There are two observations – both obvious, both related – that marketers should take note of:

1) If not done with care, communications technology can place additional barriers between you and your customers rather than allow for additional connections.

2) Being around people is not the same as connecting with people

2010 will surely bring further inroads in social media, tele/video conferencing, and other proxies for face-to-face interaction.

Just as in the Great Depression, people will remain scarred to one degree or another from this ongoing recession.

There will likely be trust issues. And there is no substitute for building trust than to be there, in person, or with a consistent brand experience.

The single mindedness brought to the table by a company founder is the driving force behind the early success of a new venture. Then building a small team of trusted compatriots provides the complimentary fuel to achieve hyper growth over the next several years.

Up till this point, profits and personal income have risen with sales, although not quite as fast.

Then, something unexpected happens – profits drop or disappear altogether. Even if sales continue to flow.

Why?

It’s a lack of controls, process, and “professional” management. A founder at this stage will either retrench or put their head down and drive forward in the belief that more sales will fix everything.

In fact, more sales will only make things worse.

This is the moment of truth for the founder(s). Will they allow themselves to come to the realization that they need to stick to what they do best while hiring professional management – even if it turns out one of these new managers becomes their boss?

If you’re lucky, your business will reach this point if it hasn’t already.

Posted by: Steve Banis

Last week marked the passing of an American institution; Senator Edward Kennedy. As President, his older brother John gave us a vision of Camelot.  His other brother Robert showed us great passion and determination – first as John’s Attorney General and then as a Senator from New York.

Ted Kennedy, the youngest and only brother left, combined the two and gave the American people results.

Agree with Ted Kennedy’s politics or not – there is no denying his legacy as an extraordinarily effective legislator.

Among his colleagues, he was respected by friend and foe alike.

Through the stories we’ve heard from the people he touched – family, friends, and people from every walk of life – we’ve also learned that he was loved.  And it seems particularly true for many victims of personal and/or national tragedies such as 9/11 or those who felt disaffected by the ‘system’.

Every day, our national and state legislative bodies demonstrate how few, if any, Ted Kennedy’s are left.  Leaders focused on productivity vs. power. Who encourage actual progress vs. those who toy with it.

When things change slowly over time, it is hard to notice the change.  When change is abrupt, the difference can be jolting.

The impact Ted Kennedy had will be somewhat more appreciated now that he’s gone.  Simply put, fewer items of importance will get done.  But since legislative productivity has been degrading slowly for a long time now, the danger is that it will feel just the same as it always has to most of us.

Much the same has happened to an enormous lot of long-established businesses.  Ones that have enjoyed great success, often for decades.

As time passed, business growth stopped. Then performance remained flat. And finally, sales and profits dropped.  And continue to drop.  The progression probably wasn’t as jolting as it should have been because it happened slowly. The jolt only happened in the last few years or months.

Did this type of change creep up on your business? And if so, now that many customers have gone or stay away, what will you do?

Posted by: Steve Banis

One conversation in particular caught my attention.  The topic was important, but the variance in emotional intensity was riveting.

A veteran reservist was talking with a younger serviceman about his two deployments in Iraq.  At first, the conversation was highly interactive, with the elder sharing the details of his assignments and the personalities he’d encountered.

Suddenly, he looked down and his pace slowed.  He got very focused on something he could see in his head, and totally detached from the place he was sitting.

He paused and looked up at his companion, crock shaking on his twitching foot. “I know I was lucky a couple of times over there and you know that at some point your luck runs out. There were the same brown sandals and the same brown hair. The children aren’t children.  The women aren’t women. It was like being on another planet.  They weren’t human to me. We weren’t human to them. It was Gimme chocolate. Gimme football mister. I didn’t see where we built up any goodwill over there. Just take take take.”

Then he broke out of his trance, and the conversation went on like it had before.

My take, other than seeing an example of the enormous strain on our servicemen and women, is how global communication disconnects are.

There is absolutely no political intent here, it’s a marketing blog.  I just wanted to relay a story.

But, the inability to see one another’s real goals consistently seems to lead to grave misunderstandings and devastating effects on life and business relationships.

