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).

Selling isn’t about making sales — it’s about engaging customers, entering into a conversation with them, and letting them respond when they’re ready to buy. That’s called marketing, and marketing makes sales. In this article, John Graham uses Krispy Kreme Donuts as an example of how a company finds ways to create excitement and build customer loyalty.

As the corporate misdeeds of executives continue to dominate the news, we hear about the curses of greed and immorality. But John Graham calls these executives disloyal. This article focuses on the importance of loyalty in a company and the need to hire loyal employees.
It’s time to get our heads on straight. That 60s phrase is a perfect fit for today’s confused and disturbing business climate, as each newscast brings darker revelations of corporate abuse.

Improved communication has turned us into less adroit communicators. With e-mail, voice-mail, and cell phones, getting the message to another party is so easy that we no longer worry about the content of the message. Poor communications skills translate into lost business. This article by John Graham discusses these consequences and offers guidelines for improving communications.

The major goal of any agency or brokerage can be expressed in just one word: survival.
The mounting failures involving seemingly strong, well-established businesses that have been around for 15 to 75 years are of great concern.
The time has come for agencies and brokerages to take immediate action in order to survive a protracted economic downturn that may extend for several more years in some sectors of business or regions of North America.

Where's your business headed this year? This article by John Graham offers recommendations on setting your priorities.

If we listen to half the politicians, everything will be coming up profits this year. They tell us to stop worrying about the economy. We're heading towards a new sunrise, they say. The other politicians paint a darker and far less optimistic picture. Where does that leave us? What are we to believe in 2004?

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.

Before purchasing a car, computer, copier, or equipment, businesses do the usual due diligence. They do research, make comparisons, and then decide on the most appropriate product with the best value. John Graham explains why research is required before making an extensive marketing investment.

Focus on attracting customers not making sales.
With effusive CEO testimonials and countless articles and books describing how companies have transformed themselves into tightly focused, totally energized commerce machines, it would seem that change should be easy. But let’s face it: If it were simple, there’d be more of it. Even when the evidence for change is compelling, most companies continue to cling to the known and the familiar.

To succeed in today’s selling environment, you’ll need to think out of the box.
There’s one revolution no one wants to think about, let alone discuss. It’s what’s happening to selling. Although the Internet has a profound effect on sales, it isn’t the only challenge facing salespeople. In fact, the Internet might only be the tip of the iceberg.