While driving down Boston’s Massachusetts Avenue one Saturday afternoon, it dawned on me that every bus stop shelter along this popular main artery sported advertising signage for Apple’s iPad 2. Assuming that many bus riders were not target customers for a product selling between $500 and nearly $900, the two of us in the car thought that spending advertising dollars at bus stops seemed like a waste of money.

Recently, I came across an interesting column in a national marketing publication. The writer indicated that marketing programs don't perform well because of 'business marketers' dogmatic belief that 'selling is the only form of marketing I need to do.''
This is an amazing statement because our experience at Graham Communications is quite different. As we see it, the problem is failing to achieve the benefits of marketing because the emphasis is always on sell, sell, sell.

THE WEB: A POTENT COMPETITOR by Chris Burand Internet sales of insurance hasnt conquered our industry, but it is a competitor. How do you combat it? At what price differ...

USE CUSTOMER-FOCUSED WORDS FOR MORE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION by Richard Barry With the deluge of advertising that the average consumer encounters today, its more vital than ever to make...

Knowing what customers expect may be the most important key to successful selling. While every customer is interested in getting an appropriate price, many salespeople seem to think that price is the primary issue. As a result, they lead with price and seem to base most of their sales presentation on cost issues.