• Must Every Marketer Depend Upon Big Data or Die?

    [vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″] What does it mean to a business when Don Schultz, renowned professor of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern University writes, “Marketers no longer control the system . . . .  The consumer is an individual and acts, thinks and operates like an individual, which the marketer cannot control.”

  • Happy Birthday to Me

    [vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]The leaves have turned vibrant hues of orange, deep maroon, bright red and varied hues of lime green and yellow. I especially love the autumn in Minnesota. With it brings trips to the apple orchard, crisp clean air, sweaters, Halloween, my Birthday, and Loyalty Birthday Rewards.  $10 off, $25 off, 25% […]

  • Let’s Drive

    Have you ever pondered the romantic possibilities offered by a nostalgic train ride out West, or a lazy riverboat cruise down the old Mississippi to some idyllic old plantation once inhabited by Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara?  “Never mind about loving me, you’re a woman sending a soldier to his death with a beautiful memory. […]

  • 5-Stars and the Fear of Three Butts

    In honor of National Customer Service Week (October 5th through October 9th 2015) my blog of 10/6 thanked customer service people everywhere and looked forward to change in building a company culture around providing great customer experiences and treating your employees exceptionally well with benefits, career paths and rewards. In honor of National Customer Service […]

  • Thanks, Appreciation and Change

    In honor of National Customer Service Week (October 5th through October 9th 2015) Thank you to all customer service personnel everywhere, account managers, account executives, call center representatives, waitresses, bartenders, receptionists, front desk staff . . . the list goes on. Managers and Business owners, take a moment to offer thanks, appreciation and reflect on […]

  • What is Entrepreneurship?

    Entrepreneurship.  It is the foundation of America, it captures the spirit of business, the never say die mentality, that unrelenting drive that moves us forward as a nation.  That is, until you have to define it.  What exactly is Entrepreneurship?  How do you teach it?  I have my business degree with a concentration in it; […]

  • Knowledge is Power

    [vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″] You have probably heard the old adage at one time or another “Knowledge is Power”.  Depending on sources you may find that phrase first attributed to Thomas Jefferson in November 1817, “… knoledge is power, that knoledge is safety, and that knoledge is happiness. “  Outcomes that we can learn […]

  • Millennials, What Gives? You do!

    Millennials give and it is in the best interest of non profit organizations to build relationships with them and nurture those relationships into the future.  Why?  Millennials make up the largest Generation living right now and will be around for another 60 to 90 years.  They currently have $200 billion in direct purchasing power and […]

  • Setting Expectations and Direct Mail Tests

    [vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″] This week, while tucking my son into bed after his first day of kindergarten (which he loved) I was reminded why understanding and setting expectations is important especially when starting something new.  After two attempts to keep the little guy in bed, I reminded him he needs to get a […]

  • The Internet of “Postal” Things

    According to Tony Long1, April 7th, 1969 is the “symbolic birth date” of the Internet.  Most people of that time had absolutely no concept for its potential uses, and wouldn’t have dreamed of the connectivity and amount of data that would be created and consumed daily.  In fact, the masses didn’t really use the Internet […]