Ranseen Marketing’s Debunker Newsletters

You’ve arrived at the archives for my monthly swipes at business as it is (sometimes rants… and sometimes not… but never boring pieces) – usually debunking a myth out there that’s rampant in the business world. You’ll get my straight-on opinion based on 30 years in the business world, and I hope you’ll comment, too

Note that prior to 2008, I’ve culled out a few of the golden oldies (from several hundred Debunkers since 2001) that still play pretty well and are worth a look. Please let me know if you think they stand the test of time…or not.

Most Recent Debunker Newsletter:

Selling Vein Procedures Online – A Mini Case Study: Your Spring ‘10 Ranseen Marketing Debunker
Facing with escalating competition from "vein centers" and "vein clinics" in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago, North Shore Vascular decided to implement a comprehensive online marketing program, including new website - to compete better for varicose veins and spider veins procedures. Here is the early story with some very impressive results after only one month.….and some lessons you can learn …regardless of your business (If doctors, who have traditionally ignored marketing altogether, can do it online – your business can too!).

Featured Oldie Goldie that you need to check out:

Short is Hard - Long is Easy. Just ask Winston Churchill - November 2008

Winston Churchill once said, "I am going to give a long speech as I have not had time to write a short one."

I tell all of my marketing clients: short is hard, and long is a lot easier. Have you discovered this truism when you write yourself or hire someone to write for you -- whether it's a speech, a marketing piece or whatever? What I typically run into at new clients is either a "blank sheet" or worse: a lot of lengthy, wordy, disjointed, outdated marketing-like stuff that doesn't grab anyone and or get them to act.

More Debunkers

Some Tonic for 2010 - You Holiday Debunker for 2009

Have you had a tough biz year in '09? Join the crowd. Here’s some tonic for 2010:

A little secret: it’s not about you. It’s about them: your customers, partners, vendors, employees (and colleagues) and anyone else who has helped you get through this incredibly trying economic year. Say a genuine “thank you” and ask them if there’s any way you can help them out in 2010. Don’t kid yourself, either, if you think you’ve got it a lot worse than most. It’s been much tougher for many others (and you and I just don’t realize it…). If you’ve been fortunate enough to have a banner year in 2009, then count your blessings even more often and spend even more time thanking the people that made you successful.Read more.

Some Tonic for 2010 - You Holiday Debunker for 2009

Have you had a tough biz year in '09? Join the crowd. Here’s some tonic for 2010:

A little secret: it’s not about you. It’s about them: your customers, partners, vendors, employees (and colleagues) and anyone else who has helped you get through this incredibly trying economic year. Say a genuine “thank you” and ask them if there’s any way you can help them out in 2010. Don’t kid yourself, either, if you think you’ve got it a lot worse than most. It’s been much tougher for many others (and you and I just don’t realize it…). If you’ve been fortunate enough to have a banner year in 2009, then count your blessings even more often and spend even more time thanking the people that made you successful. Read more.

Sticks and Stones and Dangerous Emails - October 2009

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is an old saying that is wildly wrong. Sticks, stones, knives, guns, etc pale in comparison to words. Words can be powerfully good...but also can be dangerously damaging in business and elsewhere: words said in person or put in virtually any form of written, email, texting, instant messaging, Twittering, or other communications. Here are some pitfalls in emailing.

Should you go Full Monty on your website? Sept 2009

That is, can you show and tell people too much on your website?

-About your products and services?

-About your clients?

-About your pricing?

Yes, in some cases you can, but too many companies still err toward the end of the spectrum of playing it way too close-to-the-vest…especially non e-commerce businesses that sell B2B. Read more about how much you should show & tell on your site.

Is Your Marketing Balance Out of Whack in 2009? Your August 2009 Debunker Newsletter
Whether it's your golf game or your business's marketing, having a good sense of "balance," can make all the difference. Here are 5 Checkpoints to re-balance your Marketing in 2009 (and a short golf lesson from Gary Player).

Are you tough enough to have 19 lives? Your June 2009 Debunker
A story about my 19-year old cat Lucy (and I'm not a cat fan at all; I'm a dog guy)...and some really true grit...that we all need this day and age. That darn cat is actually one of my role models.

Free Your Fret & Fertilize Your Business
We all seem to live and breathe and unfortunately too often buy into “fret” as inevitable in these times of economic turmoil. There is nothing positive about "fretting." But you can free it instead and fertilize your business. Read more.

The Flip Side of Customer Service - for Differentiating Your Business

During these challenging economic times a lot is being said about differentiating your business via "customer service." Absolutely, I agree that there is no better way to better market your products & services than to have great interactions with customers. Happy customers beget happy customers. Although, why still do so few businesses get this? Doing it is seems simple but is difficult.

The flip side of that "customer service" coin is how you also interact with your partners and vendors. Read more.

A Mini-Case Study: Succeeding online even when the economy stinks -- February 2009
No magic formulas, but NOW is a good time to do "it" online in your market - and here's why if you have the guts. This is a "mini" case study about how to succeed online in the current, not-so-great-current economy.

Paper & Pen Produce Productivity -- January 2009
OK, admittedly, I grew up in the ancient time of slide-rules and manual typewriters (and of course lots of "white-out"). I can't even imagine how much more productive I'd have been in high school and college with a PC or Mac (or at least I would have had even more time to for fun stuff!). Like most folks, I just take the technology advances for granted at this point and have no clue how my type of business would even be possible without a PC (and yes, if Microsoft pulls another "Vista" thing, I am moving to Mac, finally).

But read more on how Pen & Paper can help your productivity, too.

10 Ranseen Marketing Resolutions for 2009 - December 2008

You’ll undoubtedly have other things on your list, but I thought that I’d share my 11 resolutions for next year, publicly – so that maybe I’ll do a better job of living up to them. So here they are. Happy New Year!

Short is Hard - Long is Easy. Just ask Winston Churchill - November 2008

Winston Churchill once said, "I am going to give a long speech as I have not had time to write a short one."

Thinking 1st is Hard to Do - October 2008

Did you hear about the company that put up a website a few years ago and just let it go to H_LL during that time? Yeah, a typical business story, but in this case the culprit was me, an online marketing guy, for goodness sake! I was talking the talk but not walking the walk. There was no good excuse for my not being an excellent online role model for my clients, prospects, and others.

No, the root cause of this phenomenon is the difficulty in being able to sit down, think, read, consider, analyze -- to be introspective and reflective about one's own stuff – not thinking FIRST before acting.

Testimonials that Help You Sell – October 2007

Musings on Clients and Prospects: The Lifeblood of Your Business – July 2007

Be a Proactive Pest – July 2006

Corporate Spring Cleaning Time! Toss those Worthless Policies & Procedures – March 2006

Is Your Web Site Asleep at the Stick?--Great Marketing Results, Part II – February 19, 2005

Marketing Results Depend on Trust- Great Marketing Results, Part I – January 18, 2005

"Office Space" 2005 – November 29, 2004

Web Site Marketing: Boiling it Down--October 28, 2004

Time to SWOT Your Business to Get Ready for 2005 – October 1, 2004

Cold Calling-Part II – March 29, 2004

Cold Calling-Part I – March 1, 2004

The Proposal Trap – February 9, 2004