I haven't written in a few weeks because I have found it difficult to put any thoughts of marketing in my heart and mind. I question the importance of it all as I read daily about human and environmental suffering across the globe.

I feel weighted down as I read daily about the over 5 million homeless people in China who have been affected by the earthquake and the after math. Caring for the injured, the sorrow of lost loved ones, the environmental catastrophes and the stories of people trying to rebuild.

I read daily about the 134,000 dead or missing people in Myanmar who go hungry as aid is held back by a government that rejects offering of aid from the U.S. The stories of the hurdles the few aid workers that are allowed in are facing. It is like the government is holding these innocent people hostage by not allowing assistance.

The news of the communist Maoist government plans to strip away the Constitution of the Nepal and replace it with its own regime's rules. I try to imagine what would happen if our government completely abolished the U.S. Constitution stripping away our freedom and rights.

I watched this past Memorial Day of the stories of New England soldiers who have lost their lives in a war with no strategy and inadequate equipment to protect our troops.

Daily I read, hear and see total disregard for our planet and all her gory. The debates, discussions and laws that made putting greed, convenience, self-interest and NOW thinking first and foremost instead of acting and doing with the consideration and respect for seven generations.

But I'm writing today because of you. You are the business owners, employees and supporters who are working hard to make a difference. You are creating new technologies to protect and conserve our planet. You are growing, feeding, and supplying our local economy with goods and service. You have a business that nourished the soul, heart and mind of others. You are building businesses based on a triple bottom line.

For all of you I Thank You. You keep me going motivated and knowing that through all the sadness there is greatness and care for our planet, our people and our generations to come.

So, as a thank you, I would like to share some Marketing with those of you that may be considering having your own blog. Here are a few strategic questions to ask yourself:

1. What are the reasons that you want to blog? Is it to educate readers about your products or services? It is to establish yourself as an expert? What is the focus of your blog topic?

2. What are some objectives that you can measure by your blog? For instance, is it subscribers, increased sales, generate traffic, obtain comments from readers or other bloggers?

3. Who are you targeting as subscribers/readers of your blog? Are they other bloggers, your existing customers, potential customers, a certain demographic?

These are a few questions to get you thinking. The other huge consideration is how much time can you/will you spend on blogging – reading other blogs, writing your blog, researching, replying to comments, etc. And based on my experience as posted here sometimes you will feel that blogging isn't quite the thing to do at times.

As always, I welcome and encourage your comments. Thanks.

I subscribe to RetailEmail.Blogspot and they are offering a Free webinar on blogging and email on May 20th. It looks like there could be some valuable tidbits even for small business owners.

Click here to find out the details and register.

Dazzlin Donna over on SEO Scoop has an on-going list of interviews with many knowledgable SEO specialists. There are well over 250 interviews. I've listed some interesting ones I have read that contain some valuable information.

I am not an SEO expert, but as a business owner I am interested in understanding more about the topic. Here are a few to check out. I hope they are helpful to you.

Aron Wall owner of ThreadWatch

Adam Lasnik of Google

Bill Slawski of SEO by the Sea and Director of Search Marketing at Key Relevance

Danny Sullivan of Stone Temple Consulting

Jill Walen of High Rankings

Jim Boykin of We Build Pages

Kalena Jordan of Search Engine College

Kim Krause Berg of Usability Effect

Lee Odden of Top Rank Online Marketing

Neil Patel Chief Technical Officier of ACS

Rand Fishkin CEO and co-founder of SEOmoz

Todd Mallicoat of Stuntdubl.com

One take home I'd like to highlight from reading the book is the foundation of sushi service. This foundation is crumbling from a food-to-customer-relationship to a food-to-consumer-departure. Eating sushi used to be an integral experience of eating high quality, hand-selected fish, ceremonially prepared by the chef and blending the interaction of chef and patron, selecting and enjoying the meal. It was the relationship of linking the sacred source and preparation of food to the consumer.

Throughout the book, I found how this interacting relationship is dissolving in the sushi industry as it changes from small-personalized players to larger players whose motive is money. Sushi is fast becoming the new fast-food, where quality gets replaced with profit and reproducibility. A trip to your nearest supermaket's fish department will likely find you staring at low-grade or imitation sushi neatly packaged in to-go boxes and, oh, don't foregt the free chopsticks.

This disintegration is similar to what I think is one of the reasons for the troubles at Starbucks. With the expansion of drive-thru kiosks, the move to every street corner and interstate higway rest stop the departure of the relationship began. If you ever want to get a lousy cafe mocha made by a frowning, unfriendly, uninspiring employee (notice I didn't say barista) stop at one of the highway Starbucks and experience some of the best examples of poor customer service. It is about time Howard Schultz returned as CEO to fix this customer breakup.

