Cidnee Stephen

Are You Stuck in the Mediocrity Trap?

It's funny. When we start a business most of us have dreams of becoming #1 in our industry and taking the world by storm. Then as the months and years go by our focus becomes first on survival and then on sustainable growth. As we grow, we ... Read >

10 Effective Ways To Use 1 Piece of Content

This article is meant to be a hands-on exercise. Why? Chances are you already know that you need to be submitting more content into the marketplace to grow your business, but you find this thought overwhelming. So I have a challenge for you, here today. ... Read >

5 Business Reasons to Be on Google+

Early adaptors are showing enough cautious optimism that it’s time you become aware of what all the hype is about with Google+, that’s if you aren’t already "building circles" and "hanging out." If you think "Why? It’s less than a month old. How big ca... Read >

Are You A Marketing Control Freak?

Which activities do you find you focus on the most? Column A: Direct Mail; Email; Advertising (online & off); Tradeshows; Networking; Telemarketing; Column B: Facebook; Blogging; Search Engine Optimization; LinkedIn; Twitter; Constant updates to yo... Read >

What is a Prospect Looking for Online

I had to laugh at my 18 year old son the other day when he couldn’t connect with a friend because his cell phone was down and he wasn’t on Facebook. This friend might as well not exist, in my son’s world. I suggested he look up the family phone number in ... Read >

Creating Your Marketing Routine

Think about the last time you made a big change in the way you run your business or perhaps even in your personal life. It’s hard to adjust your day to day habits. Sometimes we are even at a loss where to start. The same tends to happen with our marketing... Read >

The REFERRAL Pattern - Who’s REALLY Referring You and Why

Have you ever had a really good look at who’s actually referring you and been surprised to find it’s a handful of the same people over and over again? Have you wondered why more of your customers or strategic partners aren’t referring you at all? Ev... Read >

5 Ways to LOSE a Prospect

If you’ve been around long enough, you may recall an old song called “50 Ways to a Lose a Lover". Well here are 5 guaranteed ways to lose a prospect. 1) SPAM them – Entering their information into an automated drip campaign or calling them relentlessly... Read >

Branding the

I had the opportunity to hear Richard Branson talk recently when he was in town and love his approach to creating a strong brand. Richard has been immensely successful in carrying the "Virgin" name through his airline, record company, cell phone com... Read >

Be The Hot Dog Stand - Search Engine Optimization

If you had to choose a business, which would it be - the most stunning store in the middle of nowhere or a hot dog stand in Central Park, New York? I hope you said the hot dog stand. It has a much larger chance for success even though it may not have co... Read >

Be An Orange

When a prospective buyer is looking at your product or service, he or she is really comparing you to the competition. So the question is, are they comparing an apple to an apple or an apple to an orange? It is vitally important in marketing that you find ... Read >

You Can't Win If You Don't Keep Score

Unless you have the DREAM Marketing budget, it's vital that you make every penny count, yet the majority of businesses out there don't really keep score when it comes to the effectiveness of their marketing initiatives. It's no wonder, if you have every ... Read >

Yellow Pages - To Advertise or Not To Advertise

It's that time of the year, when those of you who have yellow page listings will be receiving calls for renewals, and those of you that are thinking about it, will need to think about booking. Every year in the spring, I get asked 2 common questions about... Read >

Is Radio Advertising Right For You?

I was given a gentle nudge from my father the other day. He was reminding me of my radio roots and was wondering when I would do an article on radio advertising. I literally grew up in radio (it was on in every room of our house) and I have fond memories ... Read >

Customer Intimacy

It's often said that good times can hide fundamental problems with a company. This might be everything from a high debt/equity ratio, to inferior products to poor customer service. Some of these problems are harder to fix than others, especially when the ... Read >