Posts by Steve Stroum
Promote What You Deliver, Not What You Do
For over 36 years I’ve been telling owners of machine shops and similar service businesses to think in terms of “what your customer receives from you on his loading dock.” In other words, don’t promote your service, promote what you deliver.
Read MoreESCO Tool’s New Website Featured in Modern Application News
Recently, the Editor-In-Chief of “Military & Aerospace Electronics” spent an entire page describing the importance of websites for getting his readers “the information they need most, when they most need it — quickly and easily, so you can get back to work.”
Read MoreAbout the Wisdom of Polls
I know from a great deal of experience working with small businesses that polling can be unreliable. Business owners have told me that they want more advertising, when what they really want are more sales leads, website traffic, or to increase their brand awareness.
Read MoreB2B Magazine Affirms Importance of “Content Marketing”
“Content is King” is the word of the day. This declaration validates Venmark because
Read MoreSEO Requires High Quality Content
We created high quality content for our clients long before the internet became popular. In fact, I started Venmark because the first step in any effective marketing plan always involved getting publicity. Why was publicity so effective?
Read MoreB2B Marketing and Branding
The more books and articles I read about B2B Marketing in the internet age, the clearer it becomes that product publicity is key when it comes to branding. In the book, “Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media and Content Marketing, Lee Odden writes about B2B content marketing optimization.
Read MoreBrilliant Campaign Wins White House
Kudos to David Axelrod and team. Once again, this illustrates the importance of “marketing” and selling the sizzle, not the steak. Clearly, President Obama didn’t have the steak. Here’s the record:
Read MoreContent Marketing with a Kick
According to Wikipedia, “content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation and sharing of content in order to attract, acquire and engage clearly defined and understood current and potential consumer bases with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”
Read MoreProduct Publicity Redefined
It used to be that you had to know how to create a great concept, develop great copy, create an accompanying photograph that was superior, and select the best media outlets in order to get product publicity. Today, however, all you have to do is
Read More7 Reasons Why Engineers Bungle News Releases
1. Writing in “engineering speak” and at too high a technical level when the personnel at publications and websites who actually critique and select news for publication do not always have technical degrees.
Read MoreSmall Business is America’s Canary in the Coal Mine
Back in 1978, there was a report published by the ninety-fifth congress of the United States of America entitled, THE FUTURE OF SMALL BUSINESS IN AMERICA. (Report No. 95-1810). In Chapter 3 was the following quote: “This country’s small business people are believers in the rights and responsibilities of citizens, and strong participants in the…
Read MorePublicity Is Our Only Business
What really distinguishes Venmark International is that we developed a business model and process that enables us to provide professional product publicity services on a fee-basis per project, rather than an open-ended hourly retainer.
Read MoreObama’s Brilliance
President Obama understands that [at the core] people want to be told what to do and to be taken care of. He masterfully appeals to that “visceral wish.” Folks won’t acknowledge that fact because it is an emotional response, not a rational one. They don’t even realize it.
Read MoreSelling Competence v.s. Likability
When my father needed quintuple bypass heart surgery we hired the best, most competent cardiac surgeon around. He happened to be Henry Kissinger’s surgeon too. Frankly, I don’t recall his name, it was almost 30 years ago. But, I do remember that he fixed my father and was also abrasive, abrupt, impolite, and just plain rude!
Read MoreLocation, Location, Location
You’ve all heard that old expression that the three most important factors in real estate are: location, location, location. Do you know the answer to this question: What are the three most important factors affecting industrial and technical B2B marketing?
Read MoreObama Campaign’s False Advertising
President Obama claims that he’s for “insourcing” and Mitt Romney outsourced jobs. Let’s do a fact check. Let’s look more closely at General Motors, one of President Obama’s alleged successes, our government’s $80 billion bailout of GM (and Chrysler),
Read MoreFollowing Focus Groups is not Leadership
Steve Jobs had an instinct for what would help people. Focus groups didn’t help him decide to invent the Mac, iPod, iPhone or iPad, he innovated. Bill Gates operated the same way.
Read MoreProduct News Creates Sales Opportunities
It doesn’t matter how effective a sales person you are, the events that stimulate a prospective customers’ buying behavior are outside of your control. He or she may be expanding their operations and need new equipment,
Read MoreRomney’s Strength, He isn’t a Brand…
No offense to the Nike swoosh, but is it smart to sell a president the way they sell shoes and clothing? I recently conducted a Google image search for “Obama branding, Romney branding and Ronald Reagan branding.”
Read MoreMake Commonsense the new Ideology
I had lunch with an old friend recently. We’re both baby boomers and our conversation turned to politics. He said to me, “I’m going to hold my nose and vote for Obama.” To which I asked, why? And he said, “Because of women’s rights.”
Read MoreSmall Business is the Essence of America
“The essence of the American economic system of private enterprise is free competition. Only through full and free competition can free markets, free entry into business, and opportunities for the expression and growth of personal initiation and individual judgment be assured.”
Read MoreCelebrate Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs ought to be celebrated the way we celebrate quarterbacks who throw touchdown passes, three-point shooters, homerun hitters, and the other athletes and celebrities who allow us to live vicariously through their successes.
Read MoreObama Insults Entrepreneurs
To all of us who have the ambition, energy, guts, and work ethic, who took the risk to start or purchase our own businesses, do you agree that it was totally irresponsible for President Obama to insult and minimize our efforts and the personal responsibility we employ to make things happen? I was astonished and,…
Read MoreObama Commercial – Insourcing v.s. Outsourcing
I just saw that political commercial again from President Obama about how he’s for “insourcing jobs and Romney is for outsourcing.” And on Sunday morning television I saw an Obama surrogate, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), talking about General Motors’ job creation in America.
Read MoreBiggest Small Business Hiring Mistake
So you started your own business and it is taking off. You’re “living your dream” and the excitement is unbelievable! You’re busy as hell, need someone to assist you badly and it doesn’t help that you’re totally exhausted,
Read MoreSmall Business Holds the Key to America’s Future
Back in 1978, there was a report published by the ninety-fifth congress of the United States of America entitled, THE FUTURE OF SMALL BUSINESS IN AMERICA. In Chapter 3 was the following quote: “This country’s small business people are believers in the rights and responsibilities of citizens, and strong participants in the spirit of independence
Read MoreTechnical Progress Creates Prosperity
Technical progress is the real hope for the future of the country; political reform cannot do anything for us.
Read MoreFailure was not an Option
When I was starting Venmark from a spare bedroom at my parents’ home, I remember an old friend who asked me what I was going to do if my business failed.
Read MoreSBIR Commercialization Opportunities
Moving from Phase I to Phase II of an SBIR is a challenging prospect. Typically, less than half of all Phase I contracts successfully make this leap. Commercialization plans are becoming a larger part of the Phase II award criteria,
Read MoreProven Marketing Techniques for the Age of Social Media
Sales and Marketing Management magazine’s cover story for the May/June 2012 issue was, “B2B Marketing in the age of social media.” I am very proud to have been a part of this issue.
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