Here’s a prime example: Of late the “pink slime” issue has been plaguing the beef producers of America, not to mention retailers and eateries that sell or serve ground beef. Photo credit: maxstraeten from morguefile.com. Earlier in this series we talked about the life cycle of and issue, which moves through four distinct stages. Additionally, in our previous post, we defined an issue as a trend with the capacity to alter how your company operates as the trend  evolves. Primarily, Beef Products, Inc., When the controversy hit mainstream media, “Two former scientists with the U.S. MORE >>

For example, customers who praised store-level associates were 16 times more likely to be passionate about the retailer’s brand. Meriwether Lewis set the stage for the Corps of Discovery’s success before one single “employee” had been hired. From the outset Lewis and Clark engendered a communications culture that brought in the right prospects, then kept morale high and increased the productivity of those eventually hired. More important, Lewis’ communication culture not only outlined the day-to-day duties of Corps member, it imbued “employees” with a sense of mission and meaning. MORE >>

Email Continues To Perform For Retailers. of retailers report their typical sales conversion rate for an e-mail marketing campaign remains about the same. Here are a few item we are reading today that you may also find of interest: Consumers Like Newspapers Less Than They Do Airlines. In the first quarter of ‘09, newspaper customers’ satisfaction rating was 63. To put this in some perspective, those surveyed expressed a greater deal of satisfaction with airlines (airlines!) which scored 64. And cell phone providers ( cell phone providers? which score a 69. In addition, E! MORE >>

And these consumers are buying new cars and driving sales for retailers who represent a significant portion of the newspaper industry’s revenue… &#. The average American’s Internet use has nearly doubled in the past two years, according to a MediaPost article. This means that the Internet now accounts for 1/3 of the average US consumer’s media day. So, how are you going to get those Americans to your website, hmmm? By the way, did I tell you that your website is one of about 186 million ? If you have your own email list, superb. San Antonio Express-News (80.6%). MORE >>

Related articles: Retailers Boost Spending on Holiday Advertising. Well, here’s a big surprise: small businesses which spend more during a downturn actually do better financially. Marketing professionals have been giving this advice to businesses of all sizes since the first recession. But too many business leaders make marketing their first, instead of their last, cut. It’s nice to have some empirical data to prove our assertion. But you have to be smart. recession is not a time for profligate spending. What are you doing to tweak your marketing during this recession? MORE >>