Posted by: Steve Banis

You give readers a chance to get to know what you’re about and provide them a forum for discussing your ideas. Posting regularly (at least once or twice each week) offers search engine spiders the one thing they crave most: new content. So it helps with SEO.

The best blogs try to provide a service to readers. Good information, insights, and tips. That’s what keeps them coming back and builds your credibility.

Blogs also provide an essential service to its creators…it lets them think out loud.

We take in so much information that it’s hard to remember all of the little observations that can turn into big ideas each week. So writing is a chance to noodle through your thoughts, organize them, and pick out a few gems.

Panning for gold

This process goes on all over cyberspace. And readers are the big winners. You can mash up your favorite blogs using your reader. This allows you to decide which “gems” have value to you.

My fellow bloggers are some of the most brilliant and creative people on the Web. I use their ideas in my business and for my clients almost every day.

I’d like to share a few of the best resources I’ve found on the web for marketing ideas and information in hopes that you’ll find a little extra help in these difficult times.

• • • •

(the brief descriptions are by EvanCarmichael in his post last year)

• • • •

Duct Tape Marketing Blog – The award-winning John Jantsch offers his astoundingly practical advice, tips and tricks for small business marketing.

Seth Godin’s Blog – One of the most famous names in the industry, Seth Godin’s blog has long been a favorite for all things small business marketing. As the author of the most popular ebook ever, his blog never fails to give you advice you need.

Marketing Profs – What started as a simple blog by marketing professor Allen Weiss in 2000 has today turned into a fully-staffed venture that provides marketing know-how and offers valuable B2B articles and event information.

Brand Autopsy – How do you conduct a marketing physical for your brand? Check out John Moore’s blog to find out.

Marketing Sherpa – Using case studies, surveys, and other techniques, Marketing Sherpa researches what works – and what doesn’t – in all things marketing. (BMB note: Emarketers and online merchants will find studies by affiliate Marketing Experiments extremely useful)

• • • •

This list is by no means complete. In the future I’ll try to add to it so you can extend your own blog library.

…your comments on the burstmarketingblog are always appreciated.

Posted by: Steve Banis

Yup, quite a week. With what seems like incredible bargains in stocks everywhere, money managers are undoubtedly looking for values to gobble up when they sense the market’s bottom. Last entry, I spoke about how your customers are seeking value as well. And when it comes to your marketing, you should be too.

Now’s the time to go fishing and scrounging.

Go fishing cause the big fish are in hiding

With normally aggressive local advertisers such as car dealers and big retailers pulling back on spending, there’s a lot of excess or distressed inventory on the hands of local television and radio stations as well as on cable. Print has its share of bargains as well. This is a great time to make opportunity buys and contract for great advertising spots at tremendous values.

Scrounge around for extra visibility

When times are tough, the tough pound the pavement. Don’t be too proud to trumpet your message from such lofty places as parking lot windshields, lawn signs, and bathroom bulletin boards. Right now I’m looking to add some energetic young people to our promotional team. Rather than spending for recruiting ads, we’re handing out fliers in local stores that employ well-screened, if underpaid, technically savvy twenty somethings.

Look for opportunities to grab advertising at rates that won’t likely be around for too long and support your message with “shoe leather” type marketing on the streets.

Fishing and scrounging can mean pulling new potential customers into your orbit for long term nurturing. Follow your customer’s lead – be a value marketer.

Posted by: Steve Banis

Unlike those in his inner circle, I didn’t have the good fortune to know him. His was a persona that I always took inspiration from in the way he lived. He was recognized by his peers and the public for an outstanding body of cinematic and theatrical work – earning numerous Academy Award nominations and one Oscar.

His work with “The hole in the wall gang”, his “Newman’s Own” brand, and other noteworthy charities has impacted the lives of thousands of people – including countless children.

He followed his passion for racing into his 80s, enjoyed long standing friendships, and had been married to Joanne Woodward since 1958 – 50 years.

No lessons on marketing, from world events, or anything else this morning. Just a reflection on the life of an inspiring man. A man with heart in the public eye.

What a life – a long and notable career, a great impact on the lives of others less fortunate, a passion for life, and a fulfilling marriage to the woman he loved for 50 years. We should all be so lucky.

Posted by: Steve Banis