Pharmacists are more and more often required to fill theprescriptions with a generic drug instead of a brand-name medicine, whenever one is available, as if there is no difference between them.

Do your employees behave toward your customers the way you would expect them to? Is the culture of your senior executive team consistent with the culture of your lowest level line workers in the field? Do you really know what your company's culture is? Why is employee culture important? If the basic behaviors and tendencies of your employee population are aligned with your mission, or brand promise, then they will produce consistent results and customer experiences.

You've heard the saying, "Image is everything." It's not only true, it's also a commanly-used slogan in advertising. Businesses like McDonalds ("I'm lovin' it") and AllState Insurance ("You're in good hands") use slogans, or tag lines, to help build brand identity. It's part of a bigger-picture marketing strategy and it's important that businesses, no matter what size, implement such a strategy to carve out their own niche in the marketplace.

While marketing and branding are alike in some ways, they are also sometimes mistaken as the same business action. This is not true, but definitely understandable on the two can be misconstrued as the same. There are several brand tools that can also fall into the marketing category. This is what makes the two concepts so closely related, but at the same time so much different.

A brief overview that will help guide you through the subtleties of product naming. You'll learn the importance of choosing a name that's unique and benefit oriented, without being confusing or offensive-with some amusing examples of historic naming gaffes. You'll also learn why fads, abbreviations and tongue twisters should be avoided. And why the name you ultimately choose must protect your company's image.

Backlinks or inbound links are the key to achieving high rankings in search engines. So to get your website to the top you not only need to optimize your webpages for your targeted keywords but also have to build as many backlinks as possible. There are several ways to get backlinks to your site. Here's how...

You've enlisted some of the traditional marketing methods to sell your services: you received some publicity in your local paper; your website is up and running; and you're listed in the Yellow Pages. So why isn't the phone ringing off the hook? Maybe you're marketing strategies need to get more creative!

Direct Mail . . . Newspaper . . . Radio . . . Online. There are countless places to spend each advertising dollar. The hard part is determining the most effective medium for your business. It is not a matter of "One Size Fits All." The response rate for each media type will vary depending on the product or service you offer, your target market, and the characteristics of the community that you are marketing in. Even in the same industry, what works in one place may not work in another.

Preparing a Marketing Plan for your product or service is a real eye-opening experience. While we all hope that our product or service will appeal to the masses, the truth is, that may not happen. Assembling a Marketing Plan first and foremost forces you to clearly define what you are selling.

This is a pretty tough global economy and it is critical for a company to leverage every bit of their marketing resources. So, if this is the case, why are so many companies shooting themselves in the proverbial foot by breaking some of the most fundamental rules of marketing?

Backlinks or inbound links are the key to achieving high rankings in search engines. So to get your website to the top you not only need to optimize your webpages for your targeted keywords but also have to build as many backlinks as possible. There are several ways to get backlinks to your site. Here's how...

You've enlisted some of the traditional marketing methods to sell your services: you received some publicity in your local paper; your website is up and running; and you're listed in the Yellow Pages. So why isn't the phone ringing off the hook? Maybe you're marketing strategies need to get more creative!

Direct Mail . . . Newspaper . . . Radio . . . Online. There are countless places to spend each advertising dollar. The hard part is determining the most effective medium for your business. It is not a matter of "One Size Fits All." The response rate for each media type will vary depending on the product or service you offer, your target market, and the characteristics of the community that you are marketing in. Even in the same industry, what works in one place may not work in another.

Preparing a Marketing Plan for your product or service is a real eye-opening experience. While we all hope that our product or service will appeal to the masses, the truth is, that may not happen. Assembling a Marketing Plan first and foremost forces you to clearly define what you are selling.

This is a pretty tough global economy and it is critical for a company to leverage every bit of their marketing resources. So, if this is the case, why are so many companies shooting themselves in the proverbial foot by breaking some of the most fundamental rules of marketing?

Here's a fun way to help you achieve your goals that really works. Plus it's a little more exciting than just writing down a few goals, or an objective, in your marketing plan.

A brief overview that will help guide you through the subtleties of product naming. You'll learn the importance of choosing a name that's unique and benefit oriented, without being confusing or offensive-with some amusing examples of historic naming gaffes. You'll also learn why fads, abbreviations and tongue twisters should be avoided. And why the name you ultimately choose must protect your company's image.

If you maintain a website online seek to market it, you may have been told or even offered reciprocal links. Most advertisements promise that such a venture can get more people to go to your site, raise your search engine rankings, and add to consumer and surfer interest in your product, service, or craft.

In this evergrowing-techno-jungle we call the Internet, it's easy for the little guys to get overlooked. If you aren't Coca-Cola, Microsoft, or Amazon, it can be hard to compete. Small businesses are faced with the challenge of standing out in the face of giants. So how do you differentiate and survive? The key is to be SMALL in a big way by capturing the essence of YOU in your web site!

While marketing and branding are alike in some ways, they are also sometimes mistaken as the same business action. This is not true, but definitely understandable on the two can be misconstrued as the same. There are several brand tools that can also fall into the marketing category. This is what makes the two concepts so closely related, but at the same time so much different.

You've heard the saying, "Image is everything." It's not only true, it's also a commanly-used slogan in advertising. Businesses like McDonalds ("I'm lovin' it") and AllState Insurance ("You're in good hands") use slogans, or tag lines, to help build brand identity. It's part of a bigger-picture marketing strategy and it's important that businesses, no matter what size, implement such a strategy to carve out their own niche in the marketplace.

Do your employees behave toward your customers the way you would expect them to? Is the culture of your senior executive team consistent with the culture of your lowest level line workers in the field? Do you really know what your company's culture is? Why is employee culture important? If the basic behaviors and tendencies of your employee population are aligned with your mission, or brand promise, then they will produce consistent results and customer experiences.

Most of the world does it. Getting up at some hour that should really be called night not morning, catching some form of transport to take us on an hours journey to a place where we exchange eight hours of our life for barely enough money to survive on. One particular morning which demonstrated to me the worst of times, I can to a startling conclusion and a way to freedom.

Since the industrial revolution we have been stuck with the mindset of trading time for money. We commute to a place of work, trade 8 hours of our time for a few dollars and commute home again. Some people think this is good and provides security. I think it sucks. Now the next revolution is with us in the form of the Internet. Grab the opportunity. Join the new revolution. The information revolution.

You do not have to have a degree in marketing or be the son or daughter of an agency director to try your hand at advertising. The Internet has offered millions of people the opportunity to explore, learn and share information. On top of this the web has allowed people to earn money and try their hands at industries that simply aren't available to them in the 'real world'. One of the industries that has allowed Internet users of all backgrounds and with all experience and qualifications to earn money and try advertising, is that of affiliate marketing.