LMDTFY News

LOLcats and marketing – When messing with language works

You need to watch your language in almost every marketing circumstance known to man. Use the right words for the job so people understand what you're on about. Stick to grammatical rules for 100% clarity.

Punctuate correctly for accuracy and to prevent misunderstandings. So it's interesting to see the I Can Has Cheeseburger network hitting the bit time.

It's a site where members caption photos and drawings of cats, dogs, funny-looking food and more. And they do it using language that'd make your English teacher despair. Click the photo to add a funny caption becomes 'Clik teh foto add a funneh capshun'. There's 'Cyoot Kittehs of teh Day: Iz Danjerus 2 Go Aloen. Taek Dese!' (Cute kittens of the day: it's dangerous to go alone – take these!) and 'All baffz r awful fingz' (all baths are awful things). [more...]

How to fire a B2B client... and live to tell the tale

Most clients are lovely. They're efficient, helpful, co-operative, forthcoming and sensible. But now and again you get a mad one. Someone whose demands are unreasonable. Who is a really poor cultural fit. Whose business practices grate on you. Who gets far more than their fair share of your time and energy than they merit. Who even holds your business back.

The smaller the business, the bigger the risk. But do you have to hang onto troublesome customers through thick and think, taking it on the chin for the good of commerce and profit? No, you don't. As a small business owner you can't afford to carry toxic clients. You're much better off building a client base of people on the same wavelength as you. But what's the best way to get rid of them without causing offence or [more...]

10 top business lessons from serial killers

You might or might not know I'm fascinated by serial killers. Yes, they're humanity gone deeply, fundamentally and spectacularly wrong. But they're not all bad...

Well, they are all bad. They're foul. But you can learn solid business lessons from the way they carry out their dreadful work. And entertain yourself at the same time, if you're of a ghoulish persuasion!

Have A Passion
Serial killers are dedicated, determined and utterly focused on what they do. But they often live an outwardly normal life. Take a leaf out of their book. While you're at work, immerse yourself in it. When you shut up for the day, return to ''normal'. Don't let your work bleed into [more...]

Five top ways to make spring work hard for you

What did you do about Mother's Day? Did you use it as a marketing springboard for your small business or did it pass you by?

Obviously it depends on relevance. There's probably not much mileage trying to base a Mother's Day event marketing campaign around tractors. Or football. Or business services. But there's more coming up this spring to hang your marketing hat on. Here goes.

1. Easter – perfect for marketing luxury goods of all kinds, chocs, flowers, wine, food, entertainment and so on [more...]