Marketing
Old school marketers are dead. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that.
Marketing no longer resembles the textbooks of the 90's. Old-school marketers no longer have a advantage over young marketers since the rules of game have changed. If your firm is still conducting marketing of the past, you are missing out on real opportunities. Doing the same will not result in the same results, you may not get any results at all.
How goods and services are researched and purchased has, and continues to change. Even industries that have existed on personal networks alone are needing to re-evaluate their sales and marketing approach. If your marketing department hasn't changed the way they do business in the past five years, it's time to re-evaluate this department. Here's why you may need to take a fresh look at how your reach and sell to your target market.
Marketing no longer resembles the textbooks of the 90's. Old-school marketers no longer have a advantage over young marketers since the rules of game have changed. If your firm is still conducting marketing of the past, you are missing out on real opportunities. Doing the same will not result in the same results, you may not get any results at all.
How goods and services are researched and purchased has, and continues to change. Even industries that have existed on personal networks alone are needing to re-evaluate their sales and marketing approach. If your marketing department hasn't changed the way they do business in the past five years, it's time to re-evaluate this department. Here's why you may need to take a fresh look at how your reach and sell to your target market.
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Have you started thinking about your marketing strategy for 2016? If not, now is the time. As budgets and plans are put into place, they are often a copied from previous years. If you are doing this for your marketing strategy and budget, note that marketing has changed. How prospects and clients find you, research you and buy from you has evolved. An online strategy is no longer just for large retail businesses, but for everyone's business, including B2B.
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There are so many reasons why marketing campaigns fail, but "not following up" shouldn't be one of them.
So many marketing campaigns fail because people send them out, but expect that the first "hit" should result in their telephones ringing off the hook. It's nice to think that this will be the case, but in the real world, that rarely happens.
When executing a marketing campaign, make sure you have enough resources to follow-up with every single person that has received your campaign. Also ensure that this is done in a timely manner, not months after.
If you are going to invest in a marketing campaign, then you want to realize the full value of the campaign. Always aim for a minimum of three touches with any prospect. If you are doing a direct marketing campaign, ensure that you send the campaign, follow up with an email, then a phone call to organize a meeting.
So many marketing campaigns fail because people send them out, but expect that the first "hit" should result in their telephones ringing off the hook. It's nice to think that this will be the case, but in the real world, that rarely happens.
When executing a marketing campaign, make sure you have enough resources to follow-up with every single person that has received your campaign. Also ensure that this is done in a timely manner, not months after.
If you are going to invest in a marketing campaign, then you want to realize the full value of the campaign. Always aim for a minimum of three touches with any prospect. If you are doing a direct marketing campaign, ensure that you send the campaign, follow up with an email, then a phone call to organize a meeting.
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Entrepreneurs are the most creative and driven people I know. I enjoy their energy and passion for the great ideas they bring to our communities and lives. They are often driven by an idea, and a belief of how to turn that idea into success.
The problem is that not all entrepreneurs are born marketers. Many are born sales people, if for no other reason than for the passion of the product or service they've created. The problem begins to occur when the entrepreneur begins to confuse that sales is synonyms with marketing. There is a distinct difference, and believing that passion alone will drive your marketing strategy will create a self-serving misaligned strategy that is most likely not based on you customer's needs.
The problem is that not all entrepreneurs are born marketers. Many are born sales people, if for no other reason than for the passion of the product or service they've created. The problem begins to occur when the entrepreneur begins to confuse that sales is synonyms with marketing. There is a distinct difference, and believing that passion alone will drive your marketing strategy will create a self-serving misaligned strategy that is most likely not based on you customer's needs.
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Marketing is an investment in your business and not something you should take lightly. It is also something that has changed over the past ten years and continues to evolve. How you reach customers and how they find you, research your business, and buy from you has also changed.
If your marketing practices are stagnant or nonexistent, your business will fail. Here are the top five mistakes that I see small-to-medium sized businesses make most often.
If your marketing practices are stagnant or nonexistent, your business will fail. Here are the top five mistakes that I see small-to-medium sized businesses make most often.
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For many years bids have been won based on two factors; one, who you know and two, being the lowest bidder. If your company was able to perform the work and your proposal came in at the lowest price, you got the job. Over time, there has been a gradual shift towards design-build requests for proposals, along with an increased importance on qualified bidders.
This shift in preference of design-build proposals over lowest-bid proposals, and the increased importance placed on qualified bidders, has created a need for a B2B marketing strategy that did not exist in years past.
This shift in preference of design-build proposals over lowest-bid proposals, and the increased importance placed on qualified bidders, has created a need for a B2B marketing strategy that did not exist in years past.
