| Manufacturing Your Brand |
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| By
Bruce Felber
 Kodak, Coca–Cola, McDonalds, Wal–Mart, Harley–Davison and Crest. Brand names we all recognize that paint a picture in our mind just by the mention of their names or seeing their logos. That is the power of the brand, an image that can withstand the test of time. If I mention Microsoft, Dell, HP and iPod you know exactly what they stand for. It is pretty easy in consumer circles to appreciate the power of brands.
 Well, what about business–to–business, and even more specific, manufacturing? Do you think your brand is just as important if you’re a manufacturer? You might be saying to yourself that you sell to a narrow market so only those people should know my products or services. You could not be more wrong.
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| I Have a Blog. Now What? |
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By Katy Landers
 If I had a dollar for the amount of times I have heard that question in the last few
months... well, you know the rest. Since its release, a growing number of people are reading our blog, Adventures in Marketing, on a daily basis. Many of our readers are wondering how they, too, can have daily content, devoted readers and the greatest treasure of all—comments!
John Sanelli, an engineer and business owner, has just started his first blog (with a little prodding from us). Sanelli’s company, 24plug, provides robust and connected automated test solutions for scientists and engineers. What the heck do I know about automated test solutions and engineering? Nothing yet. What does an engineer know about blogging?
Nothing... yet. But, do I know how to make blogging work for his company? Absolutely.
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| Where Are We? |
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• October 22,
2008 - COSE
Small Business Conference
• October
29, 2008 - Akron
Global Business Accelerator
• November
7, 2008 - Geauga
Economic Leadership Series
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| Miss Landers' Manners Guide |
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By Katy Landers
 Welcome to Miss Landers’ Manners Guide. In this section you will continually find etiquette tips for everything relating to your business. Meeting etiquette is our first stop on this quest for excellent etiquette!
Everyone has been to one of those meetings where someone, you know the person, acts entirely inappropriate—talking out of turn, eating, answering phone calls, etc. Here are some do’s and don’ts to help you not become that person.
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| Social Networking Website: The New Ad Medium
With ROI? |
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| By Michelle Hirsh
 Television,
in the days before digital video recording, limited your freedom
by controlling when you could watch your favorite shows. You had
no choice but to follow the station’s schedule. The Internet, of
course, is just the opposite. Since the Internet provides much
more freedom, the ability to advertise to a captive audience is
difficult…
or is it?
 In
the early years of advertising on the Web, it was almost a
crapshoot if your ad was targeted and your return on investment
was worth it. In the past five to ten years, advertisers demanded
more tracking, accountability and targeting measures. With the
rise of social networking, targeted advertising has reached a
whole new level. Questions such as, "How much will it cost me
to advertise on a social networking site?" and "How do I
know if I should be advertising online?" will now be
answered.
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| The Culture and Ethics of Referral-Based Marketing Programs
- Part Two |
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| By Rob Felber
 In part one of networking and referrals I wrote about clearly defining your prospect and targeting your message. With your vision clearly defined, you can find ways to incorporate your referral goals throughout your
 advertising, direct marketing and publicity efforts. But, how you ask for referrals, respond to others needs and treat referral opportunities is where the rubber meets the road. Let's take a look at each of these situations and some tactics around them.
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