What if we could tap into our best customers' minds and figure out exactly what they wanted and what they would spend their hard-earned money on. This would be fantastic! Rather than building a product or service we think they want and hope that it connects with them, we would know what they wanted before we built it. They would even tell us what to build. Now for the good news. You can do this. Building an opt-in audience of the customers you want to do business with will do just this and Joe Pulizzi is just the person to show us how. Joe Pulizzi is the founder of Content Marketing Institute which hosts the largest in-person content marketing conference on the planet. He's also an entrepreneur, speaker, podcaster, and the author of 5 books related to content and marketing. Joe joined this episode of the Neon Noise podcast to share his adventures and knowledge about the importance content plays in the marketing world. During this conversation, we cover: Joe's plan to spend 30 days unconnected from the internet What owned content is and why it is so important The first thing Joe would do if he was starting a business today The moment Joe realized he had a winning idea and the formula to duplicate it over and over Why you shouldn't buy his new book and what you should buy How to annuitize your marketing by creating content today that will deliver traffic for years The realistic timeframes for realizing a return from a content strategy What he suggests we all do in 2018 and much, much more... We hope our conversation with Joe helps you understand how building an opt-in audience will be your key to growing your business. Enjoy!

If you ever took a marketing course in college, there is a chance you used a textbook authored by Dr. Phil Kotler. Dr. Phil Kotler is the S.C. Johnson @ Son Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He has studies marketing for over 55 years, authored 57 marketing related books, published over 150 articles, and consulted for some of the biggest brands in the world. A resume that has earned him the right to be called the 'Father of Modern Marketing". We had the opportunity to interview Dr. Phil Kotler on the Neon Noise podcast and tap into his vast knowledge of marketing while diving into some very interesting talk tracks not normally covered. In this episode, we dive into the following: The relationship between Marketing and Capitalism How the Amazon Effect is changing the brick and mortar retail model The future of marketing The importance of positioning value at the right customers What he recommends businesses do today A little detail about his recently published autobiography And much, much more. We hope our conversation with Dr. Phil Kotler provides you some valuable insight from one of the greatest marketing minds. Enjoy.

Doing business with customers means we handle sensitive customer data. We see news headlines of major companies with (perceived) security measures in place having customer data breaches at an increasing rate. This is due to the growing complexities of the business to consumer exchanges and malicious intent of more and more people. So what do we do? How can we fine-tune our business policies to properly handle this sensitive customer data in a way that will reduce how vulnerable we are to a data breach. David Harlow is an attorney and consultant in this very arena. He is an expert in the handling of digital security in the public and private sector. In this episode of the Neon Noise podcast, David joins us to chat about vulnerabilities we have in our businesses and ways we can go about reducing our risk to exposure. Here are some of the items we dive into: The various types of information breaches Easy steps businesses can take to reduce vulnerabilities Major points of vulnerabilities many businesses have The 3 layers of protection we should all have in place How to create a plan to prevent a security breach and keep information safe Exercises to help train your staff on how to identify threats How you should approach creating and updating passwords The liabilities a business has when they do all the right things How advancements in technology is creating more layers of security but are also vulnerable And much more... We hope our conversation with David will help you better understand digital security and provide some takeaways you can implement to make the handling of your customer's sensitive data more secure. Enjoy!

I'm not going to blow your mind by stating that blogging is an important component of any content strategy. We all know that. To be fair though, if this is something we all KNOW... why aren't we all doing it? Additionally, those of us that are doing it might be doing it wrong. This sounds like my gym routine. In this episode of the Neon Noise Podcast, we are joined by Linda Dessau. Linda is the founder of ContentMasteryGuide.com and has been helping others create online content since 2004. Her helpful step-by-step tips and guides provide clarity and and easy to follow approach for anyone looking to get more traffic, leads, customers through their website. Here are some of the nuggets we talk about: Why blogging is a key component to any marketing strategy How to build your business without depending on the search engines - Google Not Required Her Four Step planning process How to choose what you should write about How long your blog post should be Her 7 Steps to creating a blog post The importance of teaser text and much more... We hope our conversation with Linda helps you create a content creation strategy that will increase your credibility, grow your audience, and help you achieve your business goals. Enjoy!

Attracting and retaining top talent seems to be a hot topic at the moment. Anyone that has ever hired an employee knows that it's not the easiest task. How do you find the right person? What can you do to attract top talent to work at your company? Once you find that rockstar, how do you keep them on your team? The interesting thing to consider is how closely the marketing efforts we place on attracting new customers to grow revenue align with attracting rockstar employees to make our companies better. Let's add in another layer of complexity and consider a whole new group of young professionals entering the workforce that have different goals and objectives than generations of the past. Jennifer Newbill is a Global Director with Dell and an expert when it comes to hiring and finding new talent. She brings over 20 years of knowledge in HR and recruitment to this episode of the Neon Noise podcast. Some of the talking points we cover include: How to attract the right talent Online platforms you should use for recruitment Why you should put on your marketing cap when formulating your recruitment strategy What really matters to Millennials The benefit to telling your company story Using consistent branding in recruitment marketing The reason HR should work hand-in-hand with the Marketing department Busting stereotypes about Millennials We hope our conversation with Jennifer helps you create a recruitment marketing strategy that will help attract and retain the very best in your industry. Enjoy!

