Marketing Spoonful

And loving it.
Today was my first foray into business “speed-dating.” It was a great chance to brush up on delivering my 30-second pitch or elevator speech, and I met easily four times as many people as I would have met standing around at a luncheon or other traditional event.
In case you’re not familiar with the [...]

Tags: business speed dating, lead generation, power networking, Sales

This news is so fresh it hasn’t even been reported yet. Maverick Creative Group is the title sponsor for the 2009 Global Elevator Pitch Contest.
So start working on that pitch so you can record yourself performing it and submit it. Go here for more information.
More details to come.
Until then, remember our model for an effective [...]

Tags: elevator pitch, elevator speech, Global Elevator Pitch Contest

Because we let every other seemingly appropriate time slip by and because we really like to talk about ourselves, we thought we’d take advantage of this opportunity to tell you a little about ourselves.
Maverick Creative Group is a marketing and business consulting firm founded on the principle that smaller is better when it comes to [...]

Tags: blog, business consulting, Food, food consulting, Marketing, Maverick Creative Group

Recent cutbacks at Web pioneers, such as Google and Digg remind us that it’s not enough to be wildly and successfully innovative. In today’s economy, like perhaps none other in history, you have to run lean. The news of a 10-percent workforce reduction at Digg is especially poignant since the social media site has been busy [...]

Tags: Customer Service, Digg, economic downturn, free ways to grow your brand, Google

One nice thing about living in Kansas is the predominance of great foods. We’re fortunate to have many styles, ethnicities, formats and influences. In fact, while folks on the right or left coasts might not believe this, you can get everything from Indian curry to Thai curry and Mexican to Salvadorean right here in Ta-Town. [...]

Tags: blog, Food, Kansas foods, local food, Marketing, marketing Kansas foods

We’re entering territory we haven’t seen in some time, with restaurant trips down and customer satisfaction seemingly more important than ever.
So tonight, I’m watching the movie No Reservations, in which Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a neurotic chef named Kate. In one scene, a patron at the restaurant where Kate works complains that the foie gras is [...]

Tags: blog, Customer Service, economic downturn, Food, Marketing, Restaurant

As you’re planning your menu or sales circular this week, you might want to consider leading with comfort food or snacks.
Why? Well, it seems Americans like to eat more of these kinds of foods during an economic downturn.
Check out this story and see the figures for yourselves. Apparently, snack foods companies did very well last [...]

Tags: blog, circular, comfort food, Food, Marketing, menu, snack foods, specials

On Wednesday, I have the honor of speaking to about 70 non-profit leaders about crafting a more powerful and “sticky” story. I’ll let you know how it goes, but I’m really looking forward to interacting with people who are hungry for new and better ways to get more volunteers and donors for their causes. Wish [...]

Tags: elevator speech, Non-profit Chamber of Service, sticky stories

The Spoon has been feeling pretty sentimental lately. But apparently, so have many of my fellow Americans. In fact, a blog entry on The Futures Company Web site last August may have said it best:
“In a recent qualitative study for Communities & Local Government, we spoke to a wide range of citizens across the country [...]

Tags: blog, board games, Cranium, family fun, Food, Marketing, Olive Garden, Zigity

One of my favorite memories of growing up in the Kansas City area in the 1970s and 1980s was our bi-weekly grocery shopping outing. When that second Friday rolled around, I always knew two things: We’d go out to eat someplace nice like Red Lobster or Pizza Shoppe, and we’d make at least three stops [...]

Tags: blog, childhood memories, Food, grocery shopping, Marketing