there are several key consultants often tapped to help companies with an agency search. Noting that one of those consultants is suddenly connected to several execs at a single company may indicate that the company is poised to begin an agency search. "Which suggests to me that I might want to get my brand in front of them both," Straface says.
Participate in LinkedIn groups catering to your target market in order to engage in conversations with the right people. Seek out groups with lots of activity rather than simply lots of members. (You'll have to join them to get a sense of the activity.) For Straface, those groups target CMOs and business-to-business marketers. He monitors each group's discussion posts and responds thoughtfully with content rather than a pitch. The goal is to engage rather than sell outright.

Does all of this work? Yes, although it takes some focused effort. Straface says he spends anywhere from one and a half to two hours per day on the platform. But to him, it's worth the effort. PJA has won actual business via LinkedIn: inquiries, agency pitches and at least two new accounts worth between $300,000 and $400,000. Mining LinkedIn in this way, he says, "is only the tip of the iceberg."
Of course, be aware that your competitors are also able to apply these same tips and tricks; they are privy to the same social insights that could be giving them inside information about you. Your competition can also notice who you are connecting to, which could tip them off about new business in the offing. That's one of a few downsides of social media transparency. But that's a column for another day.

This article was originally published in the October 2011 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: The Link to Better Leads.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Tips for Launching a Successful Networking Event

There's more to social networking than just chatting online. Sometimes, you'll want to actively promote your great work live—all while courting new clients and making useful new contacts!
Andy Lopata provides tips for launching a successful social business event without breaking the bank or encountering unpleasant surprises along the way. Get all the details in his article at The Huffington Post UK.
Here are a few highlights:
Expectations. Be clear about your relevance to attendees and what you hope to achieve. Make these goals the foundation for choosing who you invite.
Timing. Pick a convenient date for attendees. Ensure it fits with the organizers, venue and speakers. Time of day is crucial as well. Many events these days are held between 4:00 and 7:00 pm so people can leave work a bit early and not lose too much family time.
Venue. People judge venue quality. If speakers are giving presentations, don't hold a bar meetup. Consider disabled access and whether bathrooms are kept clean. And sample the catering before you commit.
Cost. Can sponsors provide food or other amenities? Are you charging for attendance? Choose a price that doesn't exceed the true value of your offering. Round numbers help for those paying in cash on the day of the event. Make receipts available; attendees need these for accounting purposes. Consider services like Paypal for advanced payment.
Promotions. Send targeted invitations via niche networks where the people you seek congregate: LinkedIn groups, or niche-group sites like MallowStreet, which gathers people in the pensions industry. A relevant, peppy video can help spread the word for you.

Once attendees are registered, don't drop the ball! Remind them of what they can learn and who they may meet. Sites like Eventbrite help you share guest lists in advance.

The Po!nt: Social networking means grabbing face-time, too. Be as rigorous about planning an event as you would a social strategy.
Looking for great social media marketing data? MarketingProfs reviewed hundreds of research sources to create our most recent Social Media Marketing Factbook (May 2010). With 140 pages and 102 charts, it is full of relevant social media marketing stats and trends. The Social Media Marketing Factbook is Part 5 of the complete Digital Marketing Factbook (our 296-page full report).

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Steve Jobs and the Seven Rules of Success | Entrepreneur.com

Steve Jobs and the Seven Rules of Success

BY Carmine Gallo |

Steve Jobs and the Seven Rules of Success Steve Jobs' impact on your life cannot be underestimated. His innovations have likely touched nearly every aspect -- computers, movies, music and mobile. As a communications coach, I learned from Jobs that a presentation can, indeed, inspire. For entrepreneurs, Jobs' greatest legacy is the set of principles that drove his success.

Over the years, I've become a student of sorts of Jobs' career and life. Here's my take on the rules and values underpinning his success. Any of us can adopt them to unleash our "inner Steve Jobs."

1. Do what you love. Jobs once said, "People with passion can change the world for the better." Asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, "I'd get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about." That's how much it meant to him. Passion is everything.

2. Put a dent in the universe. Jobs believed in the power of vision. He once asked then-Pepsi President, John Sculley, "Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?" Don't lose sight of the big vision.

3. Make connections. Jobs once said creativity is connecting things. He meant that people with a broad set of life experiences can often see things that others miss. He took calligraphy classes that didn't have any practical use in his life -- until he built the Macintosh. Jobs traveled to India and Asia. He studied design and hospitality. Don't live in a bubble. Connect ideas from different fields.

