From John Jantsch:

By now you’ve surely seen those clever Allstate Insurance ads featuring a guy called Mayhem, ready to wreak havoc on the unprepared. The commercials have popularized the idea of mayhem, but it’s something I’ve seen for years in the area of marketing.

When marketing is seen as an event rather than a system, mayhem ensues. When organizations abdicate marketing strategy to creatives, mayhem ensues. When business owners try to make marketing harder than it is or easier than it really is, mayhem ensues.

Below are seven sure-fire ways to invite mayhem into your marketing mix.

1. Be all things to no one

Rather than trying to effectively appeal to a narrow slice of a market, many businesses attempt to be all things to all people and, of course, wind up being all things to no one in particular.

This is how commodities are created and we all know commodities are traded on price alone.

2. Think good service is enough

Quick, how many of you reading this right now think that your business provides lousy service? So, I’m guessing no one raised their hand and that everyone believes—I didn’t say it was true—that they provide good service.

The problem with good service is that it’s an expectation, not a difference. The problem with relying on good service is that anyone can claim it.

The key to standing out in a crowd is being different in a way that matters to a narrow segment of the market. End of story. Difference allows you to charge a premium.

3. Sell before you teach

You can sell anything to anyone. In fact, you should, but only after you’ve earned the right to do so, and you do that by giving and teaching first.

Giving can mean giving advice, giving answers or giving an experience. Teaching can mean demonstrating you know your stuff, teaching people there is a difference and showing them how to solve life’s persistent troubles.

The secret to giving and teaching in today's online world is to commit to creating content that builds trust, educates and closes as a daily marketing task.

4. Cling to the funnel

The notion of the marketing funnel—that is, getting in front of lots of people and squeezing a few through the skinny part of the funnel—is a broken way to think about marketing these days.

The problem with the marketing funnel is that you have to keep filling it up just to get new business. It’s time to think about a new shape: the marketing hourglass. The hourglass takes into consideration the fact that a happy customer is your best source of new leads. By spending as much time on lead conversion and in creating a remarkable customer experience as you do on lead generation, you replace the struggle to fill from the top.

5. Think the Web is flat

There was a day when you got online and built a destination (your website). That day evolved into a web that included outposts and flat roads that pointed back to your main hub.

Today the interconnectedness of social networks, social marketplaces, mobile behavior and customer-published content has created the need to view the Web in a very circular way. A way that makes room for offline integration, as well as entire market places housed outside of your primary hub. Facebook, for example, has become both a gateway and a self-contained market and must be addressed as both.

6. Think the sale is ever really over

Many business folks, and certainly many sales folks, view the selling job as complete once the customer says yes or signs the deal.

The problem with this way of thinking is that it’s transactional, when business these days is about relational. Relationships are built by delivering an exceptional experience before, during and after the sale.

In fact, that sale isn’t over until the customer realizes the value promised.

7. Travel without a map

One of the problems with the concept of marketing is that there’s always going to be more to do than can be done. So, the trick is to create a plan and then map that plan on a calendar based on the highest payoff priorities.

Without a long term action plan, perhaps annual at least, businesses fall prey to the idea of the week and fail to build any momentum that drives them towards their ultimate business-building goals.

Traveling in this manner is much like heading out with no destination and no map. It's not hard to see how you will inevitably drive in circles in that scenario, is it?

Image credit: jdn

From Jacob Harper:

One of the most exciting moments in a young startup is that first instant your business turns an honest-to-goodness, completely legitimate profit. You've paid all your bills, you've settled all your debts for the month and lo and behold you still have money left over. Hallelujah!

This is the point when a lot of businesses, caught up in the sheer thrill of having extra cash for the first time ever, make mistakes that could cost them everything. Here are four of the most common, and what you can do to avoid them.

1. Giving yourself a little celebratory bonus

It's tempting after scrimping and saving for so long to cut yourself a little bonus when you can finally afford it. But this is one of the worst things a business owner can do, especially with the spoils of a first-time profit. While you might be just dying to take that extra bowl of profit, suck it up. The times of plenty can be deceivingly short.

You can invest initial profit in any number of constructive ways—have a website professionally built, pay down your small-business loan, save for a rainy day (there will be many)—but resist the urge to spend frivolously on yourself. Every dollar you put back into the business has a chance to come back to you, while money not funneled back hasno chance to return. Do not cash out early, even with a teeny tiny bonus to celebrate finally seeing black. That’s what retirement is for, whippersnapper.

2. Buying advertising without doing the research

One of the biggest bloopers I made when I first turned a profit as a small business owner was buying a lot of advertising without doing any market research.

