Learn about marketing, branding, + design from our seasoned veterans.
Have you ever thought about our transportation infrastructure? It’s really something quite amazing. Millions upon millions of miles of paved roads connect us to each other.
Yet it seems like there’s a lot of waste in roads. They wander and curve all over the place. You’ll rarely find a completely straight road (especially outside of a city).
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Leadership
It’s no secret: managing employees can give you a a major headache.
But in my experience there’s one secret that can solve all of your problems. I’ve seen it around me and in my own life (both as an employer and employee).
Categories: Leadership
It’s easy (especially when you’re starting out) to work with any and all potential clients. You don’t think to screen your clients when you need the money to stay afloat.
But in my experience, it’s not always beneficial to “dog it out” and work with clients that might not pay on time, even if the alternative is no business. Of course, this principle is even more important if you’re selling a product that costs you money.
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Sales
Let’s be honest: we all make mistakes. There’s nothing wrong with it, either (as long as we learn from them).
Making mistakes is a part of being human. And most clients understand that. But once in a while, you’ll come across a customer that will take it personally.
Categories: Customer Service
Google announced that they changed their algorithm again (a little more than eight months after the major “Panda” update) in a blog post last Thursday (November 3rd, 2011).
The Panda update was designed to shift the focus of Google’s algorithms to pick up on higher quality content. It effectively eliminated the value of content farms, and left many small business webmasters scrambling to upgrade their content.
Categories: Search Engine Optimization
If your organization has clients, you’re eventually going to have to fire one. It’s inevitable.
As much as we’d like to believe it, none of us is perfect. We can’t get along with every single consumer, and there are consumers that are just never happy. But there’s a fine line separating those clients who are unsatisfiable and those who just need some extra attention. And we all have different tolerance levels for those people.
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Sales
You may have heard about the Red Sox’ latest nightmare in the clubhouse and leadership. Those troubles reared their ugly face in September when the team suffered a historic collapse after starting the season one of the favorites to become world champions.
There’s been a lot of talk (and even more speculation) on what caused it, and where the team is going to go from here.
Categories: Business, Entrepreneurship
If I fail more than you do, I win…Be sure the cost of failing is less than the cost of opportunity.
Categories: Entrepreneurship
Are you one of so many folks that strives to be an influencer in their local community? Do you devote hours of time to networking groups (and sometimes some hefty fees too), but see little monetary return?
At MCG, we’ve built our entire client base on referrals and networking. Our Connectioneering blend is actually just an application of networking through traditional marketing channels.
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a salesperson and a marketer? Don’t they have the same goal? Well yes.
By the way, just so you don’t get confused, every business has salespeople. They just sometimes happen to be in disguise. For example, a restaurant has salespeople in the form of servers. A grocery store has salespeople in the form of the cashiers (have you every been asked if you want one of the specials from the “bin” at the checkout?). If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re a salesperson yourself.
Have you ever gone to a restaurant, looked at the menu, and said, “Wow, this is just absolutely beautiful!”
I didn’t think so. But there’s also the other extreme where the menu doesn’t do anything for you at all. We recently delved into the dark and very confusing world of menu design engineering.
Categories: Graphic Design, Restaurants
Music is easily one of the toughest businesses to be in. Yet so many musicians dog it out year after year with the hopes of someday “making it big”. There’s a lot that we entrepreneurs can learn from musicians (and vice versa). So what does it take to be a successful musician/entrepreneur?
It sounds cheesy, but you’ve got to have a vision and you’ve got to believe in it a thousand percent. It’s this passion that will end up deciding whether you see your venture through until the end or if you will give up half way. Musicians and entrepreneurs both know what they’re walking into when they start down their respective paths. In order to get their art or business out to the world (a vast majority) have to sacrifice money, time, and more. Having that vision of success is a huge part of what keeps them going.
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Music
Entrepreneur.com defines a target market as “a specific group of consumers at which a company aims its products and services”. They’re the folks most likely to buy from you. At MCG, we’re proponents of the whole “relationship with your customer”, and “keep ‘em coming back” school of thought. So it would make sense if we inferred that it’s easier to maintain a relationship with a consumer that has a need for your product.
Why You Should Find Your Real Target Market
The question that comes with all business decisions (even if it’s not apparent) is “how’s it going to affect my bottom line”? Your marketing money will work harder for you.
Categories: Targeting