A few weeks back, I wrote about the dichotomy of micromarkets and mass markets. On a recommendation from Tom Austin , I just read The Rule of Three -- a book which nicely ties together my musings on how small, focused companies can thrive in the shadow of industry giants. The Rule of Three, by Jagdish Sheth and Rajendra Sisodia, posits that over time, every industry comes to be dominated by three large generalists, with any number of small niche players also thriving. Examples abound: in athletic shoes, it's Nike, Adidas, and Reebok coexisting with specialists such as Saucony. In airlines, it's United, American, and Delta, with focused niche players like Southwest. Niche specialists thrive by earning high margins serving a small percentage of the overall market. Generalists focus on efficiently addressing the needs of a large share of the market. Niche companies that try to grow too fast, and generalists who fail to achieve critical mass, are in danger of falling into the...

Two new resources for Web marketing assistance have recently been added to the Advice page on WebMarketCentral, the Web marketing portal. First, Mike's Marketing Tools guru Michael Wong offers reviews of a large selection of Web marketing tools, including ad tracking software, autoresponders, keyword bid management, email marketing, search engine optimization, and Web site traffic analysis. The site also features a collection of Web marketing tips on topics such as Three Ways to Get Listed in Google and Top 12 Tips To Writing Effective Google AdWords Ads , as well as a selection of useful free tools (Mike's search engine position check tool provides a fast and easy way to see how well your site is showing up in the major search engines). Second, Mike Schultz's RainToday site provides articles (free but registration required) on management, marketing strategy, marketing tactics, sales strategy, and rainmaking tactics; research reports (fee-based); and other resou...

Being a consultant or contractor has its advantages -- flexibility, challenge, constant opportunities to meet new people -- but it also means that you're a perpetual "outsider." My friend Dan Rutman has written a wonderfully witty piece entitled The Contractor's Guide to Corporate Culture that humorously captures the intangibles of fitting in with the company that's providing your temporary revenue. Although Dan is a professional contractor, his observations apply well to consulting also. For example, on the importance of an on-site cafeteria: " Asking someone `Can I join you for lunch?' has more appeal than `Want to head over to the machine for some Jujubes and a Fresca?'" Or his commentary on employee activities: " Good Companies: Boat Cruise Day, Massage Day, Cake Day. Bad Companies: Interpretive Dance Day, Foreign Film Day, White Noise Day, Bamboo Under Fingernails Day." He overlooked "Causing Severe Psychological Discomfort ...