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Every week I meet with owners, executives, and managing directors of small businesses from across the US. In these meetings lay the ultimate battle of value. Will I get enough ROI? Do they have enough on-hand talent to handle what they promise? Are they credible and transparent? Do we get along?
We’re halfway into the first month of the new year. And of course, the internet is flooded with lists of trends and predictions for everything, including marketing. The rise of artificial intelligence, micro-influencers, and smart speaker voice commerce seem to be the common forecast amongst industry professionals.
Imagine receiving a gift from a friend or significant other that didn’t match your personality, style or tastes-- it just wasn’t “you.” It forces you to question how well that person really knows you.
In an ideal world, the journey from prospect to a loyal consumer would be a straight shot: see your product, purchase your product, use your product, repeat.
In the ever-changing world of marketing, it seems there are always new tools, tips, tricks and trends to discover and incorporate into your strategy. There are indeed dozens upon dozens of tools to consider utilizing, and it can become overwhelming to choose, but the list below provides ideas that you can try. And the best part? They’re free to use!
Your company’s brand is the most powerful tool in your toolbelt. As businesses grow and adapt to a constantly-evolving world with new tastes, new innovations, and new customer demands, it’s essential for your brand to reflect the current marketplace, but how do you know if you should rebrand or just refresh?
Have you ever been on a jog or in a cycling class, and suddenly you have a really brilliant, creative idea? In addition to being physically fit, the effects of exercise on your mind are multi-faceted, and creativity is just one of the benefits.
Everyone has heard the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” In marketing, the stories we share paint pictures and elicit emotions. This is exactly what a case study enables us to do-- tell stories about a brand using the customer’s voice.
Generally, there are three major components to a case study: the problem, different solutions available, and proven results that showcase your product/service as the ideal solution. Primarily, a strong case study highlights the question every consumer wants to know: “what’s in it for me?”.
6 Steps to Build a Case Study
1. Decide which project or campaign is worth developing into a case study. Typically, case studies hone in on a specific goal related to your product or service offering and, as a result, they resonate with your target audience.
2. Determine the purpose. Knowing the target audience and what questions they need answers to will drive the content and format.
3. Establish the example that best fits the goal. Consider a case study from a particularly compelling client and begin with a pre-interview with the client, if necessary, to learn more.
4. Assemble the basics. Core information should be quantifiable and factual. Use a journalistic approach when writing a case study, by learning what’s valuable to the reader and adapting the story to fit.
5. Develop in a compelling format. A well-written case study will only be persuasive if it’s visually appealing. Consider including visuals, video (if you have it) and a testimonial (again, if you have it). For a more relatable piece, quote your customer in their own words.
6. Promotion. Now that you have a shiny, new case study, the world needs to see it! The type of promotion you choose will depend on who you wrote the case study for and the stage they’re at in the buyer’s journey. For a broad reach, you can post the piece on your website, or incorporate it into lead nurture or social promotion to target leads.
In today’s competitive marketing environment, having robust case studies validate the value of your company and serve as powerful testimonials to prospects and leads. With quality content, you can demonstrate that you understand the problems faced by your buyer personas and how to solve them better than your competitors.
Consumers control the new age of marketing. They are better informed than ever, thus it is more important than ever to harness the power of review sites in your marketing strategy. The majority of customers read online reviews before deciding on a purchase and if you’re not listing your business on review sites, then you might as well be leaving money on the table.
It is Friday, October 26 here in Sydney, Australia, and unfortunately for me, today marks the end of six weeks spent interning here at Marketing Eye. Looking back, I could not be more grateful for the opportunities that this company has offered me and the lessons that I have learned about marketing, social media, and the working world in general. I am sad to be leaving and know that come this time next week, I will be disappointed that this fantastic experience has come to an end.
The holidays can be a stressful time of the year for many in regards to figuring out what to buy as presents for coworkers. It is often up for debate as to what is considered an appropriate gift, and the goal of this blog is to provide you with a couple gift ideas that are always guaranteed to bring a smile to your coworkers faces regardless of who they are. The key to a corporate gift is finding something that is not inappropriately expensive, while at the same time not being so inexpensive that people will look upon you as being cheap. You also want your gift to be of value to whoever you are giving it to, so each gift should be able to appeal to a wide variety of people. A good gift is something that your coworker will actually use and hopefully will bring light to their life during the holidays. Here are 6 gifts that will surely fit all the characteristics of a good gift.
As a marketer, while it is important to take risks, you still need to be extremely careful when releasing an advertisement, as it is going to be seen by many people and result in how the public looks at your company. It is vital that you examine your advertisement and think of every possible way it may be perceived so you do not inadvertently harm your company with an offensive ad rather than benefit it through a creative, well thought out commercial. Unfortunately, many companies have released advertisements to the public that were not examined in such a way and resulted in uproar and offense to many people, or simply did far more harm to the company than good. Here are some of the greatest marketing failures in history.
The word “consumer” is usually associated with people who buy things and contribute to the economy. But what about the goods you literally consume? As technology advancements and environmental processes change and evolve, so do our choices in food products and where we get them from. That’s where agricultural marketing and agribusiness comes into play.
One of the characteristics of a truly great advertisement is its ability to stay on the mind of the consumer even after the advertisement has ended. In other words, how memorable it is. Everyone is exposed to hundreds of advertisements every single day, so the key to success is figuring out how to make your advertisement one of the few that stands out. If you can create a commercial that your targeted consumer continues to think about even after being exposed to it, then that advertisement is far more likely to succeed in conveying your message. These are some of my most memorable advertisements that have withstood the test of time and have stuck with me.
There was a time in my life where I was a part of the unfortunate group of people who neglected to make their beds every morning. I would wake up, still half asleep with bags under my eyes, and would stay in bed as long as possible before having to leave, hitting snooze on my alarm over and over again and leaving me with no time for bed making. Trudging out of my bedroom in a similar fashion to a walking corpse, I would proceed through my day completely unmotivated, not ready to face any challenge that presented itself to me. This lifestyle took a 180 degree turn when one morning I decided to make my bed.
