J Steele from 105.1 The Bounce and Christine Cook join us to talk strategic partnerships. Sounds like fun, eh? ;-) We get into a couple ways that interesting partnerships were formed...Some you may know, some you may not. Either way, it's interesting. Believe me! Don't forget to e-mail us at TheMarketingToolsPodcast@gmail.com

Thanks to J Steele from 105.1 The Bounce and Jessica Pulis from Beasley Media for joining Jim and Mike on this podcast. They dive into "Staying on Track" in your marketing and have a pretty interesting Brilliance, Blur, or Boner segment...Gillette may be doubling down on their toxic masculinity ad. Good idea or bad?

J Steele from 105.1 The Bounce joins us this week to talk about taking risks with your marketing. Too often, people play it safe out of fear of failure. But guess what...Playing it safe typically doesn't get you ahead either. You need to learn to take calculated risks to get ahead of the competition. Stand out. Make yourself different.

So...This episode is a bit different than others. While Mike, Jim, and Jessica were discussing a successful marketing mix, Lady Jane's owner Chad Johnson popped in the studio. Now, The Marketing Tools records every week at the studio inside the Birmingham Lady Jane's. Chad, being the nice guy he is, was popping in to say hello/goodbye as he was about to catch a plane. Mike astutely MADE HIM stay and talk to us for about 20 minutes about the success of Lady Jane's. While discussing that success, we ask Chad about his partnership with the Detroit Lions and how that catapulted Lady Jane's into the spotlight. We just really want to thank Chad for taking the time to sit in with us, and we definitely plan on having him on an upcoming episode. Sorry about making you miss your flight. ;-)

Old Man New Tech founder, Brian Campbell, joins us on this week's episode. Check out his YouTube page and give him a follow. Anyway, we get into businesses "getting their house in order" before launching any marketing campaigns. Too often, businesses don't have all their ducks in a row. Then, they roll out an expensive marketing campaign, only to hurt themselves due to poor organization and/or flaws in their business. Online reviews will kill a business nowadays. Get your house in order before you get foreclosed on!

We finally get a little deeper into digital advertising...What TO DO and what NOT TO DO. Beasley Media Group Detroit Digital Coordinator, Stephanie Taylor joins us in studio to help us sound a lot more intelligent than we really are when it comes to digital advertising.

Thanks to marketing expert Jonathan Ghazal for helping us figure out how to beat off the competition. He was a great sport and we learned some pretty interesting things about when to worry and when not to worry about the competition. Always be prepared! Know your competition. And beat them!

We welcome commercial real estate expert, Louis Ciotti, to the podcast to discuss the importance of location for your business

Thank you to Ann...Not only for stopping by to join the podcast, but also for suggesting the topic!

Other than referrals, social media can be one of your cheapest and most successful tools. Kennedy dropped by the podcast to talk social media and give some simple, but important, tips on how to use social media effectively and efficiently.

First of all, thank you to Robert Cahill of Northwestern Tech and Cahill.Media for appearing as a guest on today's show. He has a ton of experience measuring marketing results. Often times, small business owners can find it difficult to accurately measure their marketing efforts. Henry Ford famously said,  “I know at least half of my advertising budget works; I just don’t know which half.” Today's episode will focus on tips to help you quantify what your gut is telling you, as well as ease your mind when trying to find the perfect advertising mix. Enjoy...

http://marketingtoolspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/gillettefinal.mp3 Jessica Pulis is here with us today… Have you seen the current Gillette campaign? If you haven’t seen the ad, Gillette is alleging they’ve been taking some heat for their slogan, “The Best A Man Can Get!” Do you believe they were really under fire? Is “toxic masculinity” really a thing? How successful do you think this ad is? Click on the ad below to watch…

http://marketingtoolspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/whatsinaname.mp3 What does your company name say about you? How important is your name? Well…It’s more important than ever before! Remember…Yyour name is going to put an image in people’s mind immediately, so make sure you say what you are. Don’t let your ego get in the way. If you’re already saddled with a name that doesn’t make sense, you can always switch it. It’s not impossible…Huge companies have gone through it. Go to an acronym or come up with an off shoot and brand that. Look at what Quicken Loans is doing right now with Rocket Mortgage. It’s brilliant! If you’re going to be stubborn about your name then you better have deep pockets.

