The Rosewood Blog

This sign hangs in the office of a local tire shop: “Prices subject to change according to customer’s attitude.” Anyone in sales or customer service can understand the frustration that inspired the statement! Sometimes we feel like charging certain customers extra because they are so difficult to serve.

You as a business person are always on the lookout for opportunities. The ability to spot and seize them is a hallmark of a successful entrepreneur. What if I told you that you might be overlooking an opportunity right on your doorstep? It’s a little like searching the world for a gold mine and coming home to find one six inches under your garden.

When it comes to assistance with your marketing, what kind of expertise should you hire? And after you engage with another company or outside professional, how can you ensure a successful ongoing relationship? To help with this challenge, we’ve put together a complete guide to working with anyone who offers marketing and advertising services.

February. The month of Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day...and failed New Year’s resolutions. But your marketing resolutions for 2019 don’t need to suffer the same fate. If you read our article “I Don’t Need a Marketing Plan” a few months ago, you learned that you do need a marketing plan. Maybe you have even created one! If so, congratulations! You are already a step ahead of many other businesses.

There is a lot of uncertainty in business. We don’t know if our new product will succeed. We don’t know if an investment in new equipment will pay off. We don’t know if that important deal will go through. We don’t know what government regulation or industry disruption will hit us next. We don’t even know if our business will exist in five years!

Do you remember sitting in your school desk, desperately trying to understand something your teacher was explaining? Perhaps your teacher turned to the chalkboard and drew a sketch or a diagram, or worked out the solution step by step, and it clicked. What a relief!

Rachel saw an ad for a natural health product. It piqued her interest, so she called the toll-free number and asked for a free catalog. She gave the customer service rep her name and address, and in so doing, Rachel became a lead. She can expect to receive more brochures and coupons from this company in the future.

How do you suppose the latest issue of your favorite business news magazine came into existence so you could be reading it right now? Do you think several people randomly decided, “Hey, I’m going to write an article and send it to the magazine today”? Do you think lots of business owners randomly decided, “Hey, I think I’ll put together an advertisement to send to the business magazine today”?

Think of the popular brand marks for John Deere, McDonald’s and Apple. Do you know what products each company produces? What impressions come to your mind? The Dictionary of Brand defines “brand” as a person’s perception of a product, service, experience, or organization. In other words, your business has a reputation, like a person does. Branding is the effort to define and build that reputation while also building people’s trust in it.