A lot of restaurants are concerned about whether or not daily deals like Groupon, Living Social and various others actually encourage repeat business, or if they’re just a great way to throw away food. EMarketer just posted some statistics on the subject that break down the results you can expect. Click here for the full article on emarketer.com

This nods back to when gin was made and tubs and Jazz was at its prime. Men were men and women were women. A simpler time when if you got caught sneaking a drink, you’d be arrested. What an amazing study in classic, retro design. The Landing’s marketing and advertising were designed by Jamie Stolarski. In his words:

Playing loud Dixieland since 1963, The Landing is one of the oldest jazz clubs in the US and a San Antonio institution. I used to go to the Riverwalk to hear Jim Cullum and his band with my grandfather when I was still in short pants. I had the good fortune to get to update the brand when the club changed owners recently.

Looking for a new idea or anything to help get your business booming? Well who better to ask then the people who already know you so well. The only ones that can make a difference and increase your companies word of mouth are the ones already engaged with your brand. They know what they like and they know what they don’t like about your brand and it’s up to you to figure out how to utilize this knowledge.

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and even email marketing can be very effective with the right steps taken. Too many companies today join facebook and update their followers with the information that most of them are already aware of because they do “like” you’re brand. If you really want to gain some ROI on your time invested in social media, it is best to ask your loyal consumers what they would like and build up a majority of input that can be realistically met. When you see through with the requests of your consumers it builds a strong loyalty to your brand making your consumers more inclined to spread the word about your brand and the new changes put forth. Just remember. Facebook isn’t going to help your company, but rather help you get in touch with the people that can.

By: Mark G. Valente | Online Marketing Director | @MarkwithMWL | Vigor Interactive Branding

These 40 quotes act as a great insiration to build your personal branding focus. Put into a company perspective, you can also find some usefulness for focussing your business brand as well. Enjoy and don’t forget to check out Dan’s site. Personal Branding Blog

1. “Brand yourself for the career you want, not the job you have.”
2. “By focusing entirely on your personal brand, you become unemployable.”
3. “Create your own career, instead of letting your company do it for you.”
4. “If you want to be known for everything, you’ll be known for nothing.”
5. “When you have passion, expertise and a support system, you can do anything!”
6. “Make your life one giant networking event.”
7. “You have to be as committed to your personal brand as you are to your husband or wife.”
8. “Just like content is king on the internet, your experience is king when it comes to getting a job.”
9. “In order to succeed in the new world of work you MUST become the commander of your career.”
10. “Be the real you because everyone else is taken and replicas don’t sell for as much.” (more…)

Social media has been an increasingly effective part in the marketing strategies of many big and local businesses. The main question when Foursquare came around with their innovative geolocation sharing network was; How do we use this to benefit our brand or business? But the Foursquare team has added a few cool features with their network, bringing the game focus to the site, while continuing to build on their own marketing and professional relationships. Today we have some unique ways in which Foursquare has become an effective business marketing tool for more. (more…)

Every business should be engaging in some form of email marketing or another. Whether frequent or infrequent, staying in front of your customers is marketing 101. There are hundreds of email marketing service providers out there and that can be overwhelming. Who do you use? What’s a good deal? What features should they provide? Let’s dig a little deeper as we outline what the right ESP is for your restaurant and/or company.

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We are, obviously, approached constantly by potential clients looking to build their business. One thing we come across frequently is the notion that one or two things will create the desired effect. It’s hard to change people’s minds when they are dead set on a belief, but I have to wonder where this notion is derived. (more…)

One of the things we’ve run across through our interactive branding and marketing experiences is the “just get it done” or “make it look nice” attitudes some clients seem to have. To be honest, we’ve had the same attitude towards other services as well. Good enough can be okay when talking about certain things as long as one has a firm grasp on what to expect with regard to results. Good enough will yield mediocre results at best and minimal results most of the time.

So, why shoot for good enough when “great” is just around the bend?

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A lot of new and emerging medias seem to perplex local businesses who’s reach doesn’t span more than a 50 mile radius. A lot of the time it seems like these types of media are out of reach and too expensive. Unlike other medias of old, like TV and Radio, newer medias were built on the local business, small geographical targetting mind frame and budget. Mobile marketing IS in your reach and it IS effective. Here are some tips for using it in your campaigns. (more…)

Everybody wants more word of mouth business for their company. It’s a need and want that supersedes the B2B and B2C specific interests. However, there is no magic bullet that builds more word of mouth beyond wowing your current customers. Until Blabberbug.com was launched. (more…)