The Library
Browse over 250 articles on nearly three dozen marketing-related topics.
Its likely you’ll find the information you’re looking for right here.
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Articles, Filed by Category
- Ad Critique
Real world examples of advertising, before and after they’ve been modified for greater effect.
- A Few Good Ads
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- Ozzy's "Crazy Train" Car Ad
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- Your Favorite TV Ad
People will claim this as their favorite ad. The RPA agency will win awards. And sales of Ozzy's catalog will spike before Christmas.But it won't sell cars.
- A Few Good Ads
- Ad Testing
- Are You Testing Advertising, or Simply Your Offer?
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- Conduct Only One Advertising Test at a Time.
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- Evidence Based Advertising
Direct response principles have been tested and perfected.Larry Mullins wonders, can they focus your image advertising?
- How Can We Test Advertising?
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- Testing Advertising Response in the Store
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- Are You Testing Advertising, or Simply Your Offer?
- Ad Writing / Copywriting
- A Priest, A Rabbi, And A Minister Walk Into A Bar
Before he starts this story the joke teller looks to the left, and then to the right to make sure he’s not about to be overheard
- Advertising Observations From My Hotel Room
Estimates are that Americans ignore nearly 3,500 advertising impressions a day. Shouldn’t we be working to make our ads less like everyone elses?
- Five Advertising Rules For Your Business From The Personals
Some of the best, and the worst, techniques in advertising.
- The Worth of a Dali
Perhaps you’d be kind enough to show me a picture that clearly and unequivocally says something as simple as “no.” Every two-year-old knows how to convey "no." He says it.
- A Priest, A Rabbi, And A Minister Walk Into A Bar
- Advertising / Marketing Strategy
- Bottled Water, Fresh Fruit, and the Price of Gasoline
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- Danger in the Discount
The biggest single reason small businesses fail? Its poor pricing. It takes down the competitors of those businesses, too.
- Military Positioning as Marketing Strategy
How is marketing dominance achieved? The easiest way is to actually be first. The second way to claim a winning position is to create a whole new mental battlefield and be first to occupy it.
- Will Advertising Sell What People Don't Want?
Its a common desire in retail to advertise the things which aren't selling. This is frequently bad strategy. Very bad.
- Bottled Water, Fresh Fruit, and the Price of Gasoline
- Advertising Schedules / Scheduling
- Will Advertising Sell What People Don't Want?
Its a common desire in retail to advertise the things which aren't selling. This is frequently bad strategy. Very bad.
- Will Advertising Sell What People Don't Want?
- Back End Sales
- How to Calculate Lifetime Customer Value, Part 2 of 2
Unless you know how much money your average customer will spend with you, this year, next year, and over her lifetime, how will you know what you can afford to acquire that customer?
- How to Make Money by Losing Money - Part 1 of 2
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- How to Calculate Lifetime Customer Value, Part 2 of 2
- Branding
- Branding By The Numbers
Branding, or re-branding your company's image requires you to carry the company name.
- Can Brand Image Change?
Once a brand has a strong position in consumers' minds, bad news won't kill it. But good news won't resurrect it, either.
- Branding By The Numbers
- Buying Stages
- How Does One Educate a Customer? Part 1 of 3
Bob has two problems. He offers a solution to skeptical people who don't recognize their problem. Second, if he chooses to educate potential customers they may well buy from some other company.
- How to Steal Your Competitor's Customers. Part 2 of 3
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- Is There Money in Accomodating Early-Stage Shoppers?
Don't show signs of buying, salespeople will move on to better prospects. They call this process "qualifying the lead."
- Zen and the Art of Persuasion. Part 3 of 3
The manufacturer invests roughly 57₵ to acquire a new customer of their consumable product. Its likely that she’ll spend roughly per year re-purchasing it.
- How Does One Educate a Customer? Part 1 of 3
- Classic Examples
Studying great ads from the past, as well as writings by the great minds in advertising, can only make us better at selling our offerings today.
- Advertising and Air Conditioner Sales
Are incentive programs a good investment? What happens when you've incentivised the wrong behavior?
- Advertising and Air Conditioner Sales
- Cognitive Dissonance
- Can You Use Cognitive Dissonance to Create More Successful Advertising
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- Pattern Recognition and the People Meter.
One third of Rush Limbaugh's radio listeners have disappeared since October. Could this affect your advertising
- Will A Doomsday Cult Buy A New Dishwasher?
