OCTOBER 2019: Which Marketing Resource is Right For You Have you been thinking of adding a new member to your team? Someone to focus on your marketing initiatives? Someone to “Get things going!”
My suggestion is to pause and think about what type of marketing resource is right for you.
Do you need a campaign manager? A marketing director? A graphic designer? A social media specialist?
Marketing is a large umbrella and numerous functions sit underneath it. “Marketing” isn’t a single, uniform term, job function or skill set.
To determine which type of marketing resource is right for you, take another step back and think: “What are our marketing needs?
If you don’t have a marketing plan or director of marketing, my advice is to start there. Having a bunch of different marketing efforts floating around with no real strategy to connect your efforts, isn’t going to produce the results you’re hoping for.
Once you have a plan in place, then you’re ready to look more specifically at a strategy and tactics to help you accomplish it. Here’s a for-instance. You’re looking to enter a new geographic territory. One strategy might be to demonstrate your company’s expertise to your target audience living or working in that area. A tactic to support this strategy might be to look for speaking engagements and/or networking opportunities that put your staff members front and center of the intended audience.
How many different marketing efforts would go into making this example a success?
Here’s my list:
Front-end strategic planning and creative brainstorming to put a marketing plan together to help you achieve your business goals.
Investigation, planning, and coordination of logistics for each speaking/networking engagement (including travel arrangements).
Coordination of marketing each event to drive people there (online and offline advertising), creation of the presentation, and post-event marketing efforts.
Development and oversight of a creative team: a writer, graphic designer, social media specialist, etc -- to bring your plan to life.
Choosing a presenter, presentation development and on-site coordination for this individual to maximize their time at the event
Follow-up business development efforts (is this a sales, marketing or other senior leadership role?)
Oh, and how do you mix your current customers into this initiative?
As that list illustrates, a lot of different skill sets fall under the marketing umbrella (especially the creative hands). Blend all that into one job description and you set that individual up for failure.
Are you a marketing department of one? Have no fear! Once you’ve developed a plan and a strategy, select the marketing tactics that align with your own skill set--for instance, if you’re not comfortable with public speaking, then skip over the speaking engagements and choose something else. Don’t be afraid to hire specialists who can help you with specific tasks--it can make a big difference. Whether you are an organization of 1 or 100, walk through this exercise for your upcoming marketing initiatives: Visualize which marketing resources you have, and gaps