Happy National Sock Day!

If you’ve been in the audience when I speak or train, you know I love a question-asking-question-answering-all-in-engaged audience. And one of the ways that I “reward” people for their participation is to give away socks—they’re brightly colored, polka-dotted, cozy and high quality. They’re unforgettable. During two sessions I recently presented about the client experience at […]

Boo! Marketing is Scary

At the Excel 401(k) Conference this past week, I taped an upcoming episode of the Retireholi(k)s. If you’re not familiar with them, think TPAs, ERISA and beer – discussed by a group of passionate and prepared Southern California types from Plan Design Consultants. The show is there way of adding value to the advisor community – without another […]

Happy National Coffee Day!

Starbucks didn’t create the coffee culture; there were plenty of places to get a cup of coffee before they started. What they did was turn a once-upon-a-time purchase into a daily ritual for many of us. (Short Flat White anyone?) When Howard Shultz bought the Seattle-based firm, he shifted our idea of what coffee could […]

Dear Ary: You’re right, except…

Recently ERISA attorney Ary Rosenbaum wrote a great post, Marketing For Plan Providers: What It Can Do And What It Can’t. In the article he mentions a variety of not-marketing tasks and tactics that every business must consider before marketing. These include ideas such as finding a target market, creating a company culture, providing an […]