6 Marketing Action Steps To Take NOW...

that won't cost you a thing.

1. Review your website to check for broken links. For example, if you have links to affiliate groups, articles or other off-site sources, verify they're still active.

2. Proof your website for typos or outdated information. We try to automatically take care of this for our clients, but we're not always aware of all the internal happenings and changes. And of course, we can't do this for those we don't companies we don't work with yet. :)

3. Ask a trusted colleague to call into your office to do some "secret shopping" to see how your front office staff handles calls. Give them a key scenario you want them to test (difficult client, confused patient, etc.).

4. Ask approximately 10-20% of your staff "Who are we?" or "What does our brand represent?" If you get a range of answers, you've got some work to do. If everyone's on the same page, KUDOS!

5. Update your personal voicemail (office and cell phone). Does it accurately represent the company or could it be improved?

6. Update your e-mail signature with the color's proper brand identity - the right colors and font (at least something comparable), a link to your website, your best-to-reach-you phone number, etc. This is a daily marketing opportunity.

Pizza Faux Pas

It'd be an understatement to say 2009 was a tough year for Domino's Pizza, what with the awkward employees-abusing-food scandal.

A quick recap: two bored employees recorded themselves doing unpleasant things with food, and the video wound up on YouTube. Domino's responded swiftly enough, both terminating the employees and releasing an apologetic YouTube video featuring company president Patrick Doyle. (No, not the Patrick Doyle who was formerly president of DLA Creative, but wouldn't that be cool?)

Since then, things have quieted down, but it goes without saying that Domino's learned a valuable lesson about the power of social-media communications.

Well, as you no doubt have seen, the pizza joint recently kicked off a campaign to show that it is out anew to win hearts, minds and taste buds. The company conducted a series of focus groups to find out how people truly felt about the taste of its pizza. Turns out most of them hated it; the most common complaint was that the crust tasted like cardboard. So, tail between legs, the corporate kitchens embarked on a journey to give their pies a facelift.

Have you seen these commercials? What did you think? Post your comments here.

(From MarketingProfs)

Which Sister Are You?

I took the quiz to see which sister I am. Click on my icon and you can see which one you are.