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- Telling a Good Story
by Michele Miller - You may have the greatest company in the world. But if you don't know how to convey that to customers, you may as well not exist.
(May 2007) - The Future of Consumer Research
by Michele Miller - Are you still using traditional focus groups? New techniques could help you discover what your customers are really thinking.
(October 2006) - The Importance of Being Relevant
by Michele Miller - Facing global competition and a technology revolution, entrepreneurs must work harder than ever to find a message that resonates with customers.
(March 2006) - Finding Your Voice
by Adam Hanft - Like Melville or Hemingway, companies need a unique voice to reach customers in a meaningful way.
(March 2006) - Leave No Stone Unturned
by Michele Miller - Marketing involves much more than just signage and promotional materials. You should put thought into every contact customers have with your company.
(February 2006) - The Crazy Math of E-mail
by Bill Nussey - Foisting your messages on as many people as possible, as often as possible, simply doesn't work in e-mail.
(September 2005) - How to Send E-Mail Your Customers Will Love
by Bill Nussey - Today's inboxes are overflowing with poorly executed e-mail marketing messages. Here's how to create one that people open and actually read.
(August 2005) - To Grow, or To Steal?
by Adam Hanft - Expanding a business can happen one of two ways: grow a market or steal market share from your competitors. Here's how you can arrive at the right strategy for your business.
(July 2005) - Eight Easy Ways to Boost E-mail Deliverability
by Bill Nussey - For smaller businesses, getting opt-in messages through spam filters can be a formidable task.
(July 2005) - Are Spam and Phishing Killing E-mail?
by Bill Nussey - Even though customers increasingly are annoyed by deceptive and questionable uses of e-mail, they're not ready to shut their inboxes -- at least not yet.
(June 2005) - The Research Riddle
by Adam Hanft - User feedback increasingly has governed our market research efforts, but have we placed too much of an emphasis on this inexact science?
(May 2005) - What You Can Learn from Starbucks
by Adam Hanft - Even though torrents have been written about Starbucks, there is still a lot you can learn from its business practices.
(April 2005) - The Case Against Loyalty
by Adam Hanft - What's the biggest problem in American business? An excess of loyalty.
(April 2005) - Remembering an Entrepreneur We Loved
by Adam Hanft - Horace Hagedorn: an entrepreneur we loved.
(April 2005) - E-mail Delivery Myths: Throwing Out the Good With the Bad
by Bill Nussey - Spam filters could be killing your e-mail marketing program. Here are three deliverability myths and how you can break through them.
(April 2005) - Ready, Willing, But Are You Enabled?
by Adam Hanft - Forces outside of your company are shaping your business's success more than you realize.
(March 2005) - In Praise of Privacy
by Adam Hanft - These days, transparency is all the rage. But businesses need a little privacy -- and sometimes a lot of it.
(March 2005) - How I Did It: David Blumenthal
by Adam Hanft - The family yarn business was just getting by until knitting became cool (perhaps you've seen Gangsta Knitter?). Now it's on its way to becoming a $200 million success.
(February 2005) - Reshuffling Your Cabinet
by Adam Hanft - Stop hiring people. Instead, make like the President and appoint them to four-year terms.
(February 2005) - The New Rules of E-mail Marketing
by Bill Nussey - New legislation, loftier customer expectations -- the old rules of e-mail marketing just don't seem to fit anymore. Here's what does and how you can implement them.
(February 2005) - Is There a Grown-up in the House?
by Adam Hanft - Being the rule breaker is cool. Being practical is boring. But that's just what most businesses need -- an unimaginative business dolt who can keep the team tethered to reality, especially when it comes to marketing.
(January 2005) - Grist: An Entrepreneur's Resolutions
by Adam Hanft - More nimbleness, less BlackBerry, and other new year's resolutions for 2005.
(January 2005) - Learn From Your Competitors
by Adam Hanft - Spend some time studying the guy who wants to eat your lunch. You might learn something.
(December 2004) - Grist: Micromanagers, Unite!
by Adam Hanft - Confessions from a real-life micro-manager -- and how our company can benefit from a little meddling.
(December 2004) - Pay Attention to Not Paying Attention
by Adam Hanft - Create an Action Culture in your business to help keep employees engaged and focused on your business' future.
(November 2004) - Grist: Politics, Passion -- and Profits
by Adam Hanft - In politics and beyond, the marriage of passion and profit is a winning formula for entrepreneurs.
(November 2004) - Set Your Sights High
by Adam Hanft - The cable channel industry is so far ahead of its competitor, the broadcast industry, that it would be silly not to take notice of the things its doing right -- and employ them in your own business.
(October 2004) - Grist: A Passport to America
by Adam Hanft - How blue staters and red staters can learn to communicate and do business.
(October 2004) - Courage to Charge More
by Adam Hanft - A portion of your customer base is price-driven, but a substantial number of them may be willing to pay even more for what you offer.
(September 2004) - It's Swing Time
by Adam Hanft - Corporate America is suffering from bipolar management disorder. Quick, put on some Ray Charles.
(September 2004) - Don't Market Your Business
by Adam Hanft - Un-Marketing: Reduce the power of the buyer -- and increase your standing -- by playing hard to get.
(August 2004) - Internet Opportunities Small Businesses Overloook
by Adam Hanft - Search marketing and rich media work, but too few small companies use them to their advantage.
