“User experience” is a buzzword, and with buzzwords come overuse. Nevertheless, a great user experience is critical in today’s world, both offline and online. Disney has done user experience offline better than anyone well before anyone started paying attention. Apple brought forward the importance of user experience when it introduced the first iPhone. A great…
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Trump! Clinton! Feel the Bern! Some can’t help but support their candidates both privately and publicly. Recently, Cheryl Rios, a marketing specialist, discovered the danger of talking politics online—she lost her largest clients. But, I’m not writing today to get you to stop talking politics. I want you to talk politics—even online—but directed toward your elected officials. Next…
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When I was 12 or 13, I was on the basketball team. My school was small, so everyone made the team. Somehow I was still third string. When…
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For many of us, we use Microsoft Outlook more than any other software. yet we rarely take the time to brush up on our Outlook skills. Bad habits are ingrained, and our knowledge of Outlook largely is based on when we first started using Outlook. Most of us never took a class and probably haven’t…
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People are much smarter than puppies, but raising a puppy can teach you a lot about how to manage people. I know this because with Tiffany, my family’s first puppy 25-plus years ago, I did everything wrong. Tiffany was never potty trained, constantly barked at nothing and, essentially,…
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Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) is about being there whenever and wherever your client might be receptive to your message. It used to be far less complicated to be in sales, especially in the promotional products industry. If you had the relationship, you were the clients’ resource. Your marketing primarily consisted of sending a catalog…
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I just attended a conference (outside the promotional products industry) where I had the chance to speak to business leaders from information technology, sales and marketing. In several roundtables, and of course over cocktails, people would ask what my company does. With some I said, “We sell promotional products, items with logos, such as the…
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My team laughs often during a typical day, and I love being around my team. I love working from home as well, but I miss the “fun” at the office. I wasn’t in the office the day before Halloween when my colleagues all dressed like Dan, a colleague who has a bit of a Steve…
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