Companies keep using “intent to purchase” surveys to determine the course of their business, even though they are among the least reliable method of predicting human behavior.
- Can You Use Cognitive Dissonance to Create More Successful Advertising
- Credibility
- Could I Offer You a Free 0 Bill?
Can people find your address, phone number, your name, your photograph? The more of these you offer the more trustworthy you appear.
- How to Instantly Make a Poor Customer Impression
If a restaurant's ceiling fans and air ducts are filthy, what can you conclude about the food?Or do these things matter at all?
- Could I Offer You a Free 0 Bill?
- Critical Non-Essentials
- How to Instantly Make a Poor Customer Impression
If a restaurant's ceiling fans and air ducts are filthy, what can you conclude about the food?Or do these things matter at all?
- How to Instantly Make a Poor Customer Impression
- Customer Education
- How Does One Educate a Customer? Part 1 of 3
Bob has two problems. He offers a solution to skeptical people who don't recognize their problem. Second, if he chooses to educate potential customers they may well buy from some other company.
- How Does One Educate a Customer? Part 1 of 3
- Customer Evangelism
- Violated Expectations. Marketing lessons from the Dallas Cowboys.
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- Violated Expectations. Marketing lessons from the Dallas Cowboys.
- Customer Expectations
- Cherish Your Existing Customers – Surviving the Recession – Part 2 of 7
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- Violated Expectations. Marketing lessons from the Dallas Cowboys.
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- Cherish Your Existing Customers – Surviving the Recession – Part 2 of 7
- Customer Focus
- A Few Good Ads
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- Accelerate Your Advertising and PR – Surviving the Recession – Part 3 of 7
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- Are You Testing Advertising, or Simply Your Offer?
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- Basics of Retail Marketing from a Nine-Year-Old
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- Bottled Water, Fresh Fruit, and the Price of Gasoline
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- Focus on Revenue and Customer Service - Surviving The Recession - Part 1 of 7
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- Free Coffee and the Incremental Discount Coupon Tactic
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- How to Focus on Customer Value and Survive the Coming Shake Out
There's a business shake out coming. Most businesses will survive. A few will thrive. They will deliver exceptional customer value.
- Marketing P.A.I.N. - Part 1, Relationships
In real life we avoid people who talk incessantly about themselves. Do you suppose shoppers avoid advertisers who do the same?
- There Is No Word-of-Mouth "Marketing."
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- What Value Do You Offer?
In this economy shoppers carefully consider every purchase. But they're not looking for cheap, they're looking for value.
- A Few Good Ads
- Customer Motivation
- Are You Testing Advertising, or Simply Your Offer?
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- Basics of Retail Marketing from a Nine-Year-Old
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- Bottled Water, Fresh Fruit, and the Price of Gasoline
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- Can You Use Cognitive Dissonance to Create More Successful Advertising
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- Expectations Drive Word-of-Mouth
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- How to Focus on Customer Value and Survive the Coming Shake Out
There's a business shake out coming. Most businesses will survive. A few will thrive. They will deliver exceptional customer value.
- Marketing P.A.I.N. - Part 1, Relationships
In real life we avoid people who talk incessantly about themselves. Do you suppose shoppers avoid advertisers who do the same?
- Marketing P.A.I.N. - Part 2, What Do People Want?
What do people want? Most want to stop hurting. They buy what we sell to alleviate their emotional, or physical discomfort.
- Pattern Recognition and the People Meter.
One third of Rush Limbaugh's radio listeners have disappeared since October. Could this affect your advertising
- Will A Doomsday Cult Buy A New Dishwasher?
Companies keep using “intent to purchase” surveys to determine the course of their business, even though they are among the least reliable method of predicting human behavior.
- Will Advertising Sell What People Don't Want?
Its a common desire in retail to advertise the things which aren't selling. This is frequently bad strategy. Very bad.
- Are You Testing Advertising, or Simply Your Offer?
- Customer Retention
- Cherish Your Existing Customers – Surviving the Recession – Part 2 of 7
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- Cut Overhead - Surviving The Recession - Part 7 of 7
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- Focus on Revenue and Customer Service - Surviving The Recession - Part 1 of 7
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- What's the Boss's Most Important Job?