4. Say no to 1,000 things. Jobs was as proud of what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned in Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the "A-Team" on each product. What are you saying "no" to?

5. Create insanely different experiences. Jobs also sought innovation in the customer-service experience. When he first came up with the concept for the Apple Stores, he said they would be different because instead of just moving boxes, the stores would enrich lives. Everything about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the Apple brand. What are you doing to enrich the lives of your customers?

6. Master the message. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can't communicate your ideas, it doesn't matter. Jobs was the world's greatest corporate storyteller. Instead of simply delivering a presentation like most people do, he informed, he educated, he inspired and he entertained, all in one presentation.

7. Sell dreams, not products. Jobs captured our imagination because he really understood his customer. He knew that tablets would not capture our imaginations if they were too complicated. The result? One button on the front of an iPad. It's so simple, a 2-year-old can use it. Your customers don't care about your product. They care about themselves, their hopes, their ambitions. Jobs taught us that if you help your customers reach their dreams, you'll win them over.

There's one story that I think sums up Jobs' career at Apple. An executive who had the job of reinventing the Disney Store once called up Jobs and asked for advice. His counsel? Dream bigger. I think that's the best advice he could leave us with. See genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your vision, and be constantly prepared to defend those ideas.

Related: Remembering Apple's Steve Jobs

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Carmine Gallo is a communications coach, a popular keynote speaker and author of several books including The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. His latest is The Power of Foursquare (McGraw-Hill, 2011).

Friday, September 23, 2011

This gives a whole new meaning to trashy advertising

Ad Made From 18,000 Pieces of Beach Trash

20th September 2011 by Deborah Corn under Creative, Design, Marketing, Video

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As the saying goes – one person’s trash is another’s treasure – though Beach Trash in general is just bad manners!
++++++++++++++++++
Billboard touts conservation film series by Tim Nudd
Strewn across beaches, it’s ugly as sin. Gathered up and presented on a billboard, it cleans up quite nicely. BBDO San Francisco this month constructed a billboard on Venice Beach made from almost 18,000 pieces of beach trash—as a teaser advertisement for One Beach, a film about beach conservation, sponsored by Barefoot Wine & Bubbly. The client has worked for more than 15 years to support clean and sustainable beaches—ones that are “barefoot friendly.” One Beach, directed by Jason Baffa, looks at how creative innovators are cleaning beaches and changing the world. Check out footage of the trash billboard below. It’s not a new idea—Saatchi & Saatchi made billboards from trash six years ago. But it’s clearly an ongoing problem—and this is an intriguing way to address it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNg3IVIHhFY&feature=player_embedded
via Barefoot Wine Ad Made From 18,000 Pieces of Beach Trash | Adweek.

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Heinz Ketchup places mobile bar codes on packaging to engage, reward consumers

By Rimma Kats

September 8, 2011

Heinz Ketchup is rewarding consumers with prizes such as a hybrid or a vacation by scanning a mobile bar code on the back of its packaging.
Consumers can play a trivia game to enter for a chance to win one of 57 eco-friendly prizes via Heinz’s “Guess What We Just Planted” sweepstakes. Consumers can scan the QR code on the back of the ketchup or enter online by going to http://www.heinzketchup.com/plant-bottle.
“Mobile bar codes provide a means for consumer engagement with the brand and given that Heinz is a mass consumer product, the bar code provides a nice, instant means to get immediate consumer engagement – at time of impulse,” said Laura Marriott, CEO of NeoMedia Technologies, Seattle.
“And ultimately, the brand is able to deliver more value to the consumer,” she said.
Ms. Marriott is not affiliated with Heinz. She commented based on her expertise on the subject.

Heinz did not respond to press inquiries.
User engagement
When consumers scan the mobile bar code, they are redirected to a mobile-optimized landing page where they can enter for a chance to win prizes.

The QR code featured on the back of the ketchup product
To enter, consumers have to answer trivia questions such as how long does it take for a newspaper to decompose.
Additionally, users can play once daily for a greater chance to win.

