When Howard Behar first joined Starbucks as an executive in 1989, the company had just 28 stores, but its employee handbook spoke volumes. “Up until page 4 or 5, it never mentioned a word about [Read More]
When Fortune 500 companies need help developing a strategic communication plan, many turn to marketing and communications guru Harry Beckwith. As founder and director of Beckwith Partners based in Minneapolis, he has helped clients like [Read More]
Dealing effectively with dissatisfied customers requires special skills and behaviors. To help you maintain calm when others are out of control, Lydia Ramsey, a relationship marketing expert and the author of Manners That Sell: Adding [Read More]
In the early 19th century, guerrillas, soldiers who used unconventional marketing tactics to combat their enemies, were instrumental in defeating the French dictator Napoléon. Today the term has attached itself to marketing — unusual, fresh, [Read More]
Why would consumers buy your brand? Ask the average business owner or salesperson that question and you’ll probably get a blank stare. That’s because they are not taught to understand the mind-set and motives of [Read More]
Why does it take so long to get from initial pitch to signed, sealed, and delivered? Maybe it’s because your best marketing and business development efforts are out of sync with the way the real [Read More]
Marketing and sales can often seem like siblings: They live under the same roof, but are constantly at loggerheads. This can force company executives into the uncomfortable role of peacekeeper — always a challenge. [Read More]
When a company seeks to define and attain its goals, a mission statement is often at the heart of that effort. The concept may sound simple, but summing up the essence of a complex organization [Read More]
While it certainly makes sense for a company to focus on its main product, Behar believes much of Starbucks’ subsequent growth and success can be attributed to the fact that it became a people-centered organization, [Read More]
From a small bank in Oklahoma that offers customers a park to relax in, complete with walking trails and a gazebo, to retail outlets that deliver highly customized music and video presentations, companies across all [Read More]
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