Advertising is, of course, quite essential for creating and maintaining brand awareness, but it's nothing that should be bought impulsively, especially with early profits. But I could finally see my business’ name in the Big Print, woo-hoo, you think. But how much return are you getting on that 8x11 ad you placed in Regional Magazine None of Your Clientele Reads Monthly?

I’ve seen a lack of advertising destroy many promising small businesses. Brand awareness is important. But do your research first. Or better yet, hire someone who knows advertising to do it for you—though maybe temporarily...

3. Hiring an employee you can’t afford long-term

Temporarily, I say, because promising someone a long-term job is not something to be taken lightly. One of the most heartbreaking things I went through as a business owner was laying someone off because I violated this rule. So I understand why it’s tempting. You’re busy. You want to hire help. But consider doing it on a seasonal or trial basis. Then see what the cash flow situation is like.

Taking on extra employees is great—you’ve become one of those fabled “job creators.” But hiring someone, promising someone a steady job, is a serious commitment. Don’t make promises until you can keep them, but also until an employee’s services are necessary—that is, the job has grown to something you absolutely can’t do yourself. Because extraneous employees are also a violation of rule number one.

4. Don’t over-expand, Captain Hubris

Growing small businesses often have that urge to expand, and expand fast!

Before expanding the scope of your business, first ask yourself: are there gaping holes in your model that need to be fixed? The answer is, if your business is young, almost definitely. While you want to grow, and you can’t grow without taking risks, your business foundation needs to be absolutely sound before you use it to prop up a new harebrained venture. Hubris kills business. Just because you can capitalize a new venture doesn’t mean it needs to happen now! Take every new chance to expand with the same seriousness with which you initiated your business venture, take a sober look at your financial capacity and you’ll minimize your business’s risk of death by over-expansion.

Jacob Harper co-founded clothing store and apparel brand Vintage Vice in 2006 at the age of 23. He sold Vintage Vice in 2009 (the company still operates successfully today) and has been working as a writer and teacher ever since. Harper is currently a head writer of the weekly political sketch show Top Story! Weekly at the iO West in Hollywood.

From Jacob Harper:

One of the most exciting moments in a young startup is that first instant your business turns an honest-to-goodness, completely legitimate profit. You've paid all your bills, you've settled all your debts for the month and lo and behold you still have money left over. Hallelujah!

This is the point when a lot of businesses, caught up in the sheer thrill of having extra cash for the first time ever, make mistakes that could cost them everything. Here are four of the most common, and what you can do to avoid them.

1. Giving yourself a little celebratory bonus

It's tempting after scrimping and saving for so long to cut yourself a little bonus when you can finally afford it. But this is one of the worst things a business owner can do, especially with the spoils of a first-time profit. While you might be just dying to take that extra bowl of profit, suck it up. The times of plenty can be deceivingly short.

You can invest initial profit in any number of constructive ways—have a website professionally built, pay down your small-business loan, save for a rainy day (there will be many)—but resist the urge to spend frivolously on yourself. Every dollar you put back into the business has a chance to come back to you, while money not funneled back hasno chance to return. Do not cash out early, even with a teeny tiny bonus to celebrate finally seeing black. That’s what retirement is for, whippersnapper.

2. Buying advertising without doing the research

One of the biggest bloopers I made when I first turned a profit as a small business owner was buying a lot of advertising without doing any market research.

Advertising is, of course, quite essential for creating and maintaining brand awareness, but it's nothing that should be bought impulsively, especially with early profits. But I could finally see my business’ name in the Big Print, woo-hoo, you think. But how much return are you getting on that 8x11 ad you placed in Regional Magazine None of Your Clientele Reads Monthly?

I’ve seen a lack of advertising destroy many promising small businesses. Brand awareness is important. But do your research first. Or better yet, hire someone who knows advertising to do it for you—though maybe temporarily...

3. Hiring an employee you can’t afford long-term

Temporarily, I say, because promising someone a long-term job is not something to be taken lightly. One of the most heartbreaking things I went through as a business owner was laying someone off because I violated this rule. So I understand why it’s tempting. You’re busy. You want to hire help. But consider doing it on a seasonal or trial basis. Then see what the cash flow situation is like.

Taking on extra employees is great—you’ve become one of those fabled “job creators.” But hiring someone, promising someone a steady job, is a serious commitment. Don’t make promises until you can keep them, but also until an employee’s services are necessary—that is, the job has grown to something you absolutely can’t do yourself. Because extraneous employees are also a violation of rule number one.