Consumers can answer trivia questions to enter
Heinz is showing consumers that it is going green and being more conscious of the environment via its new initiative.
The company is also hopping on the mobile bar code bandwagon and engaging its growing number of tech-savvy customers.
“Incentives and exclusive information are a great way to encourage consumer participation,” Ms. Marriott said. “We have found that incentives have a much higher response rate via bar code scans than other calls to action.
“Incentives also provide a means for the brand to build their CRM programs and continue to interact with the consumer, as long as the consumer opts in, after the scan,” she said.
Engagement
Using mobile bar codes for this initiative helps drive engagement between Heinz and its customers.
Additionally, offering prizes by answering a few questions also entices consumers to interact with the brand.
Mobile bar codes are a growing trend and more companies are using them for their everyday initiatives – whether they place them on bus shelters, static ads or on products.
“We are seeing significant adoption of bar codes by all sectors and bar codes are replacing SMS and URLs as essential information to include in all marketing elements,” Ms. Marriott said. “Bar codes will continue to see this significant rise in utilization and adoption.”

Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily and Mobile Marketer. Reach her at rimma@mobilemarketer.com.

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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Customer Service is not a department. It's an attitude.

A brief video about the ten most important words in Customer Service.

http://www.customerlovemovie.com/#.TlUhnAV6BRw.twitter

GO SOCIAL OR DIE... Learn Proven Social Media Strategies to Conquer the Competition

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Sales Is About Focusing On What You CAN Control | Sales & Marketing from AllBusiness.com

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Why you need a good writer on your staff

For those of us who are bored silly with buzzwords and platitudes in corporate communications, this is a "must read" article. Sorry. Eye opening? Game changing? Paradigm shift? Ground breaking? Just read the darn thing !

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100501/why-is-business-writing-so-awful.html

Free Ebook from HubSpot: How To Use Facebook for Business

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"Overcoming Sales Sabotage" - Sales Association Webinar

Thurs, August 25, 4pm EST / 3 Central / 2 MST / 1 PST

Register now for "Overcoming Sales Sabotage" August 25 webinar at:

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- Liz Wendling, Owner, Insight Business Consultants

“Sales Sabotage” is one of the most destructive business behaviors and can drag down anyone if it goes unchallenged. Sales Sabotage is responsible for limiting the amount money you earn and keeps you from reaching your full potential.

Identify the road blocks and barriers that are tripping you up and sabotaging your sales success. You will be shocked to discover what behaviors, excuses, reasons, justifications and procrastinations that are limiting your paycheck and stalling your business.

The patterns and habits are so ingrained and they’re running on auto pilot. This behavior comes with a heavy cost. LOST sales and decreased revenue.

ARE YOU ARE WILLING TO:
- Make the changes in you and your business that are necessary to succeed?
- Let go of the behaviors and actions that are no longer working?
- Move forward when met with failure, and see the learning lesson in it?
- Avoid playing the victim and stop complaining about it?
- Get out of your own way so you can earn the money you deserve?

About the Presenter:
A much sought after motivational sales speaker, owner of Insight Business Consultants, Sales Coach For Women and Certified Color Code Trainer, Liz Wendling has been positively impacting individuals for over 12 years.

With her high-energy delivery and no-nonsense candor, Liz delivers training that engages participants with easy-to-understand strategies and practical implementation tactics. Sales strategies presented are based on sound selling fundamentals and have been proven to work in today's tough market.

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To register for the webinar and/or join the association, click on following link:

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Jeff

Jeffrey W. Arnold, MAM, CAE
Executive Director
The Sales Association
2460 W. 26th Ave., Suite 245C
Denver, CO 80211
Direct: 720-259-1354
Fax: 720-221-7242
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LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreywarnold
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Join the Zen Leaders Circle on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1935110
Posted By Jeff Arnold, MAM, CAE

Use creativity to magnify market presence (as published in MarketMakers in 1999)

Marketing/sales departments are under tremendous pressure to increase sales while simultaneously reducing costs. This sounds like a daunting task. In a highly competitive environment, how can you even consider cost cutting in the marketing arena? The answer is to be more efficient with your marketing efforts to get greater mileage from each marketing dollar. You magnify your market presence by getting market exposure on multiple levels with each exposure opportunity.

For example: Company A has a new product to sell. The marketing department decides the best approach is to use an advertising campaign and trade shows to introduce the product to the market. Do the exposure opportunities end there?

Not by a long shot! They can start by issuing a press release to various trade magazines, TV & radio stations, and newspapers. They can sponsor a publicity event such as a drawing or contest. They might want to send a direct mail piece to their target customers to encourage participation in the drawing. Then they could issue a press release about the contest itself.

