Our goal is to help you improve your sales results and customer profitability. We are continually evaluating resources that we believe can help you develop and execute your marketing strategy. Come back often to see what we’ve uploaded. One marketing portal you need to check out is Marketing Sherpa as it contains both free and subscription based resources on virtually every marketing topic of interest.
Strategy
If you are tired of “… doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” then it is time to embrace the new paradigm with regards to how people want to be sold. Interrupting people with a monolog (one-way) is being tuned out by the masses as they turn to peer groups for advice and guidance during their purchase process. People want participation. By rethinking your marketing strategy, you can ride the wave instead of swimming against the current. Simply put, stop interrupting and start interacting.
Recommended reading:
“Meatball Sundae” (book by Seth Godin)
“Why Companies Should Increase Spending in a Down Economy” (an article in The New Yorker)
“Low-Budget, High Impact Marketing Plan Ideas” (About.com article with links to more ideas)
“Marketing Basics for Small Business” (About.com article)
“Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Budgets” (online article)
“Using Social Computing to Increase Marketing Effectiveness” (Telligent white paper)
“5 Steps for Building a Social Media Team” (Social Media Today blog post)
“Components of a Marketing Budget” (LegalZoom.com article)
“Top 10 Small Business Marketing Mistakes” (web article)
Sales Funnel Stage 1: Awareness
Every sale starts with a qualified lead. How are you generating yours? Are you interrupting people so they tune you out, or are you engaging them so they tune in? It costs a lot of money to constantly interrupt people and in today’s economy and it is just not a sustainable strategy (ask the automobile manufacturers).
(see links on right for specific topic discussions)
“Advertising Basics: Budgeting, Scheduling, and Negotiating” (online article)
“Seven Ways to Boost Website Traffic” (blog post)
“SEO Tools for Boosting Website Visits” (blog post)
“Inbound Lead Generation as Part of Permission Marketing” (blog post and study by Hubspot)
Sales Funnel Stage 2: Consideration
OK, so now you have a qualified lead — now what? The Consideration stage is where you want to “date your buyer” to built trust so that your product/service offers are acted upon later. Find out their challenges and create a dialogue that positions your brand as authentic, approachable, and interested in helping them solve their problem. This will require multiple interactions before the prospect is ready to purchase — so pack a lunch.
Recommended reading : (see links on right for specific topic discussions)
“Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day” (book by Dave Evans)
“The New Rules of Marketing and PR” (book by David Meerman Scott)
“Social Media Marketing Research” (PDF research report)
“Establishing Social Media Objectives” (Forrester Research online article)
“67 Social Media and Brand Reputation Tools/Sites” (Social Media Today article)
“99 Twitter Tools & Applications” (Smashing Magazine online article)
Sales Funnel Stage 3: Purchase
Congratulations! You were able to develop a lead to a prospect, and present the right offer at the right time to convert them to a customer. But the tracking has just begun. To maximize the lifetime value of this customer, you will still need to motivate them to increase the frequency and amount of their purchases, and to become a brand promoter to tell their friends. Measurement is key to identifying these influencers and giving them a reason to become your best source of endorsement on the social web.
(see links on right for specific topic discussions)
Measurement
You’ve heard the old saying “.. you can’t manage what you can’t measure” — so it’s time that you remove the guesswork as it relates to evaluating your marketing performance and ROI. Our Analyzer tools are a great place to start and even more in-depth information can be found by contacting us or checking on these resources.
Recommended reading: (see links on right for specific topic discussions)
“Web Analytics: An Hour a Day” (book by Avinash Kaushik)
“Why CMO’s Are Gaining Ground in the Recession” (article in Ad Week)
“Marketing ROI” (book by James Lenskold)
“B2B Marketing Measurement” (Forrester Research report $749)
Recommended tools:
Customer Lifetime Value Calculator (Harvard Business School)
Website Analyzer (Pear Analytics)
