What kind of marketing is the most effective?

sneezr.ca Have you ever asked yourself that question? I did. In fact, many years ago I spent countless hours trying to figure it out.
The answer turned out to be quite simple: word of mouth marketing. Or as I call it: the art of cultivating recommendations.

Surprised? Probably not. With recommendations, there is no sales pressure and no credibility issues. When your friends, family members or trusted co-workers recommend something or someone to you, they are genuinely trying to help you. That means a lot, which is why you usually remember it for a long time. But here is the catch: recommendations must be earned. How do you do that? Where do you start? How do you give people a reason to talk about your products/services? How do you nudge your story into every day conversations? I launched sneezr.ca to help you answer those questions.

What can a sock teach us about life and business

My daughter is a great student (just about to graduate from high school). This is why we weren’t surprised when she was recently accepted at a continue reading

How to divorce a business idea

Divorcing a business idea can be an extremely difficult thing to do.
Even for mature, successful companies such as Coca-Cola. continue reading

Too bad sainthood is not conferred on bakers

One fixture no city neighborhood should be without: a remarkable bakery such as Christies Il Secondo. If you’re fortunate enough to live around Broadway continue reading

How can you start doing something remarkable?

My short answer: stop doing something conventional.
Case in point: BOXPARK continue reading

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The danger of not evolving your brand

Last fall I was hired to help jump-start marketing efforts for a service organization.
Let’s call it Acme Inc.
The goal: to continue reading

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We live only to discover beauty

This past week (May 9 to 15 2011), I received a number of comments re a short story I wrote about a Swedish-based company that offers study abroad programs and language courses. The continue reading

Petite Italian Model Seeks Love in Saskatoon

“The hardest part about designing a car is keeping it simple. Through simple, functional, responsible engineering comes beauty. The 500 and continue reading

Why is copywriting important in business?

One of my specialties is copywriting. (Offline, online…what line?)
Why is copywriting one of the most essential ingredients continue reading

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What can John Lee Hooker teach us about business

One night I was layin’ down,
I heard Papa talkin’ to Mama.
I heard Papa say, to let that boy boogie-woogie.
‘Cause it’s in him and it’s continue reading

A short story about one remarkably sweet bakery

“It was quite a sight to see people gently lined up around a block, patiently waiting to enter this bakery.” In a nutshell, that’s continue reading

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