http://www.nick-rice.com/blog b2b marketing & sales thoughts by nick rice Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:35:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Sun Tzu famously said, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” We often get caught up in the day-to-day noise of program activation and overlook the strategy behind each tactic. When you’re chasing one fire drill after another, it’s easy to ... http://www.nick-rice.com/blog/2009/strategy-sanity-check/ Most entrepreneurs and owners of professional service firms risk so much for their business; yet never realize how much they risk by not mastering marketing. They spend years learning about and perfecting their chosen field (engineering, consulting, legal, creative services, medical, architecture, financial services, etc…); ... http://www.nick-rice.com/blog/2009/when-great-isnt-enough/ Tough economies force businesses to reevaluate how they are spending their marketing dollars and efforts. When you can't afford to waste time and money on random marketing tactics and inconsistent results, what do you do? Recent research from Bain & Co. shows that a 5 percent increase in customer retention can ... http://www.nick-rice.com/blog/2009/growth-strategies-for-a-tough-economy/ I wanted to make sure that you didn't miss my Marketing Bootcamp announcement late last week. Today is the last day to get my 5 Day Early Bird price. The fee will go up at MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. The Marketing Bootcamp is an 90 day (six session) client attraction program for independent ... http://www.nick-rice.com/blog/2009/get-more-clients/ Einstein said that the definition of insanity was doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. So here's my question for you... What are you going to do differently in 2009? I know that you are tired of guessing at how marketing works. I know it can be ... http://www.nick-rice.com/blog/2009/marketing_bootcamp/ Once again, Tom pegs what I'm thinking and where I'm at. Blending into the herd has never really been my style. And this is my year to spread the message far and wide. Here's his way to kick off the New Year... Thanks Tom. http://www.nick-rice.com/blog/2009/when-i-grow-up-i-want-to-be-tom-fishburne/ We've all heard--and probably offered up our own--resolutions for the New Year. Hearing a few friends talk about the desire to drop 15-20 lbs. got me thinking about how and why people struggle with weight loss and the similar struggles related to marketing a business. At first blush, both dieting and marketing ... http://www.nick-rice.com/blog/2009/the-dietmarketing-paradox/ My friend Gavin Heaton put this together over the holiday break. While it is funny, it's a pretty accurate portrayal of more than one board room meeting that I've witnessed. The game of marketing has changed. Overly slick glossy corporate mumbo jumbo is being replaced by honest authentic open dialogue. ... http://www.nick-rice.com/blog/2008/the-c-suites-view-of-social-media/ Success guru Napoleon Hill may be best known for the following statement, "What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve." If we can imagine it, feel it and see it, then the actions required to make it real become apparent. It still takes some work, but what you ... http://www.nick-rice.com/blog/2008/the-progress-formula/ While I thoroughly love Tom Fishburne's cartoon essays on the state of big brand marketing, I think he's slightly off base on this one. Just to be clear, he's not wrong; I think he's missing an element of truth that has always been there, but hard for traditional consumer goods ... http://www.nick-rice.com/blog/2008/the-truth-is-constant/