4. Don’t over-expand, Captain Hubris

Growing small businesses often have that urge to expand, and expand fast!

Before expanding the scope of your business, first ask yourself: are there gaping holes in your model that need to be fixed? The answer is, if your business is young, almost definitely. While you want to grow, and you can’t grow without taking risks, your business foundation needs to be absolutely sound before you use it to prop up a new harebrained venture. Hubris kills business. Just because you can capitalize a new venture doesn’t mean it needs to happen now! Take every new chance to expand with the same seriousness with which you initiated your business venture, take a sober look at your financial capacity and you’ll minimize your business’s risk of death by over-expansion.

Jacob Harper co-founded clothing store and apparel brand Vintage Vice in 2006 at the age of 23. He sold Vintage Vice in 2009 (the company still operates successfully today) and has been working as a writer and teacher ever since. Harper is currently a head writer of the weekly political sketch show Top Story! Weekly at the iO West in Hollywood.

From Courtney Rubin:

Ten U.S. senators have introduced a bill to allow states to collect sales tax from out-of-state retailers. Some small businesses (those with annual revenues of less than $500,000) would be exempt.

The Marketplace Fairness Act would bypass a nearly 20-year-old prohibition on states collecting sales tax on catalog sales, and by extension, on e-commerce. In 1992’s Quill Corp v. North Dakota, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot tax businesses that don’t have a physical presence within their boundaries. Such taxes would regulate interstate commerce, which only the federal government can do.

In recent years, several states have moved to get around the court ruling. Among them: New York, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Illinois, Arkansas, Connecticut and—most famously—California. Per California law, any website based in the state that had a marketing affiliate relationship with a retailer out-of-state would be considered to give the retailer a bricks-and-mortar presence in the state, and therefore subject to the sales tax. This led to a much publicized fight with Amazon, and the online giant’s termination of its deal with California affiliates.

California recently delayed implementing its law for a year, saying it was giving Congress the chance to enact a national law. (Amazon said it would support any federal legislation.)

Under the proposed law, states could collect Internet sales tax if they make their tax systems compatible with that of other states. This is no small undertaking: There is a huge disparity in what states tax. The Camarillo, Calif.-based Performance Marketing Association, points out that in some states, Snickers are taxable as candy but Kit Kat bars aren’t because they contain wheat. (Since 1999, 44 states have signed on to what is known as the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, voluntarily agreeing to make their tax systems compatible, but the agreement is nonbinding. Meaning: It’s still up to Congress to approve legislation authorizing states to collect sales tax from companies outside their borders.)

Companies with revenues of less than $500,000 would be exempt. That's not total revenue; it's "remote sales" revenue, such as that acquired via the Internet.

Amazon and brick-and-mortar retailers support the bill. Said Amazon vice president Paul Misener: “It’s a win-win resolution.”

The National Retail Federation also praised the move. Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation, said, “In a 21st Century retail industry, we ought to have a 21st Century system to ensure uniform collection of sales tax.”

Others were less supportive. Said the Direct Marketing Association in a statement:  “This bill, even in the best of economic times, is bad policy as it interferes with the free flow of commerce among the states” and would hamper e-commerce.

EBay also opposes the bill. Tod Cohen, the company’s vice president for government relations, said in a statement: “This is another Internet sales tax bill that fails to protect small-business retailers using the Internet and will unbalance the playing field between giant retailers and small business competitors. It does not make sense to expand Internet sales tax burdens on small businesses at a time when we want entrepreneurs to create jobs and economic activity.”

Get more on business taxes.

From Courtney Rubin:

Ten U.S. senators have introduced a bill to allow states to collect sales tax from out-of-state retailers. Some small businesses (those with annual revenues of less than $500,000) would be exempt.

The Marketplace Fairness Act would bypass a nearly 20-year-old prohibition on states collecting sales tax on catalog sales, and by extension, on e-commerce. In 1992’s Quill Corp v. North Dakota, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot tax businesses that don’t have a physical presence within their boundaries. Such taxes would regulate interstate commerce, which only the federal government can do.

In recent years, several states have moved to get around the court ruling. Among them: New York, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Illinois, Arkansas, Connecticut and—most famously—California. Per California law, any website based in the state that had a marketing affiliate relationship with a retailer out-of-state would be considered to give the retailer a bricks-and-mortar presence in the state, and therefore subject to the sales tax. This led to a much publicized fight with Amazon, and the online giant’s termination of its deal with California affiliates.

California recently delayed implementing its law for a year, saying it was giving Congress the chance to enact a national law. (Amazon said it would support any federal legislation.)

