Tag: Business
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AI Is Getting Boring, and That’s Good for Business
Guest Post: Marlabs AI is already getting boring, and organizations are better off for it. The novelty of AI and the initial hype have worn off. Early on, organizations chased flashy, high-profile AI projects, but there was a huge problem: widespread failure. MIT’s August 2025 study found that only 5%…
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Do You Really Know What Your Customers Want? And, Are They Gettable?
Do you know what your customers actually want from you? Not just what they buy, but what they aspire to, what motivates their decisions, and whether your brand truly has a chance to influence them. It sounds like a simple question, yet many organizations invest heavily in marketing without fully…
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How Budget Season Can Be One of the Strongest Growth Levers for Businesses
Guest Post by Linda Farha As businesses enter the early stages of 2026 planning, many leaders find themselves engaged in the same annual ritual: reviewing past spending, finalizing departmental budgets, and shaping priorities for the year ahead. While this process may feel procedural, economic indicators suggest it is far more…
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What Jobs Will AI Impact the Most?
A new study from Microsoft gives us some insight into what researchers think about jobs most impacted by AI. The study “Working with AI: Measuring the Occupational Implications of Generative AI” investigates how generative AI interacts with tasks across hundreds of occupations. Rather than predicting job replacement, the authors focus…
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59% of the Global Workforce Requires Upskilling to Remain Employable
As the global labor market transitions into 2025, things are changing. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 showcases some of the challenges and opportunities ahead. Listen to the Podcast or keep reading… The Accelerating Role of Technology in Job Transformation Technological advancement is at the heart of…
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Google AI Cracking Down on Fake Business Reviews
To tackle the rise of false internet reviews that hurt local companies and mislead customers, Google has turned to artificial intelligence (AI). More than 170 million bogus reviews were removed by the corporation in 2023—a 45% rise from the year before. Local business owners who have suffered from false reviews…
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What is the World’s Largest Advertiser Doing Right Now?
Procter & Gamble is generally considered the world’s largest advertiser. They are certainly TV’s largest advertiser and it’s where they spend the bulk of their money. P&G spent more than $100 million in TV, digital, and print last year. You would think if anyone could afford to take a little time…
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For Online Reviews, Recency Matters
Online reviews matter. 92% of consumers say they look at reviews. 68% say positive reviews increase their trust. In addition to looking for positive reviews, we now know that consumers also value recent reviews in far greater numbers. 85% of those surveyed say that reviews dated more than three months…
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Using Facebook Messenger to Build Your Brand
When most businesses think of using social media to promote their brand, their initial thoughts likely revolve around advertisements and proper management of their company profile. Messaging apps, however, are growing at an incredible rate, and many brands don’t take advantage of the considerable potential that services like Facebook Messenger…
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Social Media Leads to Employee Turnover? It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way
Nearly everybody has experienced both the positives and negatives of social media: the connection with family and friends and the spreading of fake news. In the workplace, social media can be a force for good by helping employees share ideas and foster a positive culture. It can be a tool…
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Direct correlation between TV ads and auto website traffic: Ignore it at your own peril
If you want to increase the traffic to your auto dealer website, increase your TV ad spending. Cut back on TV advertising at your own peril. An in-depth investigation from the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) reveals that 76% of auto brands saw a direct correlation – good or bad –…
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SEJ: Is Google My Business Stealing Your Leads?
