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The Lonely Marketer

a discussion for the small business marketing manager

A True Story About a ChairFebruary 24

This is a true story and you need to read it.

While out to eat with friends recently, I heard a story that so caught my attention that I couldn’t wait to write about it. A former co-worker and now close friend of my wife and I humbly relayed something she’s started at work. She’s not the type to boast or draw attention to herself and to further put this in perspective, she’s the antithesis of the corporate, political-playing title climber. She’s got an incredible personality, truly enjoys people, and rarely is found without a positive glow. So, can you imagine that she’s potentially changing the way a Fortune 500 listens and communicates with its employees and customers?

Well, she is and she’s doing it with a chair.

She works in Communications for a very large retailer based in the Midwest who has thousands of stores worldwide, thousands of employees, and a bustling technology-filled corporate campus filled with energetic people trying to climb the ladder and change the world of retail.

Then there is Jill. She had a simple idea that - at first - was met with opposition. But, her perpetual optimism won over management and they told her to give her idea a try.

So, she plopped down two chairs in the heart of this busy corporate campus and put a sign over the two chairs calling out a t

Are Trade Shows a Waste of Time and Resources?February 6

Tradshow ROI If the answer to any of the following questions is true, the tool below might be for you.

1. Have you ever wondered if trade shows are more of a drain on your organization than a benefit?
2. Do you start to sweat when the business leaders in your organization begin asking about the return on trade shows you attend?
3. Are you routinely asked to attend trade shows that you do not believe will add value?
4. Do you have people in your organization that are emotionally charged about attending a show?

Deciding which trade shows to attend can be a difficult decision when emotions enter the decision process. It seems that every show has a strong advocate trying to convince the organization to attend.

Statements such as, “all our customers will be there”, “the market will think we have disappeared if we don’t attend”, “the trade publications won’t think we are a serious player”, and “this is the largest show in our biggest market segment” are a reflection of feeling, not fact.

Conversely, with very tight budgets and demand to show ROI, deciding which show to attend can prove to be just as difficult.

While establishing better goals and metrics is a usual course of action to prove marketing return, trade shows can be particularly challenging.

To ensu

Announcing a New Contributor To The Lonely MarketerFebruary 5

Tom Teynor If you’re a regular visitor to the Lonely Marketer you’ve no doubt noticed that regular posting on the site has slowed a bit. A combination of a more demanding job and a growing family have been the culprits. But, I’ve missed the writing and interfacing with readers and am hoping to get back to a more regular schedule soon.

In the meantime I’m very excited to announce that Tom Teynor - a successful marketing professional and good friend - has agreed to be a guest contributor on the Lonely Marketer. I was excited to hear that Tom will be an author here because he brings tons of good experience from many areas of marketing.

Tom has over 10 years of sales and marketing experience and is currently the Sr. Director of Marketing at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services - a B2B software and services company. Tom is currently responsible for go-to-market strategy and is responsible for marketing management, internet marketing, creative service pricing, and market research. He has also led product management.

Aside from work he enjoys spending time with his family, biking, kayaking, golfing, and snowboarding.

Tom’s first article will be published tomorrow. Welcome Tom!

Need Content Marketing Ideas? Check This Out.January 27

We all can come up with fun, new ways to market our products or services, but at the end of the day it all comes down to content. Content marketing is what really sells. The well-written content is what truly attracts new customers.

Joe Pulizzi has been a long-time contributor to the Lonely Marketer community so when I saw his site, Junta42, come out with an incredible list of blogs that focus on content marketing, I knew I had to write about the effort. The Junta42 Top Blogs has a little something for everyone and is a very well put-together, comprehensive list of some of the top marketing blogs around.

Here are the top 42 (and yes, that is the Lonely Marketer proudly sitting at #33):

Experience Today’s Marketing Manager NeedsJanuary 7

Juggling Act I found myself recently in the position of backfilling a position that I held as a small business Marketing Manager. Not only was I overly picky about selecting candidates to interview, but I found myself amazed at the amount of experience for which I was looking. Today’s small business Marketing Manager position has evolved into so much.

This is not your large company marketing group. We don’t have a group for web marketing, a group for developing sales campaigns and related marketing tools, a group for print advertising, and on and on. I found myself looking for someone that has a little experience in alot of things rather than someone that was specialized in one area of marketing.

Now, if you are specialized don’t freak out about what I’m writing. Larger companies, agencies, and self-employed marketing professionals are all excellent locations for someone that has specialized. I’m writing from the small business perspective and what I need in that role. Here are some of the major elements of experience for which I was looking:

Content Writing: I wanted someone that had exhibited writing experience. That could be white papers, application notes, web content, ad copy, etc. Marketing starts with content!

An Understanding of SEM/SEO: I was not looking for someone that had prov