The most essential ingredient of any successful business is an effective Marketing Bridge. If you are unfamiliar with the term, “Marketing Bridge” refers to all the forces that combine to make a sale and create a customer for your enterprise. Every business has a Marketing Bridge. Some are in good shape. Some are in need of major repair and reconstruction. The creator of the Marketing Bridge, Norton E. Warner, also happens to be the founder of Marketing Firepower.

Recently I was privileged to speak to a group of like-business owners from the Midwest on the topic of improving sales through effective marketing and advertising. With the current economic conditions, there were many valid concerns. And many questions asked of me about advertising. Such as, “With so many consumers using the internet these days, what should we do about our Yellow Pages advertising?” Or, “We thought we could stimulate sales by lowering our prices, but our business has actually gone down….any suggestions?”

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Tags: marketing, advertising

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 2, "The Battlefield," of the book, "David Can Still Beat Goliath," by Norton Warner.

Customer dissatisfaction induces a search for a new supplier of a product or service. Consumers who move into your community need new product and service providers. Condition changes also create new customer needs and wants. Since all these factors- customer dissatisfaction, change of residence, and condition changes-can arise any hour of the day, any day of the week, any week of the year, two strategies are necessary to increase your market share by attracting new customers, and a third strategy can also be productive.

1. Create awareness, understanding, and trust or preference before the customer need or want arises.

If you have reached prospective customers hundreds of times with your message, you have an excellent chance of moving them through the advertising communication process before the need to purchase arises. Either your name is on their shopping list or you have developed a consumer franchise in their minds.

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Tags: advertising, customer, prospects

What you look like speaks so loud that what you say, I can't hear! That is a powerful statement. And it has so many different implications.

When you enter a room, regardless of your purpose, you are judged INSTANTLY by your appearance. It is not possible for another person to remain neutral in their opinion of you after they see you. This can work to your advantage or to your disadvantage. Its all up to you.

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Tags: appearance, public speaking