I am going to blame the fact that the September issue of Vogue (US and Australia) arrived on my doorstep three weeks ago as to why there hasn't been an update for a month.  Now for an excuse to talk about it!

I know last month I mentioned that those fashion folks at Vogue are clever.  That they know that advertisers want to make a big pitch to the readers for their Christmas dollar but have somehow turned a great big book of ads into a coveted issue!

Still don't believe me?  Well here are the stats on US Vogue's September 2011 issue:

•The magazine has 758 pages, 584 of which are advertisements

•More than three-fourths of the pages in the issue are advertising

•The total number of ad pages in this issue is up 50 from last year, or 9.3 percent

•The three page table of contents is not completed until page 172

Surprised?  Yet I for one sat there for two very satisfied hours with my 758 pages of US Vogue, completely happy. Why?  Because Vogue knows their readers.  So they make sure the ads aren't just any ads.  They are stylish and sophisticated and look like features in the magazine.  While I and thousands of other women (and blokes) happily flick through all 758 pages without feeling like I am being duped for my dollars spent.

Now if you asked me to flick through 584 pages of ads I'd laugh at you.  Yet this month I happily did it. 

It's called knowing your customers, knowing your suppliers and being able to meet both of their needs with both parties walking away thrilled with the result. 

So how can you better serve the suppliers and customers in your business?  Maybe you have something that you think is a hard sell.  584 pages of ads certainly is so take Vogue'slead. Get creative about how you can meet your customers needs (and suppliers needs) in a way that everyone is not just satisfied, but thrilled with the result.