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- Cherish Your Existing Customers – Surviving the Recession – Part 2 of 7
- Database Marketing
- Data Mining for Better Ad Copy
We know your customers aren't all exactly alike. Both the differences and the similarities make for effective advertising. And the information we need is in your customer data.
- Free Coffee and the Incremental Discount Coupon Tactic
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- Purchase a Database for Database Marketing
Database marketing makes specific offers to individual prospects. If you don't have a database of prospects, buy one.
- Data Mining for Better Ad Copy
- Dunning-Kruger Effect
- A Marketing Lesson from American Idol
People who know the least often consider themselves knowledgeable. This "Dunning-Kruger Effect" is part of the reason for so many bad advertisements.
- A Marketing Lesson from American Idol
- For Sale
- Image Advertising
- Your Favorite TV Ad
People will claim this as their favorite ad. The RPA agency will win awards. And sales of Ozzy's catalog will spike before Christmas.But it won't sell cars.
- Your Favorite TV Ad
- Lifetime Customer Value (LCV)
- Cherish Your Existing Customers – Surviving the Recession – Part 2 of 7
No description found for this item.
- How to Calculate Lifetime Customer Value, Part 2 of 2
Unless you know how much money your average customer will spend with you, this year, next year, and over her lifetime, how will you know what you can afford to acquire that customer?
- How to Make Money by Losing Money - Part 1 of 2
No description found for this item.
- Cherish Your Existing Customers – Surviving the Recession – Part 2 of 7
- Market Segmentation
- Free Coffee and the Incremental Discount Coupon Tactic
No description found for this item.
- Is There Money in Accomodating Early-Stage Shoppers?
Don't show signs of buying, salespeople will move on to better prospects. They call this process "qualifying the lead."
- Marketing P.A.I.N. - Part 1, Relationships
In real life we avoid people who talk incessantly about themselves. Do you suppose shoppers avoid advertisers who do the same?
- Marketing P.A.I.N. - Part 2, What Do People Want?
What do people want? Most want to stop hurting. They buy what we sell to alleviate their emotional, or physical discomfort.
- Military Positioning as Marketing Strategy
How is marketing dominance achieved? The easiest way is to actually be first. The second way to claim a winning position is to create a whole new mental battlefield and be first to occupy it.
- Free Coffee and the Incremental Discount Coupon Tactic
- Marketing Budget
- Accelerate Your Advertising and PR – Surviving the Recession – Part 3 of 7
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- Hope is Not a Strategy for Greater Return on Advertising Investment.
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- Accelerate Your Advertising and PR – Surviving the Recession – Part 3 of 7
- Minimizing Risk
- Should an Upwardly Mobile Zebra Shed Its Stripes?
Successful marketing, getting your company noticed, requires behavior that's not only risky, it runs counter to instinct.
- The Long And Short Of Persuasion
Fans of short copy are almost never successful copywriters.
- Zen and the Art of Persuasion. Part 3 of 3
The manufacturer invests roughly 57₵ to acquire a new customer of their consumable product. Its likely that she’ll spend roughly per year re-purchasing it.
- Should an Upwardly Mobile Zebra Shed Its Stripes?
- Persuasion
- A Few Good Ads
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- Do You Have To Drop Price To Increase Sales?
Spending too little to do the job is the most expensive advertising that any of us will ever do.
- The Long And Short Of Persuasion
Fans of short copy are almost never successful copywriters.
- Zen and the Art of Persuasion. Part 3 of 3
The manufacturer invests roughly 57₵ to acquire a new customer of their consumable product. Its likely that she’ll spend roughly per year re-purchasing it.
- A Few Good Ads
- Power of Words
- Do You Have To Drop Price To Increase Sales?
Spending too little to do the job is the most expensive advertising that any of us will ever do.
- More Words About Pictures
No description found for this item.
- The Long And Short Of Persuasion
Fans of short copy are almost never successful copywriters.
- The Worth of a Dali
Perhaps you’d be kind enough to show me a picture that clearly and unequivocally says something as simple as “no.” Every two-year-old knows how to convey "no." He says it.
- What? I don't understand.
If you have no idea what business people are saying, maybe you're not the one who should feel stupid.
- Do You Have To Drop Price To Increase Sales?
- Pricing Strategy
- Bottled Water, Fresh Fruit, and the Price of Gasoline
No description found for this item.
- Danger in the Discount
The biggest single reason small businesses fail? Its poor pricing. It takes down the competitors of those businesses, too.
