From article by Holly Case, Natural Food Network Newsletter Editor, Specialty Coffee Retailer.

Leading indicators suggest that the recession may be nearing a close, but it has not yet caught up with consumers’ pocketbooks. Shoppers are still feeling the pinch of the recession, but according to Packaged Facts, one aspect in which they’re still willing to spend a little extra money is for products appealing to ethical concerns. This is especially important to us in the coffee marketing industry.

The report found that recession had not dampened coffee sales and marketing in natural and organic, eco-friendly and green or humane and fair trade items. A third of adults were willing to pay more for organic goods, with a quarter frequently purchasing them. Ethical consumption has become such a priority with consumers that they were willing to pay more for products that matched their value systems.

“With the economy foremost in consumers’ minds, heightened price sensitivity in the midst of the current recession is inevitably having an effect on the market for ethical products,” said Packaged Facts publisher, Don Montuori. Shoppers understand the environmental, social, and economic implications of their choices. The result is that a lot of consumers who will purchase typically more expensive ethical products even in economically challenging times.” In the past five years, consumption of ethical products has grown at a rate of about 10 percent each year, and is expected to continue to do so until 2014. Personal care products and non-food items will grow at a faster rate, even if they will represent a lower percentage of overall sales. Continue reading →

Everybody running a company should have the benefit of planning.   So what do you miss if you don’t have a working planning process in an existing company? You miss the opportunity to use that planning process to steer and manage your company. You need to manage change, correcting the course, keeping the long-term objectives of your marketing in mind.

Does your company develop an annual plan to polish its strategy, focus on main priorities, and manage its cash? Every business, including coffee marketing businesses, needs to plan. As an owner or manager of a small or medium business, can you afford not to plan?  What you need to do is plan to manage your growth proactively.

You could call it a strategic coffee marketing plan, annual plan, operational plan,  the name doesn’t matter as much as the management of it. While these kinds of plans are common in larger enterprises, they are surprisingly rare in small and medium business.

The benefit of a coffee business marketing plan is that you can guide your growth. Your business will grow or not depending on a lot of different factors, including overall economic trends, location, specific  coffee marketing needs, hard work, and other elements. Businesses that plan do it to guide and influence their growth, so that they move proactively towards defined objectives rather than just reacting to business events are far more successful.

Allocate resources where they will do the most good. Work towards your strengths and away from your weaknesses. Develop the company by doing the most important things, according to your long-term objectives. Continue reading →

By: Jonathan Long

When you want to increase your company’s leads online there are several lead generation methods that you can attempt. There are several different ways to create a buzz for your company and generate leads, but it isn’t easy to predict what is going to work and what isn’t, especially since what works well for one company might not produce the same type of results for the next. Many companies become content when they discover one method that creates leads and they don’t venture off to find other avenues for generating leads. It is a good idea to spread your lead sources, as you never want to put all of your eggs in one basket.

While it can be difficult to predict what methods are going to produce quality leads and what ones are going to tank, we have put together a list of five lead generation tips that have a high probability of producing results for your company.

1. Utilize Email Marketing

Email marketing is still a very effective way to generate leads and also trigger older contacts to again turn into a hot new lead. You should be building multiple email lists for your business. It is important to attract new leads by offering something of value for free as well as building a list of actual customers and continuing to stay on their radar via email.

There are several email marketing tools that can help you build and segment your lists, as well as track the performance. Remember to make sure that your emails are formatted for mobil devices because the majority of your recipients are going to be opening and viewing your emails on their mobile devices.

2. Guest Blog on Authority Websites Continue reading →

Source: b2c.com
It happens in nearly every business field, and the lead generation industry is no exception: Well-meaning colleagues end up giving you bad advice on the best approach for your B2B lead generation and appointment setting.

These mistaken suggestions are where ideas from other people, goes wrong. Sometimes, you just need to listen to an authority within the sales and lead generation industry rather than just your colleagues who have only dipped their toes in the waters of outsourced sales and lead management.

Here are five pieces of advice you need to stop listening to regarding outsourced sales support and lead generation tips:

Bad Tip #1: You Need Experts With In-Depth Product Knowledge

Whether you’re in software sales or any other specific B2B service industry, your lead generation personnel don’t have to be experts on your specific product. Your product experts should be saved for closing the sale and for long-term customer service – not for cold calling and initial appointment setting.

Continue reading →