Earlier this year, Google added a new option in their Google My Business platform. It let businesses add a link to click for appointments or services. Sounds good so far, but Shelly Fagin is reporting in Search Engine Journal (SEJ) that it may not be what it seems. In fact,…
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Managing Your Growth Plan
One of the key jobs of CEO’s and CFO’s is to be looking out long-term. While your employees are looking at daily performance and your managers are focused on quarterly or yearly goals, the business is depending on you to be the forward-thinker. Whether it’s building for the long-term or…
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Skills to Succeed for C-Level Executives
More than 7,150 executives across 100 nations in the U.S., North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa were queries on the most important traits to stay relevant and at the top of their game. The report from Harvard Business School’s Professor Boris Groysberg reveals the most important “soft skills” for C-level…
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The Assumptive No: Why Salespeople Don’t Ask for the Order
Here is the opening section of the new book I’m writing. It’s still a little rough… any feedback is appreciated. The Assumptive No I’ve always been surprised by how many sales people do everything right, but then are seemingly afraid to ask for the sale. Maybe it’s because I grew…
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8 Ways to Build a Personal Brand
For years, marketers have worked with companies to build their brand. Cementing a brand message into a consumer’s mind makes sure you’ll get a shot at their business when they need your service. Imagine your air conditioner stops working and it’s 95 degrees outside. You’ll head to your computer and…
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B2B Sales Techniques: Improve your Closing Ratio
If you’ve done your job right in leading your customer through the sale process, you’ve already done a needs analysis, customized a proposal, had some trial closes, and you’re ready to get down to business. The art of the sale is to find the customer’s pain points and then demonstrate how…
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Making More Effective Sales Calls by Phone
Effective sales calls can be the difference between success and failure. Here are 9 things to keep in mind when you sit down to do sales calls. Never make a cold call. It’s so easy these days to go online and search someone’s business to learn enough about their business…
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4 Keys to Effective Coaching and Leadership
A coach is only effective if the person they are trying to help is open to the concept. It’s important that you match the right coach to the right leader and set clear expectations and boundaries. The key to the relationship is mutual trust and respect. If the leader sees…
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Online Reviews Really Matter in Business
If you think online reviews aren’t affecting your business, here are a handful of statistics that might change your mind. SOURCE: Forbes The Value of Positive Reviews 90% of consumers say they read online reviews before ever visiting a business 85% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much…
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B2B Content Marketing: Why it Works
Nobody likes ads. They intrude into your reading, watching, or listening. That’s helped fuel the use of ad blockers on-line. People want to research before they buy a product, but they don’t want to get their information from advertisers trying to sell them something. Traditional marketing has become less effective. …
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Three Steps to Dealing with Negative Online Reviews
Nobody likes to get a bad review. If you’re in business, though, a bad review online does more than just hurt your feelings. It can hurt your business. Half of U.S. consumer routinely check online reviews before making a purchase decision, according to a Pew Research study. You’ve gotten that…
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From Barter to Bitcoin
Before money, there was barter. Who knows how far back that goes, but maybe all the way to the caveman days. I’ll share my musk ox meat with you if you are willing to make the animal fur into clothing to keep us warm. It was a cumbersome system because…
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What Happens to Businesses That Don’t Back up Their Data
It’s a startling statistic: 93% of companies that lose their data storage for more than 10 days during a disaster are forced to file for bankruptcy within one year, according to the National Archives & Records Administration. Couple that with the fact that more than 90% of business computers aren’t…
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20 Tried and True Tips for Personalizing B2B Sales Calls
The days of cold calling, auto dialing, and sending mass emails are over. Not only is it no longer effective, it’s downright annoying to the business owners and leaves them with a negative impression of you. Before you can get in the door with someone, you’ve got to get their…
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My first book has been re-released as a free download on Amazon
My first book – “Weapons of Mass Distinction” – has been re-released and is available as a free download on Amazon. Get it here.
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Just how prevalent is social media for small businesses?
Just how prevalent is social media for small businesses? It’s fair to say it’s nearly universal. Nearly 87% of small business owners say they use Facebook for marketing, according to a new survey from G2 Crowd via eMarketer. So, how’s it going for them? There are mixed results here. 38%…
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Dominating Digital Ad Revenue: Google, Facebook, Amazon, and … ?
Amazon has gotten a lot of attention lately for its move into the advertising sales space, but another online retailer is making moves as well. Wal-Mart is now in the advertising business. Both companies have a dizzying array of consumer information in their databases to target consumers. Wal-Mart is positioned…
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Amazon moves causes Best Buy to lose $1 billion in market cap overnight
Recode reports that Amazon has been hiring folks to provide in-home installations for electronics and smart home devices. The operation is up and running in 7 markets so far. Smart home gadgets are selling, but Amazon reports higher than normal return rates, in part because they can be tough to…
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If you want customers, you’ve got to invite them to buy
Before you can make a sale, you’ve got to get people in your store. Before you do that, they’ve got to know about you, what you offer, and what makes your business different. Imagine this: You’re a salesperson and you walk into a business for the first time to make…
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A bad idea: Congress looks at taxing advertising
The Trump administration has put tax reform on the table for debate. There are very few people that would argue what we have right now is working fine. One of the things under discussion, however, is eliminating the business deduction for advertising. Businesses are able to deduct the cost of…
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Auto sales off to a slow start in 2017, but projections show another record year for auto industry
Following a strong close to 2016, January’s retail new-vehicle seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate (SAAR) is expected to slow to 13.9 million units in 2017, down 200,000 units from last year, according to a forecast developed jointly by J.D. Power and LMC Automotive. U.S new-vehicle retail sales in January are…
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Lessons learned: An industry in transformation
Think about this case study. You’re company is 100 years old and highly successful. In fact, your company is the gold standard by which others are judged. You have achieved the ultimate praise: you’ve become a household name! Here’s the problem. 80% of your core business makes up 100% of…
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