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Apple really screwed the pooch on this one...

I have been an Apple Computer customer and fan for the better part of twenty years.

Anybody who's been using Macs that long has surely found themselves scratching their heads about a thing or two along the way. Whatever. Gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette. 

All the same, Apple taking such a public dump on Macworld -- the veritable heart of Mac mania -- is remarkable enough to warrant this post.

The title links to a blog post on ZDNet that sums it up pretty well, IMO.

WTF?

Don Fleece is DEAD...

Traffic Mysteries 2.0 - The Most Important Web Traffic Course Ever?

I was recently tasked with creating the pre-launch video for Don Fleece's Traffic Mysteries 2.0.

I had NO idea what a FIRESTORM of controversy would erupt in the wake. Within hours of posting the video there was heated debate amongst some of the most influential marketers online.

See for yourself here: http://TrafficMysteries.biz

Instant Market Feedback: Ask500People.com

By now, you surely agree that it's never been faster or easier to get yourself some instantaneous market feedback.

For many of us, PPC has always been a fast and cost effective way to measure new markets and test ideas. 

Ask500People.com is a completely free and incredibly slick and easy to use user-generated opinion research site - somewhere between Yahoo Answers and Digg. 

It's easier seen that explained.

Here's the link - Ask500People.com Instant Survey Tool

Check it out.

Doing Business In the "Culture Of Victimization"

A growing undercurrent online is producing a wave of unreasonable demands which are very unhealthy to the overall marketplace, IMO.

The syndrome begins with a bizarre sense of entitlement exhibited by a customer or prospect and almost inevitably winds up with the words "rip-off", "scam", and the emotionally charged favorite, "victim" being hurled around and posted all over the web.

It truly IS a "Culture of Victimization" at work, and it is aggregated, propped up, radicalized and turbocharged by the unprecedented monetization of consumer advocacy.

Profiteering under the guise of "protecting consumers" is the scammiest scam of all time, and yet it flies right under the radar of righteous indignation every time.

No one likes being taken advantage of. Especially when you put so much trust in others to do the right thing...

Right now, you might think I was referring to consumers above - WRONG...

I was talking about business owners, entrepreneurs, and marketers who are falsely and maliciously targeted with concerted public smear campaigns with the singular purpose of damaging their reputation combined with coordinated complaint sprees to regulatory agency and consumer groups - all because some customer goes bonkers.

It's a very, very serious problem.

At best, a business attacked in this way has 2 options, neither of which are good:

1) Ignore or purge, then maintain an ongoing damage control process
2) Litigate and spend a bunch of money you'll never recover because a turnip yields no blood.

Brand & Reputation Management have never been so crucial because the cavalry is NOT coming...

Selling More When "Business is really down..."

This is a quick post about what to do when your customers or prospects blame the current economic downturn for poor sales. Typically, this comes in the form of an objection to your offer. 
What's a marketer to do in the face of this looming economic uncertainty? Simple... You go back and dig down deeply into your existing resources then pluck out a brand new revenue stream - that's what... 
If you have a "dead" file of leads that never converted, you have money in there... 
If you have an old product or service that's almost reached the end of its useful life, you have money in there... 
If you marketing collateral that has not been repurposed fully, you have money in there... 
Change your approach, and you'll change your outcome. 
Keep throwing money at it the way you always have and you're in for a disappointment. 
Try and move your expensive marketing processes (bulky direct mail pieces & expensive information collateral, lead-gen telemarketing, etc.) into more automated and cost-leveraged channels (email and autoresponder marketing, downloadable PDF's and streaming rich media, etc.). 
Call it hedging your bet. Call it stretching your dollar. Call it whatever you want... The result is lower cost per sale and returning some of that "lost" revenue, using what you're already paid for and have available to you immediately. 
I am certain that if you spend the next 5 minutes creating a list of all of your marketing resources, you'll have an "AHA!" moment... Give it a try!