The Blog - Where Business Collides with Human Nature

Achieving an Excellent Culture or a World Class Product - Which Comes First?

An excellent culture might be perceived as a form of "perfection".  At what point does one draw the line, point and say: "Now we have achieved an excellent culture." Once the line is drawn, the excellence achieved, a few will be looking over their shoulder more worried about the achievement of culture vs. the people, purpose and profit of the organization.

Do you look around an organization you lead, are a member of or work for and ask yourself "how long will I put up with this?"  If so, you will not find the answers internally. The answers are external and yes, you can have an impact on the culture at almost any level.

Defined: Organizational culture is the behavior of humans within an organization and the meaning that people attach to those behaviors.

Topics: Recommended Books Leadership Entrepreneurship Business Culture

Starting From Scratch

You have skills. Others tell you that you are are a genius. You have decided to take advantage of your talents. and think "If I am such a genius, why not add to my income and monetize my deep expertise?"  

Topics: Start a Business Entrepreneurship

Manifesto of Content Strategy by Rand Fishkin [video]

Marketing considerations for content strategy vs. content tactics can and will be explained in this video.  Breaking Internet marketing down from from complicated to simple, Rand Fishkin gave this talk at the SEOmoz Meetup at the Search Church. 

He talks the keystone of SEO: content and how many marketers believe they are making sales directly. Instead content marketing is meant to build familiarity, build likability, and build trust. The only way to do great content is to do it over and over again.

Topics: Inbound Marketing Content Marketing

Checklist to Hire Inbound Marketing Services

Are you interested in getting more leverage online?  This checklist will help you to prepare for inbound marketing services. If your business is in start-up mode, this checklist can also be a guide to improve your chance of success.

Topics: Internet Marketing Inbound Marketing

The Science of Inbound Marketing

Companies like Dropbox, FreshBooks, 37signals, and HubSpot are able to generate tens of thousands of leads using marketing people love because they're all masters of inbound marketing.

This is not a new presentation and yet Dharmesh Shah, founder and CTO of HubSpot offers timeless principles.  Learn why inbound marketing is such an important addition to your marketing plan.

You will walk away with new ideas about search engine optimization (SEO) and how social media and search are impacting each other.

Topics: Inbound Marketing

Which Offer is Best for Landing Pages During the Buying Process

Which are the best offers to use on a landing page?  The answer varies based on the visitor and what phase they are in during their buying process.  Since no two people think the same, we can break down them down into three basic groups:

  1. Awareness:  People have either become aware of your product or service, or they have become aware that they have a need that must be fulfilled.

  2. Evaluation:  People are aware that your product or service could fulfill their need, and they are trying to determine whether you are the best fit.

  3. Purchase:  People are ready to make a purchase or take action very close to making a purchase.

Topics: Offers Inbound Marketing Conversion Landing Pages

The Future of Search: Marcus Tandler at TEDxMünchen [Video]

Marcus Tandler, a speaker at TEDxMunchen, delivers a fresh perspective of the future of search engines. Search expectations constantly change, and search engines are forced to change with them.

Today it has become crucial for search engines to understand rather than to merely index as our search is “recency-sensitive” and replete with questions.

German born marketer Marcus Tandler has become famous for his rapid-fire presentations and future-facing insights. Finally, Marcus has made it to the TEDx stage to share his predictions with the world. 

Tandler predicts that search of the future will be moving from a web search to a contextual search to accommodate our ever-rising search expectations.

This video is about more than search.  Consider how the behavior of humans has changed.

Topics: SEO Search Engine Google

Bad Website Landing Pages and How to Fix Them [infographic]

The word an entrepreneur loves to hear is "yes" and it comes from faith, trust and curiosity. A landing page is a moment of decision where seven short seconds can make all the difference. As the seconds click by, here are barriers to getting a "Yes! I will complete the form and give you my real information!":

Topics: Inbound Marketing Conversion Landing Pages