DOS AND DONTS: ADVERTISING IN AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN by Richard Barry Advertisers reactions to negative economic circumstances vary; some increase their bud...

EIGHT COST-EFFECTIVE WAYS TO MARKET YOUR AGENCY ON THE WEB by Jack Fries Agencies large and small have embraced the Web as a place to have a presence. Fewer, however, have reall...

E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS by Patricia Czech How to get the most out of this high-tech customer communications tool. Yes, you can send out an e-mail advertisement, but why do so when...

EXEMPLARY MARKETING TECHNIQUES TEACH FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES by George Nordhaus The basic lessons of marketing reveal that every product or service experiences three stages: innov...

FINDING AGENCY PERSONNEL by John Caswell 'Good help is hard to find.' That old adage has never seemed more true, given the increasing difficulty employers are experiencing when looking to fill an ...

GENERAL AGENCY ADVERTISING by John D. Farr WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON If there's any one common thread among...

GETTING IT STRAIGHT
Marketing may be second nature in large companies, but smaller firms tend to have a tough time implementing, managing, and monitoring an effective marketing strategy. The title of 'marketing director' is often conferred on the person designated to answer requests for sales literature, or the title is added as an afterthought to the role of the sales manager who thinks that marketing is just an alternative spelling of 'sales.'

Marketing may be second-nature in large companies, but smaller firms often have a tough time implementing, managing, and monitoring an effective marketing strategy. The 'marketing director' title is often conferred on the person designated to answer requests for sales literature, or given as an afterthought to the sales manager (who thinks that marketing is just another way of spelling s-a-l-e-s).

Call it branding. Call it marketing. Call it whatever you want. But it has the singular objective of motivating the right customer to want to do business with a particular company or to buy a particular product or service. In this document, John Graham lays to rest some common misconceptions on the role of marketing.

'ONLY' AN INDEPENDENT AGENT: YOUR VALUE IN TODAY'S MARKET by Chris Burand With so many Web-based insurance sites and direct writers bypassing insurance agent...