Image credit: Harvard Business Review Marketing: The Power of Sensory Marketing
Ever wake up to the smell of coffee brewing or bacon sizzling? If so then you understand the powerful potential of “sensory marketing.” From the weight of a razor in your hand, to the curves of a Coke bottle, to the background music at your favorite restaurant, we’re bombarded with selling the senses. Can it work for you – even by the feel of your business card? Here are some principles. HBR: When Sensory Marketing Works and When it Backfires
Leadership: Avoiding Decision Fatigue
As a business owner, you may view your CEO role as the top of the pyramid, or the foundation supporting all the others. Either way, key decisions tend to rise or fall to you. It’s part of being the Kahuna, the compass-setter, el Capitan. And not just for the business, but how it interacts with your other circles of life like home and community. Here’s some thoughts on avoiding decision burnout: Forbes: Why Essentialism is the Key to Avoiding Decision Fatigue
Image credit: Getty Images Sales: Managing Social Sales
Social media as a sales tool is revolutionizing the selling process for much of our economy. The ability to build a relationship around a transaction instead of a transaction alone helps ensure recurring engagement, and makes more from your customer acquisition costs. But like any relationship building, it takes time, not the random task of posting something on the web. Measure it to manage it. Inc: Social Sales – Does Your Sales Team Measure Up?
Taxes: Tax Scams Continue
In spite of lots of press and a 60 Minutes feature story in the past year, tax scams, identity theft, IRS impersonations, and more are alive and well in 2016. Don’t be caught! The IRS will never email you or call you to collect taxes. And if you’re identity (Social Security number) is compromised, you’ll need to send the IRS an affidavit and ID’s in order to file your taxes. Here’s the latest direct from the IRS: IRS.gov: Tax Scams Consumer Alert
Image credit: Bridge of Spies (2015) Leadership: Best Negotiation Movie of 2015
Who says you can’t learn something while having fun, too? If you haven’t seen Bridge of Spies, then go now to the nearest Redbox and get it – it’s the compelling story of negotiating for the release of two Americans from the Soviets at the height of the cold war. In this brief blog, Michael Wheeler of Harvard Business School turns Hollywood entertainment into a business education video with a straight forward analysis. Wheeler: Best Negotiation Movie of 2015 and What You Should Learn From It.
Taxes: Top 10 Ways to Avoid an Audit
Yep, it’s that time of the year when the focus turns on the annual ritual of tax return preparation. One of the biggest compliance tools the IRS has is fear of the audit. There are things that will help avoid or, if called upon, survive that dreaded income tax audit: Entrepreneur: The Top 10 Ways to Avoid an IRS or State Audit.
Image credit: Harvard Business Review Management: Trick Yourself into Breaking a Bad Habit
It’s a new year – did you make a resolution or two? If so, statistics say you’ll break it by the end of February, if you haven’t already. Sometimes we’re our own worst enemy. It may even be the habit that got us to where we are that is now holding us back. You can muscle the business so far – then it takes a different skill set. Adapt or stagnate. HBR: Trick Yourself into Breaking a Bad Habit.
Strombeck News: Your Brand – More than a Name
Client Kudos to Kennan Burch of Brand Catalyst Partners for recently being featured in I-4 Business Magazine’s December 2015. More than kudos, we’ve included below some thoughts from Kennan, a friend, client and 20-year brand building executive with Darden. Check out the article: I4Business: Your Business – More than a Name (http://www.brandcatalystpartners.com/about-bcp/i4-business-magazine-featuring-kennan-burch.html) – and Kennan’s comments below as you think about your 2016 branding efforts. Strombeck News: Marketing – Investment or Expense in 2016? Read more…
Marketing: 2016’s Top 7 Online Marketing Trends
Online now dominates marketing. And mobile dominates online. Every year brings new hardware, new applications, new algorithms and new paradigms. With the acceleration of change, the advantage often goes to the early adopter. If your marketing plan for next year hasn’t taken into account some of these trends, better think again: Forbes: The Top 7 Online Marketing Trends That Will Dominate 2016.
Image credit: InfoSec Institute Management: How Long Should You Keep That Email?
Most small businesses have a default retention policy — retain everything. Even more so now, since with the cloud and ever cheaper memory we’re even less worried about space on the server. But in an era where hackers proliferate, a “retain all” practice increases the risk of company secrets or embarrassing materials, and increases risk of exposure in litigation as well. But shorter retention policies have their own downsides. Here are some pros and cons, which you might want to review with your attorney. InfoSec Institute: Top 5 Email Retention Policy Best Practices.
