June 2004

Is war a good metaphor for business?

by Michael Cage · 11 comments

in Uncategorized

I think so. Unless you are in the tinyiest of markets, there are businesses, organizations, and people competing for the attention and beliefs of your customers. You will have allies and enemies and periods of active and behind-the-scenes aggression. You can set out to not fight, but if someone brings a fight to you… you’d ...

11 comments » Continue Reading

Luxury Cinema Business and Affluent Marketing

by Michael Cage · 0 comments

in Uncategorized

Dan Sherman posted about the luxury cinema business — essentially a theatre that caters to a higher-end customer, providing service and comfort beyond the norm. We’ve got one in the DC area, in Chevy Chase, Maryland. When they built the cinema, only one of the theatres was in the “high-end” mold. Plush leather seats, large ...

0 comments » Continue Reading

Full Service Gas Stations

June 22 On Entrepreneurship

Where, oh where, have they gone? Other than the People’s Republic of New Jersey and other states where full service is mandated by law, it’s hard as heck to find a gas station that offers full service. Why don’t they invent a gas pump that can switch between full and self service. Instead of blocking ...

36 comments Read the full article →

Recognition-Based Marketing

June 21

For years I have taught my computer consulting business clients to integrate what I call “recognition-based marketing” into their promotional mix. In a nutshell, you sort for news of people matching your target market who have been recognized in some way. When you find one, you begin a carefully designed direct mail sequence that ties ...

2 comments Read the full article →

Small Business Entrepreneurs Need A System To Hire Employees

June 21

After a handful of phone consultations last week, it has become abundantly clear that most small business entrepreneurs have no clue how to effectively and efficiently hire assistants and other employees. This is not something to be left to chance, nor is it something that should dominate your workweek. One client had spent the better ...

1 comment Read the full article →

Anyone In Charlottesville, Virginia or Asheville, North Carolina?

June 20

My wife and I are considering a second home. Must be in the mountains and on the East Coast. Although I realize we won’t be able to duplicate the shopping and culture in DC or NYC, we need to have easy access to upscale dining, a gourmet grocery store, and… for me… great coffee houses ...

13 comments Read the full article →

What’s the difference between Sales and Marketing?

June 14

I’ve been asked twice this week what the difference between sales and marketing is. Might as well answer it here… People get hung up on this an awful lot. It really isn’t rocket science. It doesn’t need fancy words or esoteric concepts. Marketing is everything you do to get and leverage a client relationship. Sales ...

72 comments Read the full article →

Loving Entrepreneurship

June 11

Do you want to know what entrepreneurs really do? They cold call. They clean bathrooms and mop floors. They make copies and fix computer problems. They answer phones. They fill out paperwork. They work weekends, and holidays. They have to, because their employees just want to work 40 hours and leave, and they can’t afford ...

11 comments Read the full article →

Leadership Quotes

June 11

Some of my favorite leadership quotes… “Leadership is doing what is right when no one is watching.” – George Van Valkenburg “I am more afraid of an army of one hundred sheep led by a lion than an army of one hundred lions led by a sheep.” – Charles Maurice, Prince de Talleyrand-P\0rigord “Nothing so ...

10 comments Read the full article →

Marketing Truth: Being Good At What You Do Isn’t Good Enough

June 10

I steadily encounter businesses who have the proverbial “better mousetrap” … grandma’s secret recipe … a stunning location … phenomenal employees … even clear product/service/technical superiority … who are outright struggling to stay afloat. It is usually traced back to an owner who is either a) doesn’t understand marketing, b) is afraid to market for ...

4 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries