Category View (Marketing)

I was recently interviewed by eMarketing and Commerce magazine about Trump University's secret to online success.   The interview is now online. If you are marketing your products or services online (which you should be) it is worth checking out their site and considering a subscription. If you have any specific questions about anything covered in the interview leave me a comment and I will do my best to respond. Enjoy. more...

For a great example of how a simple idea gets messed up by having too many people providing creative direction without clear goals and objectives take a few minutes and watch this video. Enjoy. more...

My friend Jeff sent this video of the lemonade business my way.  If only starting, running and marketing a business was this easy. I guess everything you need to know you learned in kindergarten is true....  Enjoy more...

It is commonly believed that Hallmark made greeting cards popular by creating different occasions for giving cards to friends and family.  They may even be responsible for a number of 'holidays' on our calendar.  Many companies celebrate national holidays with sales and marketing promotions but how many companies celebrate their customer's life events (OK my dentist sends me a birthday card.  Lucky me...) or even their own special days? Today we did just that and celebrated our 3 Year Anniversary by posting a note on the Trump Blog.  In addition to giving a discount on our products we wrote about the past more...

How often do you hear an executive struggling with a marketing problem and not wanting to hire an agency or additional resources declare: "Our business is so unique no one knows it like we do" Of course not and that is exactly why you should hire an outside resource.  You know your business and how to run it but marketing your business is a different skill set.  If you run your own business you are probably too close to it to have a good perspective on driving new customers to your business.  You need outside advice and resources to help solve those marketing more...

Last week I was directed to Stephen Kimball's website by a coworker.  It was perfect timing since I had just written my hire a copywriter post.  Stephen has a great offer on his site (he actually calls it amazing).  In this case you can get a free trip to Utah to spend the day with Stephen (if you take him up on his offer - read the details since the offer is more then just a day with Stephen). As a marketer I am always in awe of a great offer. An offer can dramatically improve the results of your marketing effort more...

At Trump University we have a number of rules we live by, one of them is that everyone is responsible for marketing.  This is especially true if someone interacts with a client directly.  Any employee who speaks, meets or interacts with a customer has the opportunity to make that person a customer for life or change their perception of the brand for good or bad. Yesterday I visited Whole Foods and was very disappointed.  I have written about Whole Foods in the past and normally I am a huge fan. In short this whole experience was ruined by a cashier.  The cashier more...

The Girl Scout cookie sale is off and running. I was approached to buy some cookies when it occurred to me that the Girl Scouts are great marketers. Just think about this for a minute. The brand is easily recognizable They have a sales force of thousands of willing and eager girls (and their families) running around the country selling This sales force creates product placement that can't be beat They sell huge quantities of their product with almost no overhead There is a sense of scarcity - only sold a few weeks a year The product selection and pricing model is simple to understand and communicate Almost everyone more...

I know, I know, Hannah and Miley are the same person.... For those who don’t know this weekend has two major activities happening. The Super Bowl on Sunday and the beginning of a one week run of the Hannah Montana 3D movie. Maybe Disney holds the ‘magic’ behind the genius of Hannah Montana but whoever thought of the latest marketing has done an incredible job.    The movie is basically a recording of Hannah’s concert tour with some back stage coverage. The movie is only in theaters for one week and almost all theaters have sold out of tickets in advance. What is so great about the more...

Over the years I have seen many different marketing strategies and media channels  but the one that was waiting for me when I returned from my ski trip takes the cake. ATM receipt advertising. I guess this makes sense if you want to waste your marketing money while people take out their own... How many people look at their receipts for more then a second to make sure their transaction went through correctly? On that note how many people still take their receipts? It makes sense to advertise in this medium if you are the bank and want one additional touch point but do you more...

From time to time we all need some R&R.  My time is now. I am going skiing for a few days to recharge and relax.  When I get back we will pick up where we left off. A couple of topics I hope to cover will be: Branding and Wealth The Super Bowl Mobile Marketing While I hit the slopes you might want to check out: David Berkowitz posts interesting content on new media.  The other day he pointed out a report by Mobile Marketer covering all things mobile and marketing.  Hopefully the report will keep you entertained until I get back. If you  need a dose of more...

Any day now all the marketing gurus will probably publish their lists of predictions for hot marketing topics in 2008. I figured I might as well share my own.  So here we go: Mobile marketing - lots of people are trying to figure out exactly how to use mobile technology to market to their customers (opt in of course). I expect to see some interesting strategies and uses come out in the next few months.  We are looking at one application that would allow you to sign up for a program all from your phone.  Lets see where that ends up.  Social Media more...

Throughout my career people have always joked that to make ads better you should: Make 'it' bigger If you can't make it bigger make 'it' red Use more emotion I thought you would all get a kick out of the Make My Logo Bigger site and video.  It pokes a little fun at everything marketing but with a little extra towards the tools and tactics of direct response marketing.  After you had a chance to laugh take some time to learn the importance of branding your business and how to market your business.   Enjoy. Josef Katz more...

Yesterday I discussed marketing yourself on an interview.  Well, today I got lucky.  I met with someone who did just that.  Not only did this person market themselves and their skills they added value to my day by directing me to a blog I didn't know about.  The Whats Next blog looks like it is right up my alley.  If you are interested in online marketing or social media this should be on your reading list or RSS feed. Are you adding value to your business or marketing programs? If not, find a way to add value.  People around you will take more...

Or not. Time will tell.  As you probably know Blockbuster has been spending millions of dollars on advertising and marketing trying to win back business they lost to Netflix. Their key differentiator has been that you can return your DVDs to a local store and get new DVDs the same day. Last night I heard blockbuster was closing 282 stores and using the money to focus on their online business. OK that makes sense but why spend all that time and money advertising the fact you have stores? Seems like someone at Blockbuster needs to take a step back and rethink their USP  and marketing strategy. At more...

Today I attended DMDays NY.  I think trade shows and industry conferences play an important role in any industry.  These events are perfect places for educational, product launch, and  networking opportunities.  I would recommend you attend any event before exhibiting.  If you can't attend the event then talk to others who have attended to make sure the audience/your target market is going to be in attendance.  If you do decide to market your business at an event please remember the following: Engage the people walking the floor If an attendee enters your booth try to be helpful, answer questions, and tell them what more...

Google recently announced they acquired Feedburner.  I have been watching Feedburner's growth for about two years and I am a big fan of their services.  We use them at Trump University (see the link on the right).  In addition to all the metrics and services they can provide they created a new medium for marketers.  If you read RSS feeds you might see an ad from time to time and in many cases you will see a little note that says powered by Feedburner.  If you are marketing your business or if you have a blog you might want to check out their services.  more...

For those of you that don't know I am a big Seth Godin fan.  Some might say a groupie... I read his books, blogs and when possible go and hear him speak. Today I had the privilege to hear him on his NYC Dip Tour. As always the presentation and the content were excellent. Most businesses go through a growth dip and Seth does a great job outlining this business phenomenon and discusses the process of getting through the dip and prospering. Here are a few key take-a-ways from this morning's seminar:  (I recommend buying the book to get the full story and more...

This is not a post about Shakespeare and Web2.0 but it is a good question if you have your own business and want to create a brand for yourself. We can’t tell you a blog is going to make your business great but it is definitely worth considering when you think about your brand and marketing plans. A blog will help you with your search engine rankings and it is a great way for potential customers to learn more about you but it does require work. Here are some resources and tips to help you evaluate the blogging world and if you already have more...

Welcome to the TrumpU marketing blog. We thought it was time to break out from the main Trump blog and create our own blog dedicated to marketing and sales. We know our students and users want to learn marketing tactics and tips from Trump Org.  Now you can.  This blog will be very different from the Trump Blog. Posts will be shorter. We will try to point out interesting sites and news that relate to marketing and entrepreneurship. Some days we may just put up some interesting links or sites that might be useful to your business. Think of the blog as sort of a cliff notes more...