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123 eGuides are authoritative guides published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost. Every 123 eGuide is just 3 bucks or less ($2.99 to be exact).

123 eGuides are designed for today’s reader who wants information in a quick, convenient, easily readable format. Each 123 eGuide is intended to provide a functional overview rather than a detailed roadmap. Every 123 eGuide always includes additional resources if the reader wants to learn more.

Check the "Available 123 eGuides" link above to see what's available. 123 eGuides are available wherever eBooks are sold, including the Amazon Kindle store and in any eBook format at Smashwords.com.

1 Minute Advice: Direct Mail isn't Dead Yet!

Almost half of U.S. marketers (44 percent) report an increase in direct mail budgets over the past year, according to a survey mentioned in Marketing Charts. When asked why they use direct mail, 67 percent of marketers said they use it because it is a legacy channel, 66 percent for scale/growth, 64 percent to diversify their marketing mix, 60 percent because competitors are mailing and 53 percent because of the rising customer acquisition costs of digital channels. Of all respondents, 97 percent said the performance of direct mail has either improved (65 percent) or remained steady (32 percent) over the past year.

Read more here:

https://www.marketingcharts.com/cross-media-and-traditional/direct-mail-227655

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: The Best Influencers are Family Members

Family members are the best influencers with adults when it comes to product recommendations according to a recent study reported by Marketing Charts. Almost three-quarters (71 percent) of adults have bought products or services that were recommended by family members. Two-thirds (66 percent) of adults have done so based on close friends' recommendations. Only 39 percent made a purchase based on the recommendation of an acquaintance, and 38 percent say a recommendation from company or store personnel.

Companies or brands on social media influence 35 percent of adults to make a purchase, while groups on social media influence only 28 percent of adults. Individual influencers don't impress adults either -- their recommendations only influence 27 percent of adults.

More about the study here: https://www.marketingcharts.com/cross-media-and-traditional/word-of-mouth-227501?

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Marketers Need a "Community Flywheel"

According to McKinsey, the “big idea” in 2020s marketing is community—reaching consumers in the communities they are a part of and helping them express community membership by participating in your brand.

"Brands that excel at this use five reinforcing techniques—know your communities, make your brand story talkable, zoom in on hero products, fuel the conversation across channels, and make transactions effortless—to encourage the development of a community flywheel."

McKinsey states: "This methodology is well suited to the fast feedback cycle of cross-functional agile teams and doesn’t require extensive marketing technology investment ahead of demand; it thereby enables rapid growth, provides high return on investment at low risk—and encourages energized, high-performing teams."

Read more here: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/a-better-way-to-build-a-brand-the-community-flywheel?

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: What Does Brand Loyalty Mean?

According to brand loyalty expert Robert Passikoff, whose firm Brand Keys just released its 14th annual survey of Brand Loyalty Leaders, “Loyalty is about emotional brand connection and consumers’ mostly-emotional expectations. Connect and meet expectations and your brand will always do better in engagement, consideration, and purchase.” The survey ranks consumer brand loyalty across 142 categories for 1, 624 brands. For 2022, here are the top ten Brand Loyalty Leaders:

1. Apple (smartphones)
2. Amazon (online retail)
3. Domino's (pizza)
4. Disney + (video streaming)
5. TikTok (social networking)
6. Pfizer (pharmaceuticals)
7. WhatsApp (instant messaging)
8. Netflix (video streaming)
9. Google (search engines)
10. Amazon (video streaming)

Six brands made the top 100 Brand Loyalty Leaders list for the first time:

• Beyond Meat
• Impossible Foods
• Moderna
• Pfizer
• Paramount +
• Tesla

Read more about the survey here.

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: The Importance of Competitive Intelligence

A new State of Competitive Intelligence Report from Crayon reveals four important takeaways about competitive intelligence:

1. Competition is intensifying: Nearly 60 percent of competitive intelligence practitioners surveyed indicate competition is more intense (a 16 percent increase from 2020 levels)
2. Decision-makers at organizations both large and small are prioritizing competitive intelligence
3. Competitive intelligence efforts are benefiting from automation
4. The development of KPIs to justify competitive intelligence investments is in the early stages.

