The 5 Musts of Marketing For most of the small business owners I work with, marketing has become the equivalent of a four-letter word. Inevitably, when I ask the question, "Do you have a marketing plan?" or "What marketing activities do you engage in?" I get the full gamut of responses from the proverbial deer in the headlights stare, to a vociferous, "I hate marketing, it's the least favorite part of my business!"After years of witnessing this reaction, and learning a bit about modern marketing, I'm starting to understand why traditional marketing is perceived and experienced as a necessary evil and avoided like a root canal. It's been true since the beginning of commerce that every business needs to promote itself to stay alive and compete in an ever-changing marketplace. How great would it be if you, as a savvy business owner, could begin to make a shift from seeing marketing, and its associated tasks, as a necessary evil to a rich and rewarding opportunity to express yo ... Read more »