It’s not news that Google is constantly tweaking its ranking algorithm. But, from time to time, the search engine giant does a full-scale overhaul, the latest being the Panda Update.

Have you ever looked through a magazine and come across an ad that just looked bad? We all have. Now, have you ever wondered what your prospects and customers think when they come across one of your ads?

Social media is still all the buzz. Everyone is doing it, wants to do it or is about to start. As a result, the volume of messages flying across the social media sphere is increasing every day. But what about those poor souls (customers) on the receiving end of this messaging barrage?

Who do you think your company’s most important target audience really is? Prospects? Customers? Close. But your most important audience is typically a group that most companies ignore. It’s your employees.

Newsletters are a very popular marketing tool. They can be incredibly effective if done right. Unfortunately, most company’s efforts end up in the circular file before anyone has read a word. Why? Because they committed too many newsletter no-no’s. If you are the editor-in-chief of your company’s newsletter, be mindful to avoid these very common mistakes.

Challenger Brands subscribe to the theory proposed by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles in their book Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service. In the book, Blanchard and Bowles theorize that “your customers are (likely) only satisfied because their expectations are so low and because no one else is doing it better.”

Most companies have the best intentions when they set out to create a marketing plan. But there is one thing that we consistently see underestimated – and, in many cases, overlooked. That is a thorough, non-biased competitive analysis. We are not referring to an understanding of your competition from your own perspective, but a thorough understanding of your competition through your customer’s eyes.

Thinking outside the box has long been in vogue. But what about “acting” outside the box? In his latest book, Poke the Box, author Seth Godin makes a case for not only thoughts that exceed the limits of the box but actions as well.

The ideal marketing plan needs to be a living, breathing and customized document. It is the single document that is at the core of all of your marketing objectives, strategies and tactics. In an effort to help you craft the perfect, and most importantly, realistic marketing plan for your company, try using our 8 Steps:

Challenger Brands know that a brand position is an expression of the value that their brand has in the mind of the consumer when compared to other brands. They further recognize that they must be able to voice what distinguishes them from their competitors – the more that distinctive quality is sought after, the stronger the position.