Consumers trust online reviews. We love to read the good and the bad others have written about their experience or a product. As a business owner, there are a couple challenges when it comes to reviews. How do you get your happy customers to write more reviews? How can you handle negative reviews? What can you do to leverage these reviews into additional business? Here are some fun statistics from this episode: "Consumer reviews are trusted 12x more than descriptions published by the marketer." "79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation from a friend or family member." "7 out of 10 consumers will return to a business if their concern is addressed quickly." Doren Aldana is an expert when it comes to online reviews and testimonials. He is the Founder of MyTestimonialEngine.com which is the #1 software for helping local businesses collect and share reviews. His unique approach to collecting and managing online reviews helps businesses attract more customers. Here are some of the talking points from our interview: The importance of customer reviews for customer service and search rankings Why it is so important for a business to actively seek customer reviews and testimonials How to get your customers to take action and leave a review Why you should consider using text messaging to collect reviews Ways to address negative reviews before they are published on the Internet The reason to have a review collection system is crucial to being successful How to get more referrals from your online reviews Exclusive Offer to Neon Noise Listeners Doren has provided The Ultimate Testimonial Toolkit to all Neon Noise listeners. To access, visit the link below. The Ultimate Testimonial Toolkit We hope our conversation with Doren provides you with some solid takeaways on how you can collect more online reviews and turn that customer love into more revenue. Enjoy!

Landing big contracts with hospitals or large corporations is not easy. Who should I talk to? How do I increase my chances of winning a contract? Should I invest 10 hours preparing and responding to the RFP that came to my inbox? These are all questions that I've had and I'm certain you might have considered at some point. Ed Bennett joins the Neon Noise podcast to share some tips and tricks for landing that big contract and establishing relationships with hospitals and large organizations. Ed is the former Director of Web and Communications for the University of Maryland Medical System and currently is a highly sought marketing consultant in the medical field. His experience working on both sides of the relationship provides us with some helpful tips for anyone that wants to establish a relationship and with contracts with a large corporation or organization like a hospital. Some of the items we discuss include: The benefits of working within a niche market Advice on establishing a relationship with a larger organization and becoming a preferred vendor Helpful tips on how to avoid that "red tape" that trips so many of us up The individuals within the organization you should focus on connecting with How to get the attention of a decision maker Best practices for responding to RFPs (Request for Proposal) Creative ways he is using social media to connect people

Sometimes you have to go to extremes to break through the noise and connect with people... the shock n' awe approach. For Brian and Jason of Good Fucking Design Advice, that was use of the F-word. Seems like a risky move but it works for them. Brian Buirge and Jason Bacher operate the unorthodox design website called Good Fucking Design Advice where they share design advice and a lot more by incorporating profanity to connect with their audience. On the surface, it appears to be swearing for the sake of being bold and different but when you dive in to their story, there is so much more to learn. Brian, the "good cop of GFDA", joins us on the Neon Noise podcast to discuss the following: How Good Fucking Design Advice was born and the realization their use of profanity was connecting to an audience The rules they established for operating the site Stories of how they approach risk and how they tackle failures How to take risks and creatively break through the marketing noise to be heard Some details about the book they are working on now What the GFDA pledge is and why it exists The current state of design in the online world and the future of design We hope our conversation with Brian brings you a fresh perspective using a risky approach to cut through the noisy landscape and carve out a space to be heard. "Experience is the thing you get the moment after you need it" ~ Brian Buirge and Jason Bacher Enjoy!

Amazon is a juggernaut in the retail world and anyone can sell pretty much anything in their Marketplace. The trick is learning how to make money doing it. Can Amazon provide the global platform your business is looking for? Stephen Somers and his business partner Robert Rickey, of Marketplace Superheroes streamlined the process of selling physical goods on Amazon. They turn an incredible profit by selling boring everyday products that hundreds of people buy. Now, Stephen and Robert started mentoring others and turned it into a community called Marketplace Superheroes. It’s a roadmap of sorts on how to navigate the Amazon.com landscape. It has become the #1 place to learn how to build a sustainable, global Amazon empire. Stephen stopped by the Neon Noise Podcast to share some secrets to selling your products on Amazon. Stephen shares with us: Physical Products Are Key How Brick and Mortar stores CAN sell on Amazon See yourself as an investor, not a reseller How to Keep Your Products Simple Why Bundling Your Products Helps Your Bottom Line The Rule of 5 (4) S Product Gauntlet Amazon’s Pay Per Click System We hope our conversation with Stephen helps you gain insight on how to rethink your current selling strategy and how to enter the amazon.com marketplace successfully.

We are all in search for that one thing we can do to take our marketing to the next level. What is that missing component that can be the game changer we are searching for? Trevor Crane has the answer. In this episode of the Neon Noise podcast, 10 time best selling author Trevor Crane joins us to share how writing a book is the most powerful tool for you to use in your marketing. I know what some of you might be saying, UGH... I don't want to write a book. I don't have time to write a book. I don't even know where to start. You are in luck and, chances are, these three barriers are quickly removed during our in-depth conversation with Trevor. He takes us through a fast-paced conversation riddled with examples and stories that helps to connect all the dots. Some of the areas we dive into include: Why every business owner should write a book How to write the right book 4 key questions to ask yourself that provides clarity for writing your book Why you need a mentor How to get started writing your book A special offer for his upcoming event and much more! Special Offer for Neon Noise Listeners Trevor is offering his book 'Big Money With Your book' for FREE to Neon Noise listeners. All you have to pay is shipping and handling. Get Your Free Copy of Big Money With Your Book In addition to the free book, Trevor is also giving away FREE tickets to his upcoming conference in Tampa, Florida. Once you get the book, you can register and receive a free ticket for yourself and a guest. We hope our conversation with Trevor will help you understand the reasons you should write your own book and use it as the keystone in your marketing efforts. Enjoy!