It’s a common marketing misstep to be blinded by your personal views and experiences when planning your marketing campaigns. Business owners and managers often assume that the masses share their habits, and this can lead to poor marketing decisions.

When first meeting with new clients or speaking with people at business events, it’s common to hear [...]

One of the hot new terms to hit the marketing world in the past few years is the “time-starved consumer,” because it captures perfectly the state of many of our lives.

Consumers today are overstressed, overwhelmed and overworked, and it seems that everyone — from soccer moms to CEOs — is struggling to balance economic and [...]

Becoming an active, visible part of the community is an important part of any company’s marketing program. Board memberships, sponsorships and volunteering all allow businesses and their employees to give something back to the community in ways that benefit a company’s visibility.

When considering corporate responsibility and volunteerism, it is important to never lose sight of [...]

From a marketing perspective, it has been fascinating to watch how the Hudson Valley has evolved over the past 15 years. For starters, according to organizations such as the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp., the Hudson Valley region officially includes the seven counties of Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan. But as recently [...]

Becoming a successful entrepreneur isn’t easy. In fact, about half of all new businesses fail. If you’re ignoring the odds and going for it, here are some marketing program tips to leverage for small-business success.

Start by getting your brand established. An easy-to-remember name that makes it clear what you sell is important. It’s tough to [...]

Companies solely focused on selling to other businesses, and not to general consumer audiences, often put all of their promotional resources into sales. They are frequently quick to write off advertising and publicity. That’s usually a mistake. A good marketing program should include investments in both a sales force and advertising.

In the business-to-business model, a [...]

Making the investment in advertising, building and maintain a Web site and developing collateral, like brochures, are worthy investments. Professional design of these marketing elements is important. But great marketing pieces all start with the right message.

We’re inundated by thousands of messages per day. Your ads have to stand out to get noticed. So, make [...]

Joining a business group such as a chamber of commerce or membership-based economic development organization can be a great move for your business. Simply joining these groups can provide many benefits, such as special rates on insurance coverage and referrals. But if you want to leverage these memberships to grow your business, it’s important to [...]

I’ve always been of the mind that well-run political campaigns are on the forefront of the latest in effective research, branding, marketing, publicity and social media strategies.

While creating general awareness through television, print and radio are important components for many campaigns, the marriage between research and the targeted marketing in politics is intriguing.

Political campaigns lead [...]

Your brand is not necessarily your own. Imagine comparing your reaction to seeing the BP logo a year ago to how you would respond today after the environmental disaster the company created. And I bet the warm-and-fuzzy feeling a Tiger Woods picture gave you last year likely gives you a different feeling now.

BP and Tiger [...]