Another approach is writing an article for a technical journal. A well-written article can provide tremendous benefits, especially when accompanied by an advertisement. Some of the benefits include enhancements to the corporate image, broad-based exposure to current and potential clients, and a competitive advantage in terms of brand awareness and credibility.

What should you write about? Look to the frequently asked technical questions as a good source of subject material. If you are routinely answering the same questions, an article gives an opportunity to educate your entire customer base on the subject.

Once you have gone through the effort of writing the article, why not put it in the company newsletter? Why not add it to the company web site? How about using article reprints for a direct mail campaign or a trade show handout?

Are there other opportunities for the article? Perhaps you could get it published in another type of magazine. With permission of the publication that first published the article, you may be able to get it published in another magazine. For instance, a (vertical) magazine geared to a niche market would probably not have a problem if you wanted to get the article published again in a horizontal publication that covers the broader industry.

Other opportunities include such things as presenting a speech at an industry technical forum, or presenting a seminar at a technical college geared to the industry. Technical associations and trade schools are a great source of exposure opportunities.

You can also use the product introduction as a means of generating traffic at a trade show by issuing product announcements to the magazines, and highlighting the new product in preshow publicity.

Ever consider having an open house? You would certainly want to mail invitations to the event. Wouldn’t the open house be a great news item on your web site or in a company newsletter? Couldn’t you then do a press release on the success of the open house? You would of course want to do a follow-up (thank you letter) mailing to the guests who attended. How many opportunities did you just create to present your product and message to your target audience? How much good will did you build?

As you have probably guessed, each exposure opportunity presents new opportunities. The company and product are repeatedly exposed to the market without running advertisement after advertisement. You have magnified your presence by multiplying your exposure opportunities. This approach creates tremendous cost savings, yet reaches customers in a manner that is less intrusive than advertising. Rather than asking for a sale, you have giving your customers reasons to want to buy.

Obviously, a lot has changed in the marketing arena since 1999 with the explosion of social media and the subsequent stampede to harness the incredible power of it. While some may be reluctant to adopt social media strategies, the proliferation of smart phone technology that enables real-time web interaction with consumers locally and on a global scale opens limitless opportunities to those that creatively apply social media as an integral component of their overall marketing strategies. Those that fail to utilize this resource may find themselves missing out on an entire generation of new consumers.

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Cheryl Lawson is the owner and founder of event planning and marketing firm, Party Aficionado, and creator of the Event Planning Tools mobile app. Party Aficionado helps companies develop social marketing strategies both online and face-to-face, and coaches companies on engaging their audience.

Who is responsible for marketing?

As someone who has worked in maintenance,shipping & receiving, production, quality assurance, technical support, product development, marketing and sales, I have seen first hand the impact the various functions have on business development and customer retention. There is no question in my mind that they all must be focused on the customers' needs for a business to be successful. A breakdown on any level can have devastating consequences to customer relationships and the company's reputation. From that standpoint, everyone in the organization impacts the corporate brand AND everyone in the organization affects sales.

To take it a step further, the entire supply chain has an impact. How would a big box store look to consumers if its products came in damaged, defective, or with missing components? How would the consumer product companies look to the box stores if their labeling and packaging poorly presented the products because of inconsistent or improper color, misspellings in the graphic design, poor adhesive bond strength, non-functional bar codes, poor registration leading to unreadable type, or any number of other print defects? How would those print defects make the label supplier look to the CPCs' print buyers? And so on down the line. Which is why it is so important to have multiple levels of interaction between the supply chain partners to insure that customer needs are clearly communicated, understood and addressed throughout the organization..

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon that at the management table the emphasis is not on the customer or on the organization as a "marketing tool". With a recessed economy, a roller coaster stock market, bitterly divided government, and rising costs for everything from insurance to energy to raw materials, the focus is all too often on cutting costs to meet shorty term profitability targets. When looking for easy targets for cost cutting, how often is marketing looked at as beneficial when times are good, but nothing more than a cost center when times are tough? To be successful with the challenges we face today, it is critical that the corporate culture that emanates from the Board on down through the entire organization is predicated on a customer-centric marketing mentality.

For an interesting discussion about the role of marketing in business, be sure to check out http://www.linkedin.com/groups/I-think-message-management-table-59008.S.60716491?view=&gid=59008&type=member&item=60716491&trk=mywl_artile.

MarCom Central