The Internet is being bombarded with all sorts of offers to participate in different kinds of MLM programs. And I’m often asked about those programs, if they are a good thing or not, a good investment of time and money, or if they’re just a scheme, some sort of a pyramid scheme. No, they’re no...

If you have not figured it out yet, things are tough out there.  Some say we may see a bottom during the second half of 2009.  Others say we are entering what is called a "secular bear market" that could last for 10 to 15 years.  I say that nobody owns a crystal ball that works right now, so stop...

My Amazon habit goes way back. I joined Amazon Prime as soon as they started the program. If some villain wanted to take away my Amazon he would have to pry my mouse from cold dead hands Maybe I’m being overly dramatic but you get the point. I no longer think about the selection, convenience, serv...

I’m a big fan of Andy Sernovitz’s blog, Damn! I Wish I’d Thought of That! Today, though, I’m not sure I agree with Andy. Marketers: Stop sending promotions that start with in these tough times, how to market in a recession, or any other bad economy-themed promotion. I Wish An...

In today’s less than ideal market conditions, paying large amounts of money on unproven marketing campaigns is extremely risky. As a result, companies should use proven yet affordable marketing methods. Since email marketing is both affordable and a proven way to develop relationships with custome...

Dear CMO: Think of how much more effective your marketing budget would be if you asked three more questions: Question #1: OK, now that we're done with our campaign planning and understand all the final execution-level details... what happens next? Question #2: OK, now what do we do? Question #3: Got...

It's been interesting watching the blogosphere come to terms with the recession/depression over the past week.  With typical dot com speed, I've watched people go from denial to anger to bargaining to depression to acceptance, all within the span of a week. Now that people are coming to grips with ...

It always baffles me that one of the first areas to be cut during “economic hard times� is the marketing department and marketing budget. Do the powers that be that run these companies think that they are just going to sell and market their products and services by osmosis? The truth of the matt...