(August 2004) - Grist: Resisting the Power of Pedigree
by Adam Hanft - In business, as in horseracing, good breeding can be overrated.
(August 2004) - War Economy: When Should You Attack Your Competition?
by Adam Hanft - You can tell consumers why your product is better and the other guy's is worse. But make sure you do it right.
(July 2004) - The Big Deal About Niches
by Adam Hanft - Don't let the word "niche" keep you from thinking big.
(July 2004) - Soul Proprietor: Jon Bon Jovi
by Adam Hanft - What's a rock star doing running a football team? Being entrepreneurial, for starters. Business owner Jon Bon Jovi talks with Inc. magazine.
(July 2004) - Grist: Beyond the Vale of Smiles
by Adam Hanft - Come in out of the sun. Your employees are shining you on.
(July 2004) - Grist: Why Bankruptcy is Bad for Business
by Adam Hanft - The other reason entrepreneurs should fear bankruptcy.
(June 2004) - Cutting Through the Clutter
by Adam Hanft - Why do business owners need more marketing advice, asks Adam Hanft? Because most of what you'll find on the Web doesn't expertly address marketing's ever-changing landscape.
(May 2004) - In Praise of Niche Marketing
by Adam Hanft - Big companies might have their sights set on the "mass market," but entrepreneurial companies realize the key to success is in satisfying the individual.
(May 2004) - Grist: What I Learned From The Sopranos
by Adam Hanft - With business leaders trying to clean up their acts, why are they turning to Tony Soprano, management guru?
(May 2004) - Grist: Trampling on Our Icons
by Adam Hanft - If politicians and economists love entrepreneurs so much (and they say they do), why do entrepreneurs face so many hurdles, whether they're starting their business or attempting to expand it?
(April 2004) - How I Did It With Howard Rubenstein
by Adam Hanft - Howard Rubenstein is PR's top dog, a man who represents the corporate and the celebrated, a neat combination of blue chips and black eyes.
(March 2004) - Grist: What's Love Got to Do With It?
by Adam Hanft - The level of romantic involvement between businesses and their owners is getting dangerous--for love, as we all know, is not a condition for rational thought.
(March 2004) - Grist: The New Lust for Integrity
by Adam Hanft - Ethical accountability now shapes the way companies are judged and valued. This isn't ethics as ornament, as the accessory of the moment. It is a lasting change.
(February 2004) - Grist: What's in Store for '04
by Adam Hanft - From "perfect storming" to CEOs as name-brands, here are some trends poised to take shape in 2004.
(January 2004) - Grist: Do you have the Schwarzenedge?
by Adam Hanft - Besides being governor-elect of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a metaphor for the triumph of entrepreneurism.
(December 2003) - Grist: Don't Ignore Corporate Graffiti
by Adam Hanft - The thoughts and scribblings of today's "prophetic minorities" are everywhere--especially on the Internet. Companies should not ignore the lessons contained in this corporate graffiti.
(November 2003) - The Zentrepreneur
by Adam Hanft - Restaurateur Phil Suarez has built his successful business intuitively---perhaps proving that you can't succeed if you're bored.
(October 2003) - Grist: The Inevitable Rise of the Entrepreneur
by Adam Hanft - The survival of the fittest doesn't always mean the survival of the biggest. Indeed, the natural life cycle of the American economy always eventually favors the entrepreneur.
(October 2003) - Grist: Mom & Pop: Please Read
by Adam Hanft - Who better to defend nepotism than the son of an internationally famous author? In praise of Adam Bellow's new book.
(September 2003) - Grist: More Power Than Point
by Adam Hanft - PowerPoint (or "presentation software") has become the lingua franca of American business. It's also become the problem with American business.
(August 2003) - Grist: Wanted: Something New Under the Sun
by Adam Hanft - If we measured consumer excitement about new products and used it as a bona fide economic indicator, we'd all be pretty worried. That's because there's too little cool stuff to buy these days.
(July 2003) - Grist: The Rising Cost of Bad Advice
by Adam Hanft - Given all the bad advice out there, business owners need to develop a healthy skepticism of the experts, recognizing that doing so requires more than just an inquiring mind.
(June 2003) - Grist: The American Ambassador
by Adam Hanft - American brands like Coke and McDonald's may end up being casualties of war.
(May 2003) - Grist: Down With Bossocracy
by Adam Hanft - Though many large companies have rushed to support the diversity policies at the University of Michigan, how many American businesses, large or small, really encourage diversity of thought?
(Apr 2003) - Grist: Don't Read the Business Pages
by Adam Hanft - How do you attack the morning paper? We all have our own rituals.
(March 2003) - Smarter Hiring, the DDI Way
by Adam Hanft - Some companies spend more time selecting the right copier than hiring the right employees. You can do better.
(March 2003) - Grist: Leno Brands Versus Letterman Brands
by Adam Hanft - Like late-night TV hosts, brands today fall into one of two categories: iconic or ironic.
(Feb 2003) - Grist: The Sad End of the Bad Reference
by Adam Hanft - Résumés, like ads in the personals column, are marketing documents intended to sell at best, deceive at worst.
(Jan 2003) - Grist: The Risk of Doing Nothing
by Adam Hanft - It's easy for businesses to quantify mistakes. But the bigger financial risk is the hidden cost of doing nothing.
(Dec 2002)
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