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28 May 2013
Categories
Advertising

The Number One Secret to the Success of Your Local Business

I’ve never been one to mince words, and I recently had a client insist that advertising doesn’t work. My initial response — which I kept to myself — was why do so many people continue to advertise if it doesn’t work? I did write him back, however, and felt that many could learn from my explanation, so […]


3 December 2012
Categories
Advertising

If Word-of-Mouth is Your Top Source of New Customers, You Might Have Problems

Let’s face it, the primary reason “word-of-mouth” often ranks as the top source of new customers is because most business owners don’t know how to find new customers themselves. Thus, it’s easier to let existing customers tell their friends about a business than it is for the business owner to learn new skills in marketing. […]


25 September 2012
Categories
Advertising, Branding, Search

Are You Buying the “Latest Thing” Instead of Results?

Each day seems to bring a new “opportunity” to get found online through a new directory listing, an SEO redo of your website, or some social media buzz. Even the Dallas Morning News is jumping into the online fray with their 508 Digital offering which seems to combine all three. Everybody has something to sell […]


15 August 2012
Categories
Advertising, Branding

How Do Other Small Businesses Market in Dallas?

When your customers watched three local television stations, read one daily newspaper and had a phonebook in the cupboard, it was relatively easy to place an ad that made your business phone ring. Now, with hundreds of stations, thousands of news sites and hundreds of printed and online directories it’s much harder for your ad […]


What Does a Mature Marketing Effort Look Like?

We are often asked what should I be doing for marketing? The short answer is “as much as you have time and budget for” with the mature marketing plan look something like diagram below. But, before you panic or turn away, you need to remember that BubbleLife has built its whole technology platform around delivering […]


1 August 2012

One Easy Way to Get a Repeat Customer – Guaranteed!

Ask. It really is that simple, yet surprisingly few businesses take the time to ask their customers to come back either during their first visit or later after they’ve left. Asking for a repeat visit is simple and there are a variety of ways to ask including: Providing a return visit coupon Posting on Facebook […]


30 June 2012
Categories
Advertising

Has This Happened to You?

A local business decided to advertise in local print media. The owner had to commit to multiple months and was assured that the media’s distribution and her great ad would generate customers. But after a few months and no calls, she began to wonder: Did my ad reach the people it needed to reach? Is […]


16 January 2012
Categories
Advertising, Branding

Getting Customers to Your Business

My son likes the Harry Potter Wii game (hang in there, I’ll make this relevant in just a few sentences). In the game, you have to complete tasks in a particular sequence in order to solve a challenge. Get the sequence wrong and you’ll end up stuck in the game. The game has a flow […]


12 September 2011
Categories
Advertising, Branding

The “I Need More Customers” Checklist

When my coffee maker quit making coffee, I found the manual and started going through the checklist to diagnose the problem. So, if there is a checklist for coffee makers, why not one for neighborhood businesses that don’t generate enough customers? So, after a little background, I’ll give you one. Where Things Go Wrong Think […]


What is a Neighborhood Marketing Center?

Editors Note: The Neighborhood Marketing Center has been renamed BubbleLife Connect. My son is on Facebook everyday and never on email. I’m on email all the time and seldom on Facebook. My wife surfs the web each morning to find her news. My brother-in-law doesn’t surf the web but uses Twitter to keep up with […]