- Lower Your Profit Margins - Surviving The Recession - Part 5 of 7
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- Bottled Water, Fresh Fruit, and the Price of Gasoline
- Public Relations (PR)
- Accelerate Your Advertising and PR – Surviving the Recession – Part 3 of 7
No description found for this item.
- Accelerate Your Advertising and PR – Surviving the Recession – Part 3 of 7
- Publicity
- 19 Publicity Ideas
Lee Odden doesn't think speakers should rely on promoters to publicize their next speaking events.
- 19 Publicity Ideas
- Research Corner
Marketing research explained.
- Should I give stuff away?
Question: Am I just training customers to wait for something on sale, or even free?
- Should I give stuff away?
- Reticular Activation
- Reticular Activation - How the Human Anatomy Prevents Ads from Reaching "Everyone."
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- Reticular Activation - How the Human Anatomy Prevents Ads from Reaching "Everyone."
- Return on Advertising Investment (ROAI)
- Guaranteed Advertising ROI in a Tough Economy
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- Hope is Not a Strategy for Greater Return on Advertising Investment.
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- Is a Radio Remote Broadcast a Good Investment?
There's no sin in passing up an inexpensive opportunity which won't benefit your company.
- More SEO and PPC. We must save the General!
Doing more of what isn't working is the definition of Nutz, isn't it?
- Presumed Prospects, Identified Prospects, and Core Customers
The more you know about specific prospective customers, the more it costs to present them with an offer. But, they also become more likely to buy.
- Guaranteed Advertising ROI in a Tough Economy
- Sales Conversion
- The Flaw In The Advertising Plan
They're never just looking. They're looking for something specific. They leave when they don't find it.
- The Flaw In The Advertising Plan
- SEO
Search Engine Optimization – configuring the content of a web page to appear more relevant to search engine algorithms.
- More SEO and PPC. We must save the General!
Doing more of what isn't working is the definition of Nutz, isn't it?
- Your Visual Guide to Search Optimization
This is a well-done, compact reminder. Hank Rosen has authored the Hotsocialbuzz SEO guide in pictorial form.
- More SEO and PPC. We must save the General!
- Social Media
- Six Ideas for Social Media
Don't think about marketing in terms of where to place your message. Think about the message, then decide where it should go.
- Six Ideas for Social Media
- Strategy
- Adjust Your Staffing - Surviving The Recession - Part 4 of 7
No description found for this item.
- Advertising and Air Conditioner Sales
Are incentive programs a good investment? What happens when you've incentivised the wrong behavior?
- Bad News For Business Owners
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- Focus on Revenue and Customer Service - Surviving The Recession - Part 1 of 7
No description found for this item.
- Grocery Shopping, Rising Tides, and Maintaining Market Share
No description found for this item.
- Military Positioning as Marketing Strategy
How is marketing dominance achieved? The easiest way is to actually be first. The second way to claim a winning position is to create a whole new mental battlefield and be first to occupy it.
- Speed up cash flow - Surviving The Recession - Part 6 of 7
No description found for this item.
- Adjust Your Staffing - Surviving The Recession - Part 4 of 7
- Two-Step Advertising
- Zen and the Art of Persuasion. Part 3 of 3
The manufacturer invests roughly 57₵ to acquire a new customer of their consumable product. Its likely that she’ll spend roughly per year re-purchasing it.
- Zen and the Art of Persuasion. Part 3 of 3
- Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
- How to Steal Your Competitor's Customers. Part 2 of 3
No description found for this item.
- Should an Upwardly Mobile Zebra Shed Its Stripes?
Successful marketing, getting your company noticed, requires behavior that's not only risky, it runs counter to instinct.
- How to Steal Your Competitor's Customers. Part 2 of 3
- Word-of-Mouth (WOM)
- Budgeting For Word Of Mouth
Surprise people, they'll talk about you. Promise, instead of surprising, and you only raise expectations.
- Expectations Drive Word-of-Mouth
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- Gamblers, E-Mail, Religious Miracles, Word-of-Mouth, and Customer Delight
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- There Is No Word-of-Mouth "Marketing."
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- Your Professional Reputation - Three Distinct Levels of Word-of-Mouth
There are three kinds of word-of-mouth. Only two can be affected by your advertising.
- Budgeting For Word Of Mouth