A CPA firm spends $11,200 on a Web site that attracts only a handful of visitors. An insurance agency invests $80,000 in an advertising campaign and no one sees the ads. An alternative health clinic sends out 8,000 direct mail fliers and gets 26 responses. A manufacturer spends $28,000 on an attractive brochure that no one uses.

Becoming accustomed to a growing economy is easy and dangerous. Although there are always pockets of problems, we forget that success is often more the result of a good economy than our business acumen. If everyone else is doing well, our major challenge becomes how to pull ahead of the pack. Unfortunately, many business people tend to get a bit lazy-and that's when we can get caught.
There are ways to become more successful, keep business booming, and give companies the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. Here are 15 ways to develop an extra edge:

Despite fax, e-mail, and Web site marketing, direct mail remains one of the most effective methods for conveying your company’s message to prospective clients. John Graham provides tips for making your direct mail efforts as powerful as possible in this document.

A BALANCED APPROACH TO MARKETING by Steve Anderson Just like you, each week I receive e-mails and read articles from different business and marketing experts. A common theme Ive no...

Getting your company’s message out to the buying public doesn’t have to be complex or expensive. Direct mail is perhaps the most targeted and cost-effective vehicle for communicating to an audience.

ARE YOUR MESSAGES REMEMBERED LONG TERM? by Patricia Berry Here we stand: The possibilities of e-mail messaging in one hand, the nature of memory in the other. Here's the critical quest...

CAUSE-RELATED MARKETING: BOLSTER YOUR IMAGE BOLSTER IMAGE WITH PROSPECTS AND CUSTOMERS Pepsi Cola spends millions of dollars on television advertising to burn that image into the minds of so...

The previous article (Creating A Successful Plan For Marketing Commercial Lines Part I), presented information about the matrix of the agency book of business, the review of the book of for account development, and a review of company programs and products. In this second of a three-part series, Jack Fries focuses on selecting a proper market.

David and Goliath is no longer news. These days, all a boy needs to kill a big man is a gun instead of a sling and a rock. Similarly, technology has created a new world of competition. A David who understands technology can successfully compete against any corporate Goliath.

CUSTOMERS: lsquo;IF YOU SERVE THEM, THEY'LL SERVE YOU ' by Jack Burke It has become abundantly clear that merely surrounding good product with quality service at competitive rat...