Up and Running Blog

Carolyn Higgins

Small business marketing rut

It’s so easy to get stuck, isn’t it? We go about our lives, doing our work, pretty much on auto-pilot, and before we know it we’re stuck. Nothing is growing or changing or progressing; we’ve just been doing the same things day in and day out for weeks, months, and even years hoping that miraculously [...]

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21 Reasons small businesses fail at marketing

I don’t know what it is about Marketing, but everyone on earth seems to think they can do it. And yet I see so many people NOT doing it or wasting thousands of dollars and not getting results.  I see business owners try the same things over and over,  wasting more money, more time, and [...]

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Call me a rebel… or  a Scrooge… or a Grinch if you must, but I am so happy all this holiday nonsense is finally over.  And as I sit here trying to come up with a blog for the new year, the word “resolution” keeps popping into my head and I absolutely REFUSE to give [...]

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We’re all familiar with the “who-actually-falls-for-this-stuff” SPAM and we all know its complete bogus. For example: RE: I await to hear from you urgently Please I am seeking for your help (sic) From Google: Google winning notification Or the ones that actually warn you they’re SPAM in the subject line, what is up with that? [...]

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Does Your Website Suck?

by Carolyn Higgins on December 19, 2011

Finally, small business owners everywhere realize they need an online presence if they are going to compete in today’s world.  Small business owners who just a year ago adamantly argued that their customers aren’t using the web are now jumping on board and admitting – yes, indeed they are. But slapping up a website just [...]

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santa

Whether he meant to or not jolly old St. Nick created one of the most recognizable and beloved brands in the western world; one that children have adored and parents embraced for centuries.  Santa Claus has endured wars, depressions, scrutiny (is he real or not??), imposters who tried to tarnish his image (ala The Grinch), and even [...]

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We all know that word of mouth is the best marketing tool there is. Why? Because when someone tells a friend, family member, neighbor, or colleague how good you are, you’ve already overcome the biggest hurdle to making a sale – trust. Networking is a great tool for building a referral network and increasing word [...]

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I was never a fan of Lady Gaga. I grew up in the age of Madonna rolling and gyrating all over the stage in her fetish-style costumes and Ozzy Osbourne biting the heads off bats. Lady Gaga and her outrageous outfits and risqué lyrics didn’t faze me. She was just another wannabe exorbitant artist that [...]

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Marketing is about more than attracting new customers to do business with us – it s about keeping, nurturing, and “wowing” the ones we have so they buy from us again and again and rant and rave about our company to everyone they know.

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Oh – I’m guilty of it too. We get caught up in the day-to-day of our work; answering phone calls, putting out fires, payroll, inventory, life…. But the fact is, the long-term success of any business is dependent upon finding the time to invest in the future. And one of the surest ways to insure your business will be around for the long-haul and continue to grow and flourish is to implement and use a marketing plan (and a system).

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