Image Credit: Aphasara / Shutterstock.com A consumer’s perception of a brand and its values, products, and services can have a dramatic impact on purchase behavior. Believe it or not, most of us act upon our powers of perception rather than on unbiased, objective reasoning. Given nearly identical facts about a brand’s products and services, consumers...Read More

If you know someone who chooses to be a vegetarian or a vegan, you know someone who wouldn’t be caught dead (no pun intended) in a fast-food restaurant specializing in serving former members of the animal kingdom. It’s not that being vegetarian or vegan is bad somehow or restaurants are acting in some disparaging tactics...Read More

Image Credit: Aysezgicmeli / Shutterstock.com Circumventing the traditional manufacturer to wholesaler; wholesaler to retailer; retailer to consumer distribution model and going directly to the consumer isn’t new for many brands, particularly for those for which telling the brand story and customer service are key factors in making the sale and building customer retention and loyalty. ...Read More

Image credit: Jeramey Lende / Shutterstock.com As a youngster it was a concept that brought glee to the hearts of many a child. Christmas in July! What a great idea. The very thought of having another bite of the gift-receiving apple five months early was an idea that seemed too good to be true. And...Read More

Image Credit: Stockbakery / Shutterstock.com Perhaps the most inconvenient aspect of shopping online is returning an item that failed to meet expectations. Repacking and taking the unwanted item to a shipping location is often inconvenient, time consuming and expensive. Amid all the fanfare about how online sellers are eating brick and mortar retailers for lunch,...Read More

Image Credit: NeydtStock/Shutterstock.com Hallmark holidays have always been an opportunity for retailers to rack-up some additional sales. Valentine’s Day, once a day reserved for romance and couples, is trending in some interesting directions. With more than 50 percent of Americans identifying themselves as single and not fully committed to a love relationship, the dynamics of the once romantic...Read More

Image credit: Tashatuvango / Shutterstock.com Ask any veteran in business and you’ll hear stories about the ongoing warbetween the marketing function and the sales department. Many relationshipsbetween sales and marketing departments often resemble an efficient andeffective circular firing squad. Marketing blames sales for not executing onits plan and sales complains that marketing has failed to...Read More

Sales automation is fast becoming a critical need in today’s hyper-competitive business environment. The process of managing sales efforts has long been fraught with challenges. Identifying premium sales targets, making a meaningful connection with the individuals who yield the most significant buying influence, presenting the pitch and closing the sale has always been a time-consuming...Read More

Ask any veteran in business and you’ll hear stories about the ongoing war between the marketing function and the sales department. Many relationships between the sales and the marketing departments often resemble an efficient and effective circular firing squad. As sales slump marketing blames sales for not executing on its plan and sales complains that...Read More

Now a wise shopkeeper himself, the gentleman remembers the early days helping around his own parents’ store. From the moment they found him mature enough to handle a position on the sales floor and just tall enough to reach the keys to the cash register, his father instilled and re-inforced in him a few basic...Read More