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In the contest between the two sides to marketing, inbound and outbound, inbound is winning. While traditional marketing efforts have been placed on obtaining customers through creativity, understanding customers' wants and needs, going out and finding the next sale, the sneaky inbound marketers are servicing customers coming to them.
There will always be a need for outbound marketing, but for any company that wants to engage with their customers and is looking to offer a unique customer experience, inbound marketing is really the only way forward.
There will always be a need for outbound marketing, but for any company that wants to engage with their customers and is looking to offer a unique customer experience, inbound marketing is really the only way forward.
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Most businesses have a marketing component, and if they don’t they should, but what makes a marketing department successful is the quality of the marketing manager.
A great marketing manager can be the difference between success and failure, or growth and stagnation.
I've been around the marketing scene in Dallas for over 15 years and I've worked with the very talented and some who ended up in marketing due to a misaligned company reorganization. In that case, marketing is being lead by someone for whom marketing is a foreign language.
As I continue to grow my firm, I'll be searching for marketing managers who are strong tactically. They can apply marketing and business tactics to real world situations. They are super organized. They understand analytics and they have a great attitude.
A great marketing manager can be the difference between success and failure, or growth and stagnation.
I've been around the marketing scene in Dallas for over 15 years and I've worked with the very talented and some who ended up in marketing due to a misaligned company reorganization. In that case, marketing is being lead by someone for whom marketing is a foreign language.
As I continue to grow my firm, I'll be searching for marketing managers who are strong tactically. They can apply marketing and business tactics to real world situations. They are super organized. They understand analytics and they have a great attitude.
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4 Ways To Have Big Marketing Results on a Small Budget| Grass Roots Marketing
Sep 15, 2015 Written by Guest
What do you do when you biggest competitor has endless amounts of revenue to invest in marketing, and you have very little? You start a grass roots campaign.
We are still early in the 2017 presidential race, but one candidate has caught my attention. Not from the issues for which he stands, but the creativity of his grassroots campaign. Bernie Sanders may be this fall's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. He is looking to get the democratic nomination for the 2017 presidential race and his competitor comes with a big 'brand name' and an even bigger budget.
No matter what side of the aisle you sit, as entrepreneurs we all have been up against a competitor with strong name recognition and a large marketing budget? Tackling the behemoth in your industry may be as easy as rallying your supporters and spreading the word through grass roots campaigning and social media. This doesn't mean you don't invest in marketing, it just means your investment should be spent in a way to maximize the greatest return.
We are still early in the 2017 presidential race, but one candidate has caught my attention. Not from the issues for which he stands, but the creativity of his grassroots campaign. Bernie Sanders may be this fall's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. He is looking to get the democratic nomination for the 2017 presidential race and his competitor comes with a big 'brand name' and an even bigger budget.
No matter what side of the aisle you sit, as entrepreneurs we all have been up against a competitor with strong name recognition and a large marketing budget? Tackling the behemoth in your industry may be as easy as rallying your supporters and spreading the word through grass roots campaigning and social media. This doesn't mean you don't invest in marketing, it just means your investment should be spent in a way to maximize the greatest return.
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I often hear from a number of professionals in the manufacturing, construction, professional services, medical, and technology fields that social media is not for them. If they have tried social media, they have tweeted a time or two, connected to a few people on LinkedIn, and maybe sent one message. Through a meager attempt they have determined that it does not work.
The question I pose to them and to you is "how did you find this blog?" and "how do you now know the Marketing Eye brand?"
I know the answer - do you?
The question I pose to them and to you is "how did you find this blog?" and "how do you now know the Marketing Eye brand?"
I know the answer - do you?
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Last month IHOP unveiled its new logo. Although the previous logo wasn’t amazing, it was (it is) recognizable. The new logo is much cleaner than the old and it presents a happy face. This seems very appropriate for a restaurant that serves pancakes loaded with sugary toppings.
There is one thing that has stood out for Marketing Eye in Atlanta and that is our capability as branding experts to supersede much of what is designed locally and produce fresh, innovative and high impact brands that stand out.
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It's happened. I tell you... I dreamed about it but didn't really expect it would really happen. It did... and now I am chasing my tail.
The business is growing at a phenomenal rate. One that I am not exactly sure I can sustain, but as you would have it, I have been taught by a few great mentors along the way to implement a number of systems, invest in good technology and hire the best people. All of which I have done.
The business is growing at a phenomenal rate. One that I am not exactly sure I can sustain, but as you would have it, I have been taught by a few great mentors along the way to implement a number of systems, invest in good technology and hire the best people. All of which I have done.
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There is an abundance of marketers piling out of Colleges (Universities) around the world, having completed four years of arduous learning mostly from professors who may have never set foot in a significant corporation and held a position of CMO, Marketing Director, VP of Marketing or anything other that would give them the experience to show their students what it takes to be a marketer in today's world.
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