Sometimes innovation means going backwards. And sometimes it means moving an old concept to a new industry. Much has been made lately about the return of the layaway plan — a long-out-of-fashion retail program in which an item is kept at the store while the customer makes payments on it. Until recently, the layaway had […]
If you’re an attorney specializing in personal bankruptcy, you’ll be interested in this recent article from the New York Times. You probably already know that the economic downturn has greatly increased the number of people filing for bankruptcy — those people are calling you now. But here’s something that may be a little less apparent: […]
Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound, rarely crosses over into the realm of real-live advertising. But a recent blog post had a great tip for leveraging your paid ads: If you buy newspaper or magazine ads and you’re pleased with the results, let your advertising sales rep know and offer a testimonial on what results you […]
The Internet is a funny tool — one moment you’re watching some guy play “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on a ukulele, and the next you run into a really interesting piece on marketing and innovation in a downturn. Thanks to a series of links — Brett Duncan’s Marketing in Progress blog sending me to Paul […]
If your customers are willing to inconvenience themselves in order to do business with you, you’re doing something right. Earlier this year, I wrote a radio commercial for a Portland dental practice around the recorded endorsement of a patient’s mother. She was willing to give her real name (huge in terms of establishing credibility) and […]