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...aff personnel, including CSRs and producers, are below acceptable standards, a...encies to go broke-labor, occupancy, producer compensation, perks, incurred ba...

...stead, it is personalized letters produced in quantity. You could call it turb...

... in the next village. The man was hauling firewood and using the Internet. Now...

...g for radio. Other agencies have produced marketing videos or audiotapes to s...ut the education and experience your producers bring to the table to serve the...

... mission. The red flag in marketing programs is a lack of consistency. There's always great enthusiasm for publishing a newsletter, holding seminars, developing a prospect database, advertising campaigns, direct mail, and all the rest, but there's no follow-through; no one's around to make the coffee. When you get to the core of marketing, the objective is to raise a company's visibility in ways that produce a positive emotional response from customers and prospects. If you recall how many times you tell your kids to clean up their rooms, to put on their coats when they go out to play and to be sure to be home on time, you understand the marketing task. It's all about telling the same story over and over again in new and different ways to get attention. Although Oscar ... . If the price was right, free shipping helped get the order. The same holds true of Internet service; whether at a coffee shop, an airport or a hotel, why pay for it when somewhere it's available free? After years of piling on "cash incentives," auto manufacturers called a halt when they lowered sticker prices. But when gasoline hit $3 a gallon, they hauled out a new round of bigger-than-ever discounts. At the same time, Toyota drew on its perceived value and quality strategy to attract buyers; this offers a good example of a customer-focused approach, rather than one that's nothing more than an inventory reduction tactic. 3. Make consistency the mission. The red flag in marketing programs is a lack of consistency. There's always great enthusiasm for publishing a ...

... moved on to the next sucker. Does this really happen? Every day. Recently, a marketing firm created a program for a statewide bank that achieved its goal at a total cost of just over $6 ,000. The program, therefore, was a measurable success. At the same time, the bank's ad agency had just finished spending $10 million on a national advertising campaign that produced less than a handful of second-rate leads. Remember the campaign for the Infiniti automobile? Another failure-but breathtaking. All this does not mean that you shouldn't hire a marketing agency for your company. But before you do, consider these 10 commandments: 1. Don't hire an agency that insists your company's image needs to be changed. By suggesting that you're out of tune with the times, the agency ... project! The right agency will respect both you and your money. By now, it should be clear that a company's future is too important and its dollars too valuable to be wasted by people who want only your money. At the same time, proper marketing can make all the difference in the world to a firm's success. Finding the right people who will stay with you over the long haul, be there in the moments of crisis, and work as your partner is the all-important task. John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications. Graham writes for a variety of publications and speaks on business, marketing, and sales topics for company and association meetings. He can be contacted at 40 Oval Rd., Quincy, MA 02170; (617) 328-0069; fax ( ...

...ational advertising campaign that produced less than a handful of second-rate ...