The Internet has accelerated strategic target marketing to a new level. We have access to virtually any type of information at our fingertips. Combining this with expert analytics, marketers today can create, evaluate and redeploy targeted campaigns at light speed. In the “old” days, the best advertisers could hope for was to promote their company via media that created content … [More]
Teens in Business Build iPhone Repairs Company
Combining his expertise in marketing and hers in repairing electronic devices, teen entrepreneurs Alex Leiphart and Jessica Atkinson launched iPhone and iPad repair business Appleite in October. Having an idea for a business is not what sets them apart from other teens, they believe; the differentiator is knowing how to put the business together. Operating Appleite out of … [More]
Customer Experience Has Market Impact
Research from Watermark Consulting and Forrester Research tracked the six-year stock performance of companies on Forrester’s Customer Experience Index. Even during the recession years of 2007-2012, customer experience leaders averaged double-digit gains in stock performance, besting customer experience laggards by an impressive margin. This is not a coincidence — the better a … [More]
2014 Acura MDX All-Wheel Drive
This seems to be the year that car manufacturers are presenting their redesigned and rethought smaller SUV class. It is a big market, undoubtedly due to the options for professionals, heads of households and those living alone who need it all. The MDX has gone through many changes over the years, and in 2014 has seemed to have landed on what is being lauded as a viable … [More]
Exploring Public Procurement in Arizona
Both well-established and emerging companies seeking to expand in Arizona should consider whether to pursue lucrative government contracting opportunities. However, confusion about when and how the government actually purchases goods and services often keeps businesses from pursuing these opportunities. Through understanding what public procurement is, how it works and why a … [More]
New Rules Allow Advertising for Investors
Small businesses and start-ups have greater leeway in advertising for investors with the recent passage of a revision to the JOBS Act of 2012, regarding Securities and Exchange Commission rules, that enables small companies to publicly announce efforts to raise money. Regulation previously in effect dated from 1933, long before social media became a staple in communication, and … [More]
Bet on Bink’s Midtown
Conveniently located in the heart of Phoenix, Kevin Binkley’s newest venture is Bink’s Midtown. One of the Valley’s most acclaimed chefs, Binkley is known for his namesake restaurant in Cave Creek, Binkley’s Restaurant, which is consistently named as a No. 1 pick among critics. His midtown establishment has quickly become just as acclaimed and is turning heads and tempting … [More]
Ford Explorer Sport: Powerful for 2014
Made tough and certainly a reliable brand, the new Ford Explorer Sport is poised to take those loyal to Ford and looking for that zippy mid-sized SUV to task. The 2014 is outfitted with “sporty” accessories and design elements, but truly reaches the definition of its name with the 3.5-liter twin turbo V6 engine. Delivering 365 horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of torque, this mean … [More]
Go to Bat for Innovation-Nurturing Approach to Business
In baseball, you can fail 70 percent of the time and still be considered a strong player. Why is it that businesses give an employee with a new idea just one chance? Pitchers lose games, batters strike out, fielders make errors. Instead of firing them or sending them back to the minor leagues, managers study what went wrong. CEOs need to do the same thing. Kill the project, not … [More]
Base Website Design on Your Sales Process
If you want your website to generate new business opportunities, you need to make sure it is designed to attract leads while it is guiding your prospect through the sales cycle. If you’re an e-commerce company, like Amazon or e-Bay, specifically focused on selling your product or service on the Internet, your site was probably designed to move a prospect through the buying … [More]
The Gladly
Self-proclaimed the new Camelback Corridor hot spot, The Gladly is a creation by the people behind the very successful Citizen Public House. This new concept is housed in the space once occupied by Ruth’s Chris Steak House in the newly renovated Anchor Center. The proclamations seem to be accurate. The powerful lunchers are spending their noon hour at The Gladly, and not … [More]
Range Rover Sport
A true weight-loss program makes the all-new Range Rover Sport Supercharged a notable option for the SUV enthusiast who is looking for best in sports accoutrement and performance. Going to an all-aluminum body structure, new this year, results in a loss of 800 pounds, adding to the overall performance and stability of this model. The 5.0-liter LR-V8 supercharged engine does … [More]
Retailer Expands by Closing Its Shop
Nine months into breaking into retail with Amerisleep’s new design in beds, founder Firas Kittaneh added an online sales site to the company’s brick-and-mortar store in Tempe. The next step he considered was opening a second location — but within six months of launching the website, he made the reverse decision and closed the Tempe store. Online in the three years since then, … [More]
Lunch in the District — District American Kitchen & Wine Bar
Be in the know; be in the moment; be in the District. The District American Kitchen and Wine Bar has been serving lunch just off the lobby of the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown since the hotel’s opening in 2008. This lunch spot has been hopping with executives, deal makers, sports stars and independent small-business owners who see this location at Third and Van Buren streets as the … [More]
Top Rated: The All New Lexus IS 350
“IS” may stand for “incredible success.” The 2014 Lexus IS 350 is the latest in technology and performance, and has been impressing car critics since its recent release. Also available in the F Sport and AWD (all wheel drive) editions, this latest incarnation is winning in tests with the BMW 335i and the Cadillac ATS. Specs include the 3.5-liter V6 aluminum block direct-fuel … [More]
Cycling Dollars from Local to Local
Studies show a multiplier effect on dollars spent at local businesses that doesn’t exist for dollars spent at chain retailers or other out-of-state firms. Even if a local purveyor’s price is higher, the pay-off comes from keeping the money in the community. Local businesses propel dollars through an elaborate local spending cycle, generating jobs, profits, purchases, capital … [More]
U-Haul: Building on the Power of Relationships
The company was founded on faith in people, says Stuart Shoen, executive VP of U-Haul and third generation in the family business. In the mid-1940s, he relates, there were plenty of trailer rental companies but none that would rent one-way. Husband and wife L.S. and Anna Mary Carty Shoen conceived of a program to serve customers needing a long haul for a one-way move, such as … [More]
Searsucker: A Hip, Hot Spot
In a market that is ripe with hip restaurants, new eatery concepts and a trend toward serving healthy and quality ingredients, Searsucker may take the “cake.” This open, airy establishment is housed in a lobby-style space situated between the Camelback Tower and Neiman Marcus on Camelback Road at Goldwater Blvd. Team Brian Malarkey and Valley-known Chef Steve “Chops” Smith … [More]
