Author Archive

What difference does it make? The importance of tracking customer response

Valcort’s 35 Keys to Business Growth:  #21 We have specific, consistent ways we collect data and track customer response to every advertising, marketing and sales effort. We use this information to measure our marketing and sales efficiency and effectiveness. For more than 10 years we have been asking executives to rate...

Influencing the influencers through communication

Valcort’s 35 Keys to Business Growth: #20--“Have strong communication with people who can influence a buyer’s decision, based on addressing a buyer’s most important needs.” Think about your last major purchase.  As a business owner, it may have been a piece of equipment or a building. As a home owner or...

7 Reasons Nonprofits Flounder or Fail

A group of our friends led a wonderful start-up that was trying to bring new perspectives to the environmental cause and reach faith-based constituencies who were not traditional supporters of these concerns.  They had the plan worked out on paper, and even had a foundation to underwrite the effort for a...

7 reasons people buy

Since money isn’t easy to come by, what makes us part with it?  And if we decide to make a purchase of any kind, why do we choose one product or service over another?  There are mountains of research on these questions, but since you may have even less time...

Resuming the series: Valcort’s 35 Keys to Business Growth

We’re resuming today our writing on Valcort’s 35 keys to business growth, which highlight our comprehensive view of the most important disciplines that companies and organizations will master if they are to consistently succeed.  To help you review the discussions to date, we’ve provided below the links to the articles...

Reaching the people most important to your business

Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth: #19 Continuously evaluate the most effective way to reach each of the different customer groups you serve. The easy part of marketing is to state a crisp, sensible plan for success: Whether we have a product that will be of interest to 10 or...

15 tips for successfully reaching “unreachables”

It’s only natural for us to want to market our products or services to everyone, in hopes of capturing a larger audience. But every business has some “unreachables” who seem unsuited for or resistant to your overtures.  Now, some of these people are placed in that category for a good...

IRS approvals, Red Cross problems and top stories from the nonprofit sector

Nonprofit Tax-Exemption Approvals Double, Thanks to Simplified Form.  The Internal Revenue Service approved 94, 365 applications from organizations seeking 501(c)(3) designations in fiscal year 2014, more than double the number approved in the previous two years. 4 Options for Targeting Donors.  You have four options when evaluating how you might...

The world’s best leaders, delivery drones and other interesting business stories of the week

Who are the world’s best leaders?  The greatest leaders are the ones who run organizations that truly care for their employees’ and customers’ health, happiness, and wellbeing.  -- Fortune Amazon Hammers FAA For Lack Of 'Impetus' Over Drone Policy.  Amazon.com is not pleased with the pace by which the Federal...

Get the message?

Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth: #18 Create clear and specific messages targeted to each stakeholder (vendor, employee, shareholder, representative, customer, end user) to help them talk about your company and promote your products and services. Several years ago I accompanied a client, a well-known leader of one of the nation’s...