It’s an old story, and it was recently retold at a weekly prayer group I attend. It goes a little something like this: A blind boy sat on the street begging for money with a sign that read: “I am blind. Please help.”...
It’s that time of year when flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, the weather is warming and your Q1 marketing resolutions may already be falling by the wayside. Take advantage of this time of renewal to take stock and spring-clean your strategy....
With a new calendar year comes the chance to start fresh – and that includes your marketing strategy. If you’re still allocating your 2017 marketing budget, consider ABZ’s top five trends for the coming year. Make sure to hit all of these focus areas!...
Too often, marketing is exclusively focused on bringing new customers into the funnel. While nowhere in the marketing mix is a plan for cultivating existing customers to stay loyal and ultimately become brand ambassadors. Advertising agencies and clients alike are equally guilty of this....
For many B2B companies, trade shows represent the largest single marketing spend and the biggest sales opportunity. You’d think such cost commitment and revenue potential warrants a well-crafted strategic and tactical plan to justify the dollars and resources. But all too often, leadership is left...
Our fresh fall infographic chronicles the exponential growth of pumpkin-flavored products – with sales up 79 percent since 2011. Good old pumpkin pie filling still dominates market share, with $135 million in 2014 sales. But other innovative products are gaining ground, with dog food sitting in...
7 tips to decide if you should commit to your marketing agency or call it quits and move on. My fiancé proposed on a blustery beach near Charleston, South Carolina, in February 2015. Even though we’d been dating for four years and the heat was on,...
Not all parenting one-liners passed down through the generations are unhelpful. In fact, as a dad who’s also a marketer, I see a lot of cross over between the things I say to my children and some strategic marketing best practices, especially within emerging digital...
Brand journalism is not new. Evidence of brand reporting and content creation can be found throughout history. However, brand journalism burst into the modern era in 2011 when Cisco launched its own news website, The Network, and hired journalists to write for it. By the fall...
It’s up to marketers to guide what brand messages we see and what that something we feel is. But one thing is increasingly obvious: Storytelling is essential to well-rounded marketing strategy....
You see it in the news and wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?” New businesses, and Internet startups in particular, are thrilling to be a part of. But those overnight success stories are far and few in between. For every single success story you...
Part 1 of this series discussed the marketing benefits of speaking engagements and how to use those opportunities to engage with current and former clients. Here in Part 2, we examine new business and lead generation from speaking opportunities. ...
Would we be toasting to freedom and fireworks on July 4 if the heroes of early American history had fallen victim to poor marketing strategy? This Fourth of July – in between grillin’ and chillin’ – imagine if our nation’s struggle for independence had taken...
We are frequently asked for our thoughts on the marketing value of public speaking engagements. The question comes from people who have the opportunity to speak before clients and prospects and do so often as featured speakers or expert panelists. ...
Content is king, right? You’ve heard it a million times. In fact, you might not even read the rest of this post because you’re so tired of hearing about it. But do you really know why content is king? I’ll give you a hint: it...
They’re like goldfish. You buy a few because they make someone in the family happy, but they don’t last very long. And they're a boatload of work and upkeep for their size. Algae eventually grow on the aquarium. And no one wants to chip in...
We are evolving creatures, especially in how we think as consumers. Things are competing for our attention, loyalty and money everywhere we look. So brands have to up our game to both grow our customer base and nurture existing clientele. It's not enough to rely...
If you’re reading this, chances are you have resolved to be more diligent about blogging in the new year as part of your marketing strategy. Or maybe your resolution is to finally throw your hat into the ring as a blogger....
Swamped? Help is here. We all know the feeling – being buried in emails, to dos, obligations (both important and mundane), with the incessant pinging of desk phones, smart phones and email notifications all clamoring for your attention and, inherently, your time....
Your content may be getting lost as white noise amongst all the messages out there if you aren’t strategically mapping it. What is content mapping you ask?...
Sometimes a marketing or communication challenge demands a Seinfeld and George Costanza solution. It’s called “Doing the Opposite” and I’ve used this creative approach numerous times during my career....
We can all use a reminder to focus on being thankful for family, friends, food and our many blessings. But the warm, fuzzy ideas of togetherness and gratitude are far from trending these days, as the Thanksgiving brand gets gobbled up by other holidays and...
The power of great customer service comes from knowing your company’s strengths and weaknesses, and, accordingly, when to say “yes” or “no” to new clients and projects. ...
It was a crisp Saturday afternoon in the fall of 2003 when a group of fellow graduate students and I gathered at Starbucks to discuss a class project. While waiting to place my order, I noticed a new seasonal beverage featured on the blackboard above...
In the spirit of Halloween, we present the authoritative guide to how digital marketers can stay sharp in the event of a global vampire apocalypse. So bury those “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” DVDs, get rid of your garlic, stash any silver, and prepare to target...
A common misconception is that search engine optimization (SEO) wizards can just wave our wands and make websites rank on the first page of Google. I’m letting you in on a little secret – we’re muggles just like you. And there is no magic, one-size-fits-all formula...
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know that content marketing is still high on the list of industry buzzwords. You read about how companies are investing big money in content marketing strategies. You see email titles and article headlines touting tips to...
With more than 70 million total users generating approximately 90 percent of total social media shares online, Pinterest provides a unique environment for engaging your target audience and showcasing your brand. Harness the power of Pinterest for your social media strategy with these five simple...
If your hospital will soon be celebrating a big milestone such as an important anniversary, grand opening or some exciting news, the right planning can create a lasting impression with employees, current patients and prospective patients....
To achieve social media success, there are certain daily "chores" needed to build online relationships, long-term loyalty, retention and brand ambassadors. Your marketing team is either in one of two camps: one, you’re already up and running on multiple social media channels; or two, you are...
There are hundreds of premium search engine optimization (SEO) tools available, but navigating which paid and free SEO tools are the best is an enormous task. Paid tools are absolutely necessary in that they provide advanced features, automated reporting options, custom segmentation, competitive intelligence, and...
Most digital marketing managers and email-marketing specialists have developed their own techniques, processes and benchmarks for success over time. But with rapid changes in the ways audiences consume content, it’s important not to get too comfortable with your email marketing habits. Even though it is one...