read somewhere that Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks and Quicken, have a practice they call “follow me homes” that allow them to go into an actual customer’s home and watch them install their software and get it set-up.

You know you should turn your service into an ebook product, create a new workshop, start a podcast, yada, yada, yada. Sometimes knowing and doing have a hard time intersecting.

As I write about small business marketing strategies I’m often confronted the choice between the word client or customer when referring to those folks you exchange goods and services with for money.

One of my readers pointed out that they really appreciated the definition of marketing that I use throughout Duct Tape Marketing. Marketing is getting someone who has a need to know, like and trust you.

Jason Friend, a co-founder of the wildly successful software developer 37Signals stopped by the Duct Tape Marketing podcast recently to chat.37Signals makes a collection of killer online apps such as Basecamp, Highrise, Backpack and Campfire.

You know you need to get your story told in the media, but you can’t seem to get anyone interested. The problem is you need to look at journalists as a target market - you need to get them to know, like and trust you just like you would a customer.

The Internet has made working, collaborating and sharing down right simple. With it many businesses are living the dream of running multi-million dollar business without any permanent staff. This magic is done increasingly at the hands of a growing world of workers known as virtual assistants.

Big companies thrive on big ideas - or at least they should. Small businesses, the ones that thrive, tap something else all together. I’ve hung out a bunch over the last few weeks with some really smart, passionate, vibrant and nutty small business owners and they are a different breed.

I talk to business owners every day that want to take their businesses to the next level, but are puzzled as to why it’s so hard. They push and work and expand and contract only to find themselves right back where they found themselves last year.

Depending upon who you ask a marketing plan is either a necessary evil or tremendous waste of time. - That’s such a shame, but I think I’ve finally come to understand why this is. A well crafted marketing plan should be one of the most important strategic steps a business takes, but there’s a disconnect.