When I began my corporate career in the late 70s, corporations spent huge amounts of time and money perfecting their “mission statements,” which they proudly posted on placards in the lobby. Multi-channel marketing guru Don Libey thinks most mission statements are for the most part banal and of limited value.

How do you determine the right color palette so that your corporate identity sends the right message to potential customers? Erin Ferree, founder of elf design, offers these recommendations:

Until now, newspaper ads, mailings and referrals may have kept your business growing. But fewer people are reading newspapers these days, and they’re doing more Twittering than actual talking. So how can you connect with those “lost” potential customers? One great way: Have your company appear high up in the list of results when people do Google searches for your product or service.

New media gurus these days rave about getting tens of thousands — or millions — of page views on MySpace and YouTube. But any idiot can put up a video that gets a ton of traffic. The easiest way: just use sex.

Consider these nine tips to help improve the stature — and performance — of marketing within your company:

Author Robin Fisher Roffer offers these tips to help you highlight those qualities that make you different and more desirable than your competitors.

Here are five smart ways to get customers to champion your cause-related-marketing efforts:

My colleague Denny Hatch is one of the most respected of the “old school” direct marketing copywriters and publishers operating today. He says the reason so many Internet marketers get it wrong is that they fail to apply DM selling techniques online.

Author Steven S. Little says that companies that duck the immediate dangers of the economic downturn and put themselves in a position to recover once the dust settles will be the ones on top in the end.

It has been observed many times that blogging, Web 2.0, and social media are effective because today’s consumers are more intersted in the opinions and recommendations of their peers than those of professional reviewers, critics, and experts. Certainly the success of the reader reviews on Amazon.com is a great example of this. But the dominance of Citizen Journalism over professional journalists is not universal.

While the unit cost of a creative direct mail campaign is often higher than that for many online marketing efforts, direct mail advertising has four unique strengths that online marketing can’t quite match.

The most recent Epsilon Email trends and benchmarks study shows average open rates for marketing “e-blasts” is 22.1%, with the average click-through clocked at 6.5%. Unlike many metrics in this economy, these figures are up from a year ago!

The average person reads 250 words per minute. Looking at your web analytics, determine how long people stay on your site ...

Add a grain of salt to the conventional wisdom that says web sites with the lowest prices win the battle for online shoppers. To truly prosper online, you need to create trust in your brand name. That's why you shouldn't aim to compete online on price alone. To boost your brand's visibility online, follow these four steps:

Here’s a four-step procedure for getting the information you need to write persuasive, fact-filled copy. This technique should be helpful to copywriters, account executives, and ad managers alike.

Starbucks mission statement, according to their Web site, is to “develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time.” If that’s so, can anyone answer me why none of the Starbucks in my area can give me a slice of lemon with my iced tea?

Leaders drive change within an organization by providing inspiration and direction for all to follow. Here are some tips on what leaders can do to promote openness, honesty, and ethical behavior as part of a strategic communication plan:

Spending on cause-related-marketing, one of the latest marketing trends, is projected to reach $1.57 billion this year, according to the IEG Sponsorship Report. How can a growing business affordably rally support for a cause? Here are some ideas:

Despite the chaos of the past 12 months, these 11 lessons can help you weather the storm:

JJ, a marketing consultant who is an advocate of social media, confided in me that to get significant results takes 10 to 15 hours of participation a week — EVERY week. For most of us, that’s time we don’t have to spare. So I’m wondering: do you think a company or solopreneur can PAY someone to handle all of their social networking for them?

According to author Bob Gilbreath, the secret to making your brand stand out is to create meaningful niche marketing that improves peoples lives. Here are the things meaningful marketers know:

Last night I saw a Burger King TV commercial in which two guys dressed in hamburger costumes go to Wendy’s to order hamburgers, only to conclude that Wendy’s doesn’t offer burgers as good as BK.

We present a case study on how one growing business attracted new customers and promoted sustainable living through a partnership with local farmers.

Networking is a cornerstone of sales lead generation and, by extension, running a successful business. Steve Fretzin, founder and president of Sales Results Inc., offers these four tips for successful networking:

Normally, by the time you read about a new idea in marketing, it’s too late for you to stand out as an early adopter, because the early adopters are all already using it. But online video is a growing trend, and it’s NOT too late for you to boost your online conversions, sales, and traffic with it!