Howard Schultz stepped down as chief executive of Starbucks in 2000, at the height of its success, only to return 8 years later to turn it around. See http://bit.ly/9CCFjm for related stories of other CEOs.
I am so impressed with this long interview (an excerpt itself), that I want to share some quotes from it, and [...]

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Avon, the No.1 direct seller of cosmetics is ostensibly implementing new strategies to accelerate sales, including a new product mix. A Reuters report also indicates another goal is to retain customers despite losing sales representatives.
Basically, for higher profits, Avon will cut back on its non-beauty products, such as jewelry and kitchen products while focusing on [...]

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New research confirms what might be obvious. Products with a presence on Facebook and Twitter are favored by users of those social media, according to a published report in WebProNews. The study, by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies, indicates marketers benefit in word-of-mouth and direct sales.
WebProNews eporter Mike Sachoff wrote that 79 percent [...]

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 Summary:  OK, OK, for those of you who self-identify as members of the digerati, you can file this posting under “Restatement of the Self-Evident.”  However, the always-reliable Pew Internet & American Life Project just released its findings on how Americans get news.  http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-News.aspx.
Most interesting to us are the “social networks” results—meaning the number of people [...]

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Building life long loyal customers is difficult and complex. But the measurement of it can be easy. Fred Reichheld says that it comes down to one question - what is your Net-Promoter Score?
A company’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) is based on the fundamental perspective that every company’s customers can be divided into three categories: Promoters, [...]

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For Citibank customers and millions of other consumers who enjoy the convenience of online banking, a headline was alarming.
The Wall Street Journal headline: “FBI Probes Hack at Citibank – Russian Cyber Gang Suspected of Stealing Tens of Millions; Bank Denies Breach.”
The article on December 22, 2009 was the last we’ve seen about the Citibank situation. [...]

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Facebook has the ability for a business to create a unique page for your company. Officially called Pages, they have acquired the common name of “Fan Pages.” Should you create a Facebook Page for your business? What should you consider if you build this type of presence on Facebook?
Benefits of Facebook Pages
Remember, Facebook Pages are [...]

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“Inbound Marketing” is a term that I have seen to describe the untraditional ways to market and find leads and customers for your products and services. It is the practice of having qualified leads find you and your company through the use of creating content, search engine optimization (SEO), and social networks, rather than utilizing [...]

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Summary:  The Federal Trade Commission just issued regulations that, in essence, require bloggers (among others) to disclose any “material connections” between advertisers and endorsers.  No one should be surprised:  Restrictions on endorsements have been around for a very loooong time, consistent with the FTC principles of truth in advertising.    It remains to be seen exactly [...]

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DonorsChoose http://www.donorschoose.org  is a variation of micro-lending: micro-giving in which donations (not loans) are offered from individuals to very specific school projects that need funding. Their tagline is “An online charity connecting you to classrooms in need.”
The success of this venture is in the individual-to-community nature of the giving, and the ability for donors to [...]

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