According to the United States House Small Business Committee, International trade is a critical component for the long-term growth and viability of small businesses and the U.S. economy overall. In 2012, total U.S. exports reached $2.2 trillion, which is nearly 14 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. Those exports helped support nearly 10 million […]
Niche Marketing is About Problem-Solving
We’re all conditioned today to believe that “content is king on the web” and there is a lot of truth to that expression. There is also truth to the fact that there is a lot of content on the web that sucks! Good content is critical and people want to read about how to solve […]
Listen to Your Customers and Solve Their Problems
When I received the October issue of “Fabricating & Metalworking” which featured FABTECH 2015 I was thrilled to see our client, Esco Tool featured in the section entitled “Tube & Pipe Fabrication.” There are many reasons for Esco Tool’s success. Chief among them was the philosophy of Al Brennan who purchased the company in 1975. […]
Stafford 3-D Shaft Collar System Featured in Power Magazine
A product release about Stafford Manufacturing introducing SPARC (Stafford Prototype and Repair Collar), a rapid prototype and repair collar system incorporating 3-D printing, prompted the editor of “Power Magazine” to request more information. This product release was part of a consistent publicity program we’ve been producing for Stafford since 1977 when they were a small […]
Is Fake Web Traffic Costing You a Fortune?
The cover story on Bloomberg Businessweek was entitled, “Fake web traffic will cost companies more than $6 billion this year. An exclusive investigation into the bots that ate your ad budget.” Then you flip to the article itself and see another headline, “Marketers thought the web would allow perfectly targeted ads. Hasn’t worked out that […]
International Marketing and New Business Development
Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE said, “I run an American company. But in order for GE to be successful in the coming years, I’ve gotta sell my products in every corner of the world.” That doesn’t just apply to huge conglomerates, it applies to small, privately held companies too. Small companies are frequently intimidated by […]
Leverage Your Marketing Budget
I’ve been in business long enough to remember the introduction of the fax machine, the word processor, personal computer, mobile phone, Al Gore’s internet, the tablet, smart phone, and all of the related software and apps. There has been no time period which has impacted B2B marketing more than the last 10 years. One phenomenon […]
First Rule for B2B Marketers
It has long been said, “In the real estate business the three most important factors when selling a property are location, location, and location.” In marketing, the three most important factors are: repetition, repetition, and repetition. Therefore, the first rule B2B marketers should never forget is that repetition creates sales opportunities. Why? Because repetition puts […]
Bonefishing and Product Publicity
I’ve enjoyed bonefishing for many years in the Florida Keys, Turks and Caicos, and Belize. For a fisherman it is the ultimate. Bonefish, also known as the grey ghost, are challenging to catch and are ferocious fighters. You actually hunt and stalk them while they cruise the flats feeding. Seeing them is a challenge, as […]
What is Product Publicity Worth?
There has probably been more written about determining the value of publicity than any other element of the marketing mix. In a paper considering various publicity metrics, James L. Horton, wrote, “There are several ways to measure publicity value, but they largely ignore the process of persuasion and credibility of a journalist’s independent assessment. Publicity […]
Leverage Your Trade Show Investment
A client was returning from a trade show and while on the airplane, opened his briefcase and read some of the show product reviews in his leading trade media when he noticed the product news release we prepared for him. It had premium placement and jumped right off the page! He said it made him […]
What are the 3 Most Important Factors in B2B Marketing?
In the real estate business it has long been said, “the three most important factors when selling a property are location, location, and location.” In B2B marketing, the three most important factors are: repetition, repetition, and repetition. Why? Because repetition puts your products in front of prospective customers when their need arises and repetition reinforces […]
Growth of Small Business & Free Enterprise
Growth of Small Business is Our Core value. Most of our clients, especially those small businesses we’ve been partnering with for nearly four decades have leveraged our work. To understand why we encourage them do that, here’s the reason I started Venmark in November, 1976. The following graphic resulted from a six week exercise with […]
Publicizing Your Website is a Must
If you create a terrific website and don’t employ the best marketing tool in the mix to let your customers and prospective customers know about it, you’re making a huge mistake. Take advantage of this opportunity! Effective website publicity creates exposure in important media outlets, reinforces your brand, generates web traffic and sales leads, enhances […]
Don’t Let an MBA Get in Your Way
In an interview, Kevin O’Leary from the successful television show “Shark Tank” said that MBAs drove him crazy because they have never built a business, are arrogant, and think they know everything. Well, I work with some very savvy clients who have MBAs and respect their achievements, but understand totally why he feels that way. […]
Esco Tool’s Products Featured on Two Magazine Covers
Keeping Esco Tool’s products in front of the world has been an honor for me since 1977. During our last monthly meeting, I showed Matt Brennan, their president, the front cover of “Process Cooling” magazine’s 2014 Product Guide Issue which featured Esco’s Battery-Powered End Prep Tool for Welding Pipe. Then he said, “If you think […]
7 Reasons why Product Publicity Fails
1. The copy is filled with superlatives. Many years ago, “The Wall Street Journal” ran an article featuring the 20 words most likely to get a press release rejected. They included terms like unique, revolutionary, and world-class. You get the idea. An advertisement dressed up like a press release is still an advertisement! Lipstick […]
Effective Product Publicity Requires Limits
You can’t develop a stent or pacemaker without imposing strict size limits on the envelope. What permitted the miniaturization of electronic devices were size limits imposed by product development teams. It is obvious in engineering and it is obvious to me with respect to sales and marketing. Hey, it seems obvious, but if you don’t […]
Why PR is Becoming the Future of SEO
A recent article in INC Magazine entitled “Why PR is Becoming the Future of SEO” caught my eye. It was written by Adam Heitzman, the co-founder of a nationally recognized SEO firm. Mr. Heitzman concluded his article with “The moral of the story is this: Now, what Google seems to value most is what public […]
How to Grow Your Business without spending a Fortune
I’m reminded of the story about my first writer back in 1977. I delegated a publicity project to him for one of our clients, a company called Custom Fabricators, Inc. of Waltham, MA. My writer drove by their facility twice when he went there for his first meeting. Why? Because his only knowledge of Custom […]