Ahmad Kareh

Have you ever given a friend advice before they were ready to hear it? Chances are, it wasn’t received well. Relationships with your clients aren’t that different. If you build an integrated marketing communications strategy that is specific to the stage of the funnel that your customer is in, it will help you to build a lasting relationship with them. In other words, your ideal customer may be ready to consider your proposal – but only after you earn their trust. In order to do this, you need to respect their boundaries.

What's in a name? A lot, as it turns out – especially when it comes to naming your business.

Choosing your company's moniker is one of the most important decisions you'll make when you start a new business, as it sets the tone for all your future branding initiatives. For better or for worse, your business name helps create a first impression with potential customers and investors, so it's not a decision that should be taken lightly.

For years, marketers have been living by the phrase, "content is king." This is more important than ever nowadays, as new channels for creating, curating, sharing and interacting with content continue to emerge.

Remote working arrangements are becoming increasingly common across various fields and industries as businesses look for ways to become more flexible and efficient. According to recent research by employee engagement platform TINYpulse, remote work has a very positive impact on employee productivity, happiness, satisfaction, as well as on their communication with management. Additionally, telecommute jobs can help a business maintain flexibility and cut costs by limiting the need for expensive office spaces or supplies.

Creating engagement requires more than a flashy video or a solid homepage, especially when it comes to content marketing. It requires both time and effort to establish interest or an emotional connection between the potential customer and the brand.

Personalization is a growing trend in online marketing: Details about what city a computer is located in or whether a visitor has come to a site before can help guide what message should be displayed on a page or sent to an email address. After all, a person in Wisconsin isn't likely to be interested in barbecue deals from a shop in Tennessee, nor does everyone want a bookbinding kit, even if it is a deal of the day.

After the splash made by the arrival of virtual reality headsets a couple of years ago, VR has drawn a lot of attention. The features of the systems seem limitless and there's strong interest from people across industries.

Earlier this spring, during the 2017 Academy Awards, the wrong name was read for Best Picture recipient. This mistake generated a lot of headlines, and while it wasn't the first error made during the show's live broadcast, it was the first one in quite some time. After the event, PwC stepped forward and took responsibility for the error. How should companies deal with a potentially brand-damaging public relations event, such as this one and others that can tarnish long-built reputations? Below, eight Forbes Agency Council members talk about how they handle crisis control.

Podcast marketing is one of the most underutilized and unknown forms of marketing, yet ironically, podcasts are what customers have been gravitating towards and asking for over the past few years. Edison Research reports that approximately 21% of Americans listened to podcasts on a monthly basis in 2016.

Rebranding a company or organization is a big endeavor: You have to weigh what image you're trying to convey and who's likely to respond well to it. This means a lot of meetings to discuss things like graphic elements, typography and messaging; the wrong use of any element can hamper, or even end, customer engagement.