In July 2008, when I first wrote about Starbucks closing 600 stores, I said to expect more store closings and a long, slow decline for a once highly respected brand (see original article). Well, here I am reading the New York Times and discovering another 300 stores are closing, which will affect 6,000 employees, with [...]
Entries from January 2009
Starbucks Redux: More Store Closings
January 29th, 2009 · No Comments
Tags: Branding
Breaking Up is Good to Do, Sometimes
January 19th, 2009 · No Comments
I just laid off a client. It’s the first time this has happened during my ten years of operating a marketing business. It’s sad and ironic, that during a time when so many people are losing their jobs, so many companies staggering on the ropes, that I would be laying off a paying client.
But it [...]
Tags: Personal
Why You Need a Lead Management Process
January 13th, 2009 · No Comments
You invest time, effort and budget to generates sales leads for your products and services. But your leads are only as good as your company’s ability to respond appropriately and track them through the sales process.
Research studies show that up to an astounding 80% of leads are ignored, lost or discarded. That translates to a [...]
Tags: Lead Generation · Working with Sales
2009 Marketing Predictions: Way Too Easy
January 6th, 2009 · No Comments
Geoff Ramsey, CEO and Co-Founder of eMarketer, offers seven predictions for 2009. It’s an interesting article but hardly visionary when measured against the context of economic recession. Companies cutting back on advertising budgets, traditional media outlets taking the biggest hits, online advertising hanging in there . . . these predictions aren’t exactly going out on [...]
Tags: Marketing Opinions