How to Ace a Media Interview

We recently watched an aftermarket industry leader botch an interview with a local TV station. Afterwards, we spoke with the person and asked them how prepared they were for the questions asked by the reporter. We were surprised when he...

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Penny Wise and Pound Foolish - What Not to Do and What to Do During a Recession

This is an editorial - an editorial on "what not to do (and what to do) during tough business times." If you are a professional marketer or manager it is likely you are sick of hearing people extol that you need...

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This Christmas, Give a Gift That Keeps on Giving...

Finding the perfect holiday gift for your valued employees that fits a tight company budget is easier than you think.  Consider a gift that will have an excellent return on investment.  Ask any employee if they feel they could use...

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Problem/Solution - Website Analytics Pave the Way

There are many companies that offer web analytics, some free and some with a monthly fee. While Google Analytics happens to be our supplier-of-choice, we emphasize that it is important to have some sort of analytical review of your website,...

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Put Your Analytics to work: Part 2

In our last issue of Catalyst we discussed how visitors interact with your website. This month's question is: How did they get there? Google Analytics has various ways of showing you the path that readers take from one site to...

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Put your analytics to work

Maximize your Website's Effectiveness with Google Analytics Those familiar with this free tool advocate its use. One reason users like Google Analytics is its ease in tracking marketing trends, such as where your visitors come from and how they interact...

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Zoom in on Video for Increased Web Exposure

In May 2008, Google introduced "unified search" and began weighting web sites with strong video, audio and news content in its search engine returns. This is big news to anyone interested in keeping their company's website page ranking high on...

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Planning Ahead

Typically I'm pretty good at planning big events ahead of time. I almost thrive on it (this really agitates my husband because should he not live to the next day, he knows I have a plan). Trade shows are big...

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Simple, But Not Easy

What does this mean? How can something be simple, but not easy? I first learned the phrase Simple, But Not Easy about twelve years ago from Lew Epstein, a very important mentor in my life. Lew founded an organization called...

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The Science of Launching a New Product

How many times have you been blind-sided when a new product launch doesn't go the way you planned? Doesn't it often seem that despite the attempts to organize the process, there are always a few contingencies you had not foreseen?...

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View from the Bay: Climbing Mountains

Effective marketing is all about commitment, persistence and being willing to listen to the experts. Catalyst is a marketing newsletter and my aim, as someone who's been providing marketing expertise for over 25 years, is to provide high value to...

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Lead Generation Redefined

When it comes to lead generation campaigns, we've witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly. And, we've heard many, many excuses to justify why a campaign is not fulfilling its promise.  Lead generation is viewed differently from one company...

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VALUE is the Differentiator

Several years ago we developed a pre-qualifying list of criteria for our "A-level" prospects. One of the most important benchmarks was "does the prospect currently use a marketing communications firm or have they used one in the recent past?" If...

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What's the deep, dark secret to leveraging media?

How many times have you seen editorial coverage of a competitor in a trade magazine, as well as their ad in the same issue? How many times have you seen your ad in a trade publication and griped about the...

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Taking Pause to Reflect

This month, I'd like to take a brief pause from the world of marketing to tell you a short story. As many of you know, I had a skiing accident March 5, which resulted in major back surgery March 8,...

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Aftermarketnews.com's Executive Interview with Tom Marx

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Holiday Greeting Card

Happy Holidays from all of us at The Marx Group....

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Tradeshow Mania Continues...The Week After

It's two weeks after exhibiting in the most important trade show of the year. You've had your post-show sales strategy in place for weeks, even months. You've already been in touch with the prospects you met at the event. The...

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Metrics Chart

Sample metrics chart that grades topics from your post tradeshow meeting....

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Being Strategic About Strategy

In the July/August issue of The McKinsey Quarterly*, this venerable and well-respected consulting firm wrote their observations about the strategic planning process:   “Most companies have a formal strategic- planning process, but don’t use it to make their most important...

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