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What a whirlwind it was! Mark, Tabitha, Erin, Aaron and I spent last week in Boston at the annual INBOUND conference by HubSpot. This is a solid four days of inspiration, ideas, new product announcements, networking, food truck lunch selections, and miles and miles of walking. We'd like to share with you some of the biggest takeaways and how you and put them into action for your business. As a quick overview, here are the biggest themes and takeaways:

1. Video, video, video.
2. 1 to 1 messaging for the win.
3. Stop disrupting. Cause less friction.
4. Customer service as part of your sales & marketing team
5. Culture matters.

Marketing has changed a lot in the past two decades. For one thing, there's the internet, and with it came business websites, search engines and social media. 

For another, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and marketing automation have given marketers new tools to do their jobs faster and more effectively. 

Wow! I just got back from a great couple of days at IMPACT Live 2019. IMPACT Live is a 2-day conference full of expert speakers on all things marketing. It was a great experience and I can’t wait to put all the things I learned into action! 

If we've heard it once, we've heard it a thousand times: Don't judge a book by its cover. But honestly, that really only works with people. And maybe books. When it comes to judging the quality of a company and its products, one of the first things people will do is assess how the website looks to decide if they want to stick around. That's right. Your website design can make or break a buying decision.

Studies have been published explaining that the design of a website is the primary factor in determining if they stay or if they move on. 

It's no secret that using video is a critical component in just about every business' marketing strategy. With viewers retaining 95% of a video's message compared to 10% retention if they read the same message in text, it's absolutely the way to go. Great! So now what? How do you get good videos, that people will watch without literally breaking the bank?

While there is a time and a place for highly produced videos, it's not always necessary.  Some messages can be delivered from your desk or with attractive stock video footage, dramatically reducing the cost of production.