About 20 years ago, Schultz came back from a business trip in Milan, Italy with the desire and drive to bring to the United States the love relationship he experienced in Milan's coffee shops. It was the barista's relationship with the coffe bean and the customer, like that of the sushi chef, that he wanted to build into a business. The barista shares his/her knowledge and passion of the coffee bean, the manner in which it is brewed and served and brings this love to the patron in a rich and bold event.

I'm a fan of sushi and Starbucks. When I walk into my favorite sushi restaurant, Sake, in Portsmouth or any Starbucks I want that relationship experience as best as they can give it to me; an integral relationship between the source of my food, the passion of the chef or barista and the interaction between them and me. I want to enjoy myself, enjoy my food and know that the person behind the bar enjoys bringing that connection together. I will gladly pay extra for it because it brings me value.

As micro and small businesses we have advantages with making similar connections because often we are in direct contact with our customers. Take a look at your business and what interacting relationship you bring the customer's experience. Also, do you think these types of interacting relationships are departing from businesses? Let me know.

Image by tiarescott via Flickr at Creative Commons license.

Thanks to all of you who have been letting me know how much you are enjoying this blog

Students at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business have released some of the results of their study on Impulse Shopping.

The study, "Observable Cognitive Function in the Purchasing Process: A Study of Quickly Identifying Impulse Buying Behaviors in Consumers" found a few interesting results:

1. Impulse buyers have certain cognitive skills.

2. Retailers can train their salespeople to identify these buyers.

3. Rigid customers are a tough cookie to crack for salespeople.

Many questions come to mind when I read the press release about the study.

1. Is their a maximum price level when the "impulse" stops?

2. Does impulse buying depend on product categories?

3. Does impulse buying vary depending on gender, income level, customer loyalty or a whole host of other variables?

I aked myself whether I thought I was an impulse buyer. My answer - it varies depending on the item, my mood and why I am at the store.

Are you an impulse buyer? What about your customers?

A few weeks ago, I was talking with a small business owner I work with on a volunteer project for a non-profit organization. I asked him about a direct marketing effort he undertook about a year ago that was targeted at a specific market. I wanted to know if it was a financially successful campaign. Did he receive any new leads or business? I was not looking for the actual numbers, just some idea of the results.

"Maybe a couple of leads. I guess I could have measured it".

What information do you need gather to measure the value?

1. Keep track of the costs of your direct mail piece (design work, printing, postage, handling, number of pieces, etc.).

2. Labor. If you outsource the work then use those costs. If you are doing the work yourself apply an hourly rate to your time and keep track of the hours you spend on creating the direct mail campaign.

3. Once the piece is mailed, measure how your leads found you by asking them the simple question of "how did you here about us?" If an existing customer contacts you, ask them if they saw the direct mail piece. Keep a record of the answers.

4. Keep track of the sales dollars from the people you asked or if they volunteered the information or if you had some kind of feedback option, such as a coupon.

At the end of the campaign, total your costs and evaluate against it your sales generated, your new leads, your increased business or whatever your objectives were for the direct mail campaign. Measure against those objectives.

The value or not of your campaign is ultimately your decision. Measuring doesn't have to be as difficult as measuring ice thickness on a frozen lake in Alaska.

If you have run a campaign how or did you measure the results?

Image by Ra64 via Flickr, by Creative Commons license

A recent report from Mintel, a consultancy service based in Chicago, is predicting mass marketers will shift to eco-products in 2008 as consumer demand increases.

The consumer packaged goods categories that will experience the changes are as follows:

1. Bottled Water - Because of its negative effects on the environment and data that shows that bottled water in not necessarily any healthier and in some cases just tap water, consumers are switching from bottled water to filtering their tap water and using reusable water bottles.

2. Cosmetics - A shift to more natural and mineral based ingredients.

3. Fair Trade and Equal Exchange - Demand continues to increases and I think with more questionable imports hitting our shelves we could experience a dynamic shift in this area as well as purchasing locally made products.

4. Organic Food and Whole Grains - Health and wellness awareness will continue to feed this growth.

5. Salt - Yes, salt. A shift in demand for sea salts,red clay salts and flavoured salts will happen next year.

6. Luxury Home Care - Products like scented candles, exotic fragrances and surface cleaners from high-end producers.

7. Personal Care - Products in this category will continue to experience the split between the lower-cost items and the higher-cost products that add benefits like anti-aging and sun protection.

Do you think this will help the planet both environmentally and socially? I do as long at the standards, regulations and labeling stays honest and accurate and does not become clouded and fuzzy for the few. When I read how the Organic standards have been changing to fit large corporations I can't help but wonder what will happen to areas where standards are practically non-existent like in the bottled water industry or the use of the word "natural".

What do you think, is this report good news for you and your business?