Under the proposed law, states could collect Internet sales tax if they make their tax systems compatible with that of other states. This is no small undertaking: There is a huge disparity in what states tax. The Camarillo, Calif.-based Performance Marketing Association, points out that in some states, Snickers are taxable as candy but Kit Kat bars aren’t because they contain wheat. (Since 1999, 44 states have signed on to what is known as the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, voluntarily agreeing to make their tax systems compatible, but the agreement is nonbinding. Meaning: It’s still up to Congress to approve legislation authorizing states to collect sales tax from companies outside their borders.)

Companies with revenues of less than $500,000 would be exempt. That's not total revenue; it's "remote sales" revenue, such as that acquired via the Internet.

Amazon and brick-and-mortar retailers support the bill. Said Amazon vice president Paul Misener: “It’s a win-win resolution.”

The National Retail Federation also praised the move. Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation, said, “In a 21st Century retail industry, we ought to have a 21st Century system to ensure uniform collection of sales tax.”

Others were less supportive. Said the Direct Marketing Association in a statement:  “This bill, even in the best of economic times, is bad policy as it interferes with the free flow of commerce among the states” and would hamper e-commerce.

EBay also opposes the bill. Tod Cohen, the company’s vice president for government relations, said in a statement: “This is another Internet sales tax bill that fails to protect small-business retailers using the Internet and will unbalance the playing field between giant retailers and small business competitors. It does not make sense to expand Internet sales tax burdens on small businesses at a time when we want entrepreneurs to create jobs and economic activity.”

Get more on business taxes.

From Rick Jensen:

There’s no doubt you’ve heard about the upcoming Small Business Saturday driven by American Express. Celebrating its second year, Small Business Saturday is now an annual tradition encouraging consumers to shop at local small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

While many small businesses will offer extended store hours and special discounts with the hope of generating as much revenue as possible this coming Nov. 26, it’s important to remember that Small Business Saturday shouldn’t be just a one-day event. It’s an opportunity to establish what will become long-term customer relationships with an audience that’s captive, local and can be your strongest allies when it comes to word-of-mouth marketing.

You can start generating interest in the event now by telling your customers to “Like” the Small Business Saturday page on Facebook to receive special offers. You can also use this as an opportunity to steer customers to your Facebook business page where you initiate discussions and provide them with additional insider discounts.

If you’re feeling like bigger businesses run by conglomerates still have an upper hand in terms of marketing and recruiting customers, think again.  Here are three more ways to use Small Business Saturday to outshine the big box competition and set the foundation for driving repeat customers throughout the year.

1. Demonstrate your expertise

Since nobody knows your business better than you, freely share your knowledge with customers. Instead of just offering discounts or sales promotions, think about helping your audience learn something. This can take the form of product demonstrations, private showings or classes. You can make these part of the Small Business Saturday shopping experience and take advantage of the increased foot traffic to invite customers back when your store is less crowded.

Remember, you don’t have to give away your trade secrets for this to be successful. Think about helpful tips and tricks that you can teach your customers to keep them coming back to you—not just for more tips but for the products or services that you sell.

2. Create an experience

Whether a customer is spending $1 or $1,000 at your business, I can’t stress enough how important it is to consider how they view the experience. It’s not enough to offer great deals; if you can’t keep up with the volume or your customers have an unpleasant encounter with one of your employees, they won’t be shy to talk about those experiences. Ask yourself:

• Are customers greeted by friendly, knowledgeable staff?

• Do those staff members know the difference between being helpful and being invasive?

• Do the cash registers form barriers between the shoppers and the products or are they set off to the side, allowing customers to freely browse the aisles?

If your business requires that customers stay on the premises for an extended period of time, do you provide pleasant distractions while they wait?

If you feel you’re too close to your business to fairly assess how a first-time customer would view the experience, ask for feedback. This also gives you an opportunity to engage your customers on a more personal level.

3. Amp up customer service

Personalized customer service is one of the strongest differentiators for a small businesses, and it’s one of the primary reasons customers favor local vendors. This personalized service is often the result of the small business owner’s passion for what they do. Knowing that enthusiasm can be contagious, consider what originally drew you to your business and pass it along to your employees.

Along with revisiting customer service best practices, you can raise the stakes by attaching an incentive to Small Business Saturday. For example, rewards may be given to employees who are able to engage customers, inspire them to freely want to join your mailing list, and deliver results in terms of returning to your business.

Take advantage of American Express’s marketing muscle behind this one-day event by visiting Small Business Saturday so you can build your customer pipeline for the remaining 364 days of the year.