Some aspects of opening a small business come naturally to entrepreneurs: they’re passionate about their product or services and they love talking to customers and clients. But entrepreneurs aren’t always adept at marketing their services or thinking about how to focus their energy in ways that generate a profit. Our small business guide to vertical marketing will help you create and implement a plan. We’ll also give you a marketing plan example so you can see how our ideas work in the real world. continue reading…

Working with small businesses on a daily basis, and being one ourselves, we spend a lot of time on small business blogs. In light of this we wanted to highlight what we believe are the best small business blogs on the web. Check out the blogs below, in no particular order, and read them regularly to get all the information you might need as an entrepreneur or small business owner looking for resources to grow your business. continue reading…

Last night AMC aired the season six premiere of Mad Men. While we’re not about to let any spoilers slip, we can tell you that a few things haven’t changed much since season five: Don Draper is still pretty hot, and he’s still up to the same shenanigans. There’s family drama, personal drama and office drama. And we always learn a lot about marketing from the Mad Men (and women) of Sterling Cooper Draper. We thought we’d share some of the wisdom they’ve passed on over the last five years. continue reading…

The popularity of the term creativity is at an all-time high. Thanks in part to innovative companies like Apple and Google, creativity is now viewed as a viable conduit to business success. Creativity in product design, creativity in marketing campaigns, and even creativity in customer support are now becoming the focus of countless meetings and strategy planning sessions. continue reading…

Coca-Cola is one of the most recognized brands on the planet—surveys consistently find that around 94% of the world’s population recognizes the red-and-white logo. More than one billion bottles of Coke are sold every day, and people claim to prefer the drink over its main competitor, Pepsi. Why the everlasting popularity? While sound business practices and global reach certainly have huge impact, Coca-Cola has one huge advantage its competition does not: logo longevity. continue reading…

Signage has several purposes. It provides information, gives direction and promotes businesses. When your signage is well-designed, properly installed and in good condition it is an asset to your business. But when those elements aren’t in place, your signage can do more harm than good. continue reading…

Today’s guest post comes from Brad Manuel, founder of nothing knew, a sales consulting firm focused on communication and equipping others with practical principles that will contribute to their success.

“39% of B2B buyers select a vendor according to the skills of the salesperson rather than price, quality, or service features.” – Harvard Business Review 2012

Let’s Do Lunch

In many industries, the common practice of taking current and potential clients to lunch 3 times per week is obsolete. And while I love a free meal or a free round of golf, I was never too keen on spending money to meet a quota. Those client “entertainments”, however did serve a very important function: building customer connections. continue reading…

At Signs.com, 2012 was a huge year. We launched this blog, we created an incredible new website for designing and purchasing custom signage, and we managed to have a lot of fun doing it! In 2012, we posted 255 articles on the Signs.com blog, tweeted 1,340 times on Twitter, gave away 16 mini-billboards during our Facebook Sign Quest Contest, and created 1 sweet video on how to install perforated vehicle window decals. But today, we wanted to recap some of our most popular stories and articles from last year. So, we hope you enjoy our best of Signs.com 2012.

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A recent Nielsen survey found that many consumers prefer to buy from companies that give back to society. Of those surveyed:

• 66% say they prefer to buy products and services from companies that have implemented programs to give back to society.
• 62% prefer to work for those companies.
• 59% prefer to invest in those companies.
• 46% say they are willing to pay more money for products or services offered by those companies.

Clearly, giving back to the community means benefits for both charities and the businesses that support them. Cause marketing (promoting charitable works as a selling point) can work well for companies. But it’s important that this kind of marketing doesn’t come across as self-serving. Here are 6 ways to promote your company’s charitable works without looking like a self-serving jerk. continue reading…

The Holidays are Here

Walk into any Walmart at 11:59 pm on October 31st and what do you see? Pallets of Christmas products, decorations and other assorted holiday items. Employees hover around like a pack of ravenous wolves waiting for the OK to pounce. The clock strikes midnight and the walkie-talkies light up like a trucker convention. The holiday season has arrived. Let the madness begin. continue reading…