Items filtered by date: March 2016
When I meet with prospects and discuss the need for a content strategy, they either...

·         Admit they don't know what I'm talking about 

·         Glaze over, nod and agree (though I know we are not on the same page)

·         Or say they've tried content marketing, but in reality they have not or have not done it well, to say the least

While the marketing world is all abuzz about content marketing, it is very difficult to put together a well thought-out, custom designed, highly effective strategy.  Before I jump into how to create an effective content marketing strategy, let's first start with the definition.
Published in Marketing
Wednesday, 27 April 2016 06:47

4 Email Marketing Tactics That Get Results

If you thought email marketing was dead, think again. To show the modern value of email marketing ,Adestra completed a study measuring consumer opinions and behavior when it comes to email. The researchers surveyed more than 1,200 respondents, from teenagers to Baby Boomers and asked how they interacted with, and think about, the email messages they receive.

Here are just a few important facts taken from this study:

  • 43% of consumers give a real email address when they come to a website that asks for an email before continuing
  • 80% of consumers (across all demos) actually unsubscribe from emails they no longer wish to receive
  • 59% of consumers leave an email unread if they plan to read it later, 33% flag it
It goes without saying that spammy emails are not going to get read, they will be blocked and you will not have a successful campaign.

Buying lists are unreliable and legally you can't email people who have not willingly given you their email address.  

Here is what your need to do to ensure a successful email marketing campaign.
Published in Marketing
Landing pages are one of the most important elements of a lead generation campaign. In fact, according to MarketingSherpa’s research, landing pages are effective for 94% of B2B and B2C companies. So why are so few companies using them?

A landing Page is a single page within your website where you can direct visitors to one particular offer without the distractions of everything else on your website. Visitors are on a landing page for one and only purpose: to complete the lead capture form.
If you have been following my blog series on Lead Generation, you know that you need to have an offer to engage your prospects.  If you missed that blog, you can check it how HERE.

The offer is basically the carrot, now what you need is the pole and string from which to dangle that well-crafted carrot and to get your prospects to act or engage.

What gets our audience to reach for the carrot is your call-to-action (CTA). When effectively crafted, they will capture people’s attention and persuading them to act.

Not all CTAs are effective or will result in action. It's important to consider what your competitors are offering and then determine why someone may choose your offer over the competition.

Once you have your offer decided, now it's time to get the word out.  Here's how:
As business owners our primary goal is to make money so we are focused on revenue, product pricing and billing of our services.  To think about giving something away for free seems counter-intuitive. However, giving away something that your audience views as exclusive, scarce, or in high demand is a good way to open the door to engaging a new customer.

Returning from a spring break trip to visit family my daughter realized she had not downloaded any new movies on her lap top.  Six hours in the back seat of a car, to a modern eleven year old, was going to be a strain on everyone in the car. Reading is out of the question, because she gets car sick.  I grabbed my phone, signed up for a free month of Audible, bought her a book on Amazon and it was amazingly quiet for the entire trip.  Even better, she loved listening to the book so much we are considering continuing our subscription.

I'm not sure I would have even considered Audible if it wasn't for the free subscription. If it is fitting for your business to give away a free trial, it is a great way to allow new customers to try your product.  For a subscription service a free month is a good option, for other product companies a sample size may be appropriate.

For B2B companies deciding on an incentive is a more difficult decision. Think about your clients' pain points and what does your company offer that may help your target audience. Consider white papers or a free analysis as a means of engaging with a new customer.
Published in Marketing
How do you respond to a week that goes completely opposite as planned?  In business we know that having processes in place is what makes for efficient operations, but what about when those operations don't work?

My week has been anything but normal and this disruption may be just what my businesses needed.  When you hear the term disruption, do you think of a disturbance that interrupts an event, activity, or process?  Or do you think of it as Clayton Christensen has defined: disruption that creates a new market and value network and eventually disrupts an existing market, displacing the established?

What I have found is that these can be two-sides of the same coin.  I realize that saying both definitions of 'disruption' work together is a bit like saying we should make lemonade out of the lemons we've been dealt.

Here's how I made something positive out of a week that went off the typical process.
We all know that having a website is vital to any business.  It is your digital storefront, greeter and initial explanation of your businesses products or services.

While websites can be optimized for better lead generation, what do you do for customers who are not coming directly to your website?  Here are three marketing tools that will help you gain more leads.
For entrepreneurs, personal brand and your business brand are often one in the same.  Even if you have numerous employees, the owner still sets the tone of the business and is usually engaged with the client during the sales process or at implementation.

If you are an entrepreneur and haven't considered your personal brand and its impact on your business brand, it's time to get started.
Thursday, 07 April 2016 07:35

How to Get Started with Google Analytics

Google Analytics can be a very effective tool for entrepreneurs if you know how to use it correctly. Not only does it inform you of your sites digital traffic flow and about new incoming traffic; it also helps raise revenue for your apps or online business sites.  Amazing right?
Sometimes we're in conflict between our marketing professional selves and our personal or professional buyer selves. I'm in conflict now as I try to get my home back together after a hail storm pummeled our roof, fence and who knows what.   

My conflict is seeing how repair services are marketed to us and how as a buyer I perceive their efforts to meet my needs .  Yes, I see the hail storm as an opportunity for them. They have services and products in need, a well-defined target audience, and a high rate of anticipated purchase for their product.  For excitement, they face multiple competitors in a race to a sale.

This could be a chance to see multiple marketing styles and find out what works best on me.  It's a good test because all contenders start out the same.  No company has an inside track or perceived advantage. I was not already in the market, had not contacted any suppliers, no former suppliers have claimed me, and my insurance company offered only vague guidelines, no company recommendations. So how did they do?
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