Using an Enemy in Your Marketing

smartcardummerad

Using an enemy in your marketing can be an effective strategy. The 'small car' versus the 'big car' (read: dumb) concept has been going on for decades. the most successful ad of all time according to surveys was the Volkswagen Beetle in the 1960's, railing against what everyone else was doing - "big". That theme has been stolen over and over again in … [Read more...]

Five Tips for Your Successful Funding Pitch

Investor Presentation

Already this year we've run into some business owners who need funding but who haven't yet been willing to invest the time and money up front on their pitch. Pretty ironic, isn't it? Asking for an investor to lay their hard-earned money on the line to invest in a business when the business isn't willing to invest in themselves? You know the typical … [Read more...]

Executing Growth: Launch Effectively

Mercedes_Benz

It's hard to believe that 2012 is the 25th anniversary of my grandfather passing away at age 87. Other than my parents he was the one person most responsible for the person I am today. I admired him in so many ways, including his becoming an entrepreneur at age 50, being the oldest person in NY State to get a pilot's license after he sold his business … [Read more...]

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Social Media for Your Business

SocialMedia

Most businesses struggle with social media. Typical challenges include deciding which sites to use, staying on brand and being consistent. Part of the issue is that businesses often try to bite off too much. We hear from social media gurus about 'building a community', and that's a great goal, but how realistic is it for most businesses? We think it … [Read more...]

Selecting and Executing Marketing Priorities

boardroom

It's easy to make a list of all the marketing initiatives that you could be doing. It's a LONG list - from the web, to social media, publicity, advertising, referral programs, events, new market entry, new products and services, et al. That's not hard - but selecting which of them to do, designing precisely what to do with each initiative and then executing … [Read more...]

Growth Process to Grow in 2012

growth2

We've developed the "Target First" growth process at Growth Nation over the last decade and have used it successfully with over 100 businesses, with 100% success. Our goal is always to grow our clients more rapidly. We do that by first defining brand positioning, developing a growth strategy and plan, and then executing the plan to increase revenue … [Read more...]

You Can’t Handle the Truth, NOT

Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson delivers an amazing performance in A Few Good Men. The climax when he goes ballistic and screams "You can't handle the truth" is one of the truly great movie moments! We think a lot about truth as we work with customers because sometimes it's elusive. We all have filters that screen us from the pure reality of the market and other … [Read more...]

National Export Initiative 2012

Export Ship

In 2010 President Obama announced the National Export Initiative to double exports from the U.S. within 5 years. Exports mean dollars, and dollars mean jobs. It will be up to business owners to get the job done, and we are lucky to have many here in the Western U.S. who are blazing the trail to grow exports and encourage investment. Regional export … [Read more...]

Grow Responsibly and Sustainably

global-responsibility

Is it possible to grow your business and at the same time be sustainable? It might seem to be conflicting because the more you grow, the more resources you usem and therefore one could argue that you become less supportive of sustaining life on our planet. Honestly there was a time I believed that - a product of "Limits to Growth" and other important … [Read more...]