As we slowly creep in on the last quarter of the year, are you reminded of the marketing tasks you have been putting off?  Whether you are a new or established business, marketing is an essential part of your success. The average consumer spends almost two hours a day surfing social media for new content. Getting the right message to your connections at the right time can be tricky, especially if you don't have the time, don't understand, or maybe don't even like marketing...   

We all know that dreaming, planning, and discussing only gets us so far. A successful personal and professional life-plan does begin with a thought. The thought is possibly to, at long last, start paying attention to your financial numbers more carefully, hire and collaborate with more people, or strategize for a more targeted marketing and communications campaign. It begins here, but it can stop here too. In fact, these four things could be a detriment if they keep you from the one catalyst to massive action. 

What is that one thing and how do other things serve as barriers?.... 

I want to share a story with you...

The summer I turned 14-years old, my dad decided he was going to designate the task of cleaning windows to me. I was to go around the entire house and clean every window from the inside of the house. He would clean them from the outside. 

So, I began. Mind you, by age 14 I had pretty much everything figured out, especially when it came to cleaning our house because I already had a solid 5-years of experience at it. I imagined sparkling windows and my dad giving me huge praise for doing such a stupendous job. Instead, I got streaks, white spots, and lots of fuzz from my rag. The windows were getting clean, but lacking the desired results. 

As I cleaned, window after window, my dad kept telling me to use newspaper instead of a rag. I rolled my eyes every time. "How in the heck would newspaper do the job better than a rag? He must be making it up. There goes dad again, trying to tell me how to do everything HIS way." I certainly did not need anyone telling me how to clean, of all things... 

3 Things You Must Do When Managing a Crisis

When we plan, whether it's for personal, small business, or non-profit development planning, the assumption is a  successful outcome. We work hard to make sure the plan will lead us to profitability. But, many things cause delays or derail us from our end game. Most plans do not have a crisis component built into it, which is a mistake. ANYTHING could go wrong. I've seen some of the best-laid plans fail miserably because something went wrong.

When a crisis occurs, you might be able to manage it internally without news leaking to the public. However, more often than not, the public finds out. So, plan for the fail, for a crisis, and for news going public. 

Here are 3 things you must do when managing this kind of crisis...

Not long ago, I was struggling to keep my head above water, trying to manage WAY too much. Unfortunately, this predicament isn't something that happens to me only. I know MANY businesses, organizations, and individuals that are currently under incredible stress, and exhausted due to juggling too many hats. 

Sometimes it seems there just isn't a way out of the chaos. Hiring someone is not feasible. There's no time to recruit an intern. And volunteers, though great, just don't have the right skills.

So what CAN you do when you are on the verge of "drowning?" Create systems! With the right systems in place, you can eliminate quite a bit of reinventing the wheel. Also, systems provide a framework for hiring someone or recruiting an intern or volunteer. There is a clear expectation of what needs to be accomplished, and less time spent orienting because documented systems can serve as training material. 

Here are the top 3 systems I recommend you put into place as soon as possible...

I consistently get asked what is the 1 most important marketing activity to do. People ask "what is that 1 thing I need to do in order to get customers?"

​My answer usually is that there isn't. There is no 1 thing you can do to gain customers or more sales. People are complex human beings. We like to receive and absorb information differently depending on the time of day, season and how we are feeling on any given day. 

​Yesterday, I read a report by MarketingProfs, a leading marketing research, and management company. One of many organizations dedicated to studying and reporting on marketing and communications findings.  

The report they published showed what major marketing departments across the U.S. are utilizing and spending their money on to get their message across to their target markets...