http://marketingtoolspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Sales.mp3 Putting something ‘on sale’ is a final tactic after the consumer has already been through the full buyer’s journey continuum of AWARENESS – CONSIDERATION – to DECISION. A sale itself is not a reason to buy…A sale is a reason to buy NOW! A loss leader is a common strategy used in many aspects of marketing and advertising. In very basic terms, loss leaders are products or services that are sold at, or often below, the wholesale cost to the business or supplier. But it is a gamble used to encourage further sales. The downside of loss leaders is if you don’t have enough supply to keep people satisfied. Tip of the Week If your marketing strategy is sales then you don’t have a strategy at all… you have a tactic. Remember a sale doesn’t answer the question ‘why buy?’ a sale answers the question ‘why buy now?’ So when you’re promoting a sale you only want to target people that you assume have already decided to buy because the sale doesn’t do anything to activate people in the awareness or consideration stages. I don’t care about 40% off and no interest until the year 2307 if I don’t need a new couch.

http://marketingtoolspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Sponsorships.mp3 When you google “what’s the reason for sponsorships,” it gives you all these stupid reasons like “ it puts your brand front and center.” … Well that doesn’t mean anything if people have no idea what you do or why you want to be linked to the brand. Sponsorships are used to align your brand with the brand of whatever it is that you are sponsoring. Tip of the week Before you agree to any sponsorship, whether it’s with the New York Yankees or your local high school football team., make sure you have a brand message that aligns with whatever it is you’re sponsoring. And whenever possible, have a tactic to activate potential consumers through your sponsorship. Marketing Brilliance, Blurs, and Boners

http://marketingtoolspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/12.4TheRightSolution.mp3 This week’s episode is graced by the presence of Beasley’s Jessica Pulis. You’ve got your objective you’ve gone out and done the research. There are a ton of ideas and pitches in front of you now you need to choose the best solution. Choosing the right solution is as easy as answering 6 quick questions according to Mike. Check out our take on these ads in Brilliance, Blurs, and Boners…

http://marketingtoolspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/11.01marketingtoolsfinalwithmusic.mp3 Robert Cahill, Communications Director at Northwestern Tech (The HVAC School that Works), is our guest today… If you own a business or do the marketing for your company then you know how many sales people are out there trying to get your ad dollars…So how do you decide who you can trust? Tip of the Week: Have all the criteria that is important to you then ask a ton of questions. Treat your meetings with your marketing partners like a job interview. Brilliant, Blur, or Boner?

http://marketingtoolspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/10.25podcastfinal.mp3 You know when you see a clever commercial and you remember the joke more or how hot the girl was in it but you can’t remember what the product was or what you’re supposed to do? So they come up with something and look at it and think “cool” and forget the fact that it totally misses the point. Remember, all your marketing material needs to get the consumer to think or feel a certain way about your product and so often commercials are entertaining but they fail to make a point. Understanding your audience is key! Create a “consumer”. Name him. Envision him as if he were sitting next to you. Don’t forget him when you are marketing. He is who you are talking to. What do you think? Does this image get the point across? Under think much? Stick around until the end of the podcast to hear some bloopers…

http://marketingtoolspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/10_18marketingtoolsfinal.mp3 3 easy rules to maintain marketing credibility. 3 types of apologies…And you only need to master one of them. Marketing brilliance, blurs, and boners. Never say “pro tip” around Mike…He’ll snap! Find out how many bird dumps it takes to crush a car.

http://marketingtoolspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/MarketingTools_1011.mp3