The website as a marketing tool is dead, according to the media. It has been replaced by social media and You Tube. Unfortunately somebody forgot to tell the hundreds of millions of people – or more – still using websites as a source of information. The fact is, marketing is changing, and social media is responsible for much of that – but your website is still your marketing hub. I’m not a web designer, but as a marketing professional, I can show you how to integrate all your marketing more effectively around your hub.

“I was contacted by a salesperson promising me that an email marketing campaign would generate leads – and, guess what? It cost me a lot of money and generated almost nothing!” As a marketing consultant, I hear this from business people all the time. The thing that gets me is why they’re surprised. Did they really think that these snake-oil salespeople understand their businesses well enough to achieve a sales breakthrough? Although flexibility and being able to grasp genuine opportunities is important when it comes to marketing, the thinking that goes into preparing a marketing plan helps you make better decisions. These plans don’t have to be long-winded affairs – in fact, I can show you how to prepare your plan on a single page so you and your people can see your strategy at a glance.  

 

I never fail to be amazed how many smart business people fail to track the results of their marketing - especially when it’s so easy with digital metrics. I'll be blunt and tell you that unless you're measuring your marketing results – and that includes non-sales results such as conversion rates, cost per lead and lead quality – you’re throwing away your money. Contact me for help in setting up your metrics in this critical area.

 

Telemarketing, messaging, emailing and even direct mail can still be effective marketing tools, particularly for B2B. A commercial cleaning client of mine get virtually all his leads from telemarketing, but we’ve found that by first sending direct mail and email messages to prospects, they’re more open and favourable to being called – especially if there’s a free offer or other incentive involved.  

It's not so long ago that you could count the different types of advertising media on the fingers of both hands. Now you couldn’t count them on your fingers and toes. But while this may appear to have made marketing more complex, it also has its benefits. Back in the day, you had to pay for pretty much any advertising you did and you often had no idea how effective it was. Today, you can use tons of platforms without having to pay a cent and pay-per-click advertising enables you to target your market, control your budget and track your results to a tee. What’s more, the media itself tends to be targeted to specific markets. If you want to reach young people, for example, you might use Snapchat or one of the cool new platforms that market is currently adopting. If you want to reach business people, LinkedIn is a business-based networking system. And let’s not forget ‘traditional’ media – leafleting and door hangers can still be a great way to reach residents in a particular neighbourhood, and commuters on slow-moving highways and streets won't miss your strategically placed billboards.