Read more here (free subscription required): https://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2022/47944/the-state-of-competitive-intelligence-four-trends?

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Boomers are Less Loyal to Brands

In a recent global consumer survey as reported by Marketing Charts, 85 percent of Baby Boomers (ages 56 - 75) say they are loyal to some brands but will buy from competitors. Less than half (47 percent) of Boomers say they are definitely loyal to some companies, and 36 precent say they are not loyal to any companies/brands. Close to two-thirds (64 percent) of Boomers say they will be loyal to specific brands that feature great products or services and one-third (36 percent) say brands that work hard to build a relationship with them will make them loyal. Boomers find irrelevant content and offers to be frustrating, but 59 percent of Boomers made a purchase within the past year as a result of receiving a relevant email.

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Direct Mail Preferred by Consumers for Unknown Brands

If you are planning to do outreach to consumers who may be unfamiliar with your brand, be aware that they prefer to be contacted by traditional direct mail. As reported by Marketing Charts, in a recent survey of over 2,000 U.S. consumers age 18+, 44 percent of respondents prefer to receive direct mail from brands they do not know, while 35 percent prefer contact by email. Only 13 percent prefer social media messages and 8 percent prefer text messages. In contrast, 52 percent of consumers who have a relationship with a brand prefer to receive email contacts from the brand, versus direct mail (20 percent), text messages (19 percent) and social media messages (9 percent).

Over 70 percent of consumer respondents to the survey said when they receive direct mail, they read it immediately or the same day they receive it, and 62 percent said they have taken some sort of action after reading it.

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Learning from the Failures of Major Marketers

What do major marketers including Apple, Heinz, McDonald's and Nike have in common? All of them launched products that were failures:

• Apple tried to take advantage of gaming in the 1990s with the unsuccessful launch of its "Pippin Console"
• Heinz thought changing its iconic red ketchup to green in 2000 would intrigue kids but it was a big flop
• A fine dining chef created the "Arch Deluxe" as a kind of "grown up" burger for McDonald's but it fizzled
• Nike Magneto sunglasses were designed to hold onto athlete's faces with magnets but the idea didn't stick.

Read how these and other marketing mistakes have been immortalized in the "Museum of Failures" here:
https://bettermarketing.pub/what-you-can-learn-from-the-museum-of-failure-21771a44f4b5

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Retro is Trending

Maybe consumers are looking for a return to the good old days... or maybe they are tiring of too much in-your-face media. According to Insider Intelligence from eMarketer, "consumers are turning to the past" for entertainment. A few examples:

• For the first time since 1986, sales of vinyl records exceeded $1 billion last year
• CDs and even cassettes have increased in sales; CDs grew 21 percent year-over-year, and cassette sales doubled between 2020 and 2021
• Vintage home decor is expected to be a major 2022 trend, according to 70 percent of home designers.

The above are just a few examples of the retro trend. Says Insider Intelligence, "As Gen Z consumers reach for comfort in nostalgia, they are breathing new life into lower-tech and vintage products, which made their shelf debut decades ago."

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Most Valuable Global Brands Keep Growing

The value of the top 100 global brands increased by 23 percent over the previous years, according to the latest annual study produced by Kantar BrandZ and reported by Marketing Charts. "Consumer Technology was the category that saw the fastest growth over the past year, with top-100 brands in this sector growing their value by 45%. Right on Consumer Tech’s heels was the Luxury category, with its brands enjoying 45% growth from last year," says Marketing Charts.

The most valuable brand was Apple, with a 55% increase year-over-year in brand value. Of the top ten brands, however, Google had the fastest growth rate (79% year-over-year). The top five most valuable brands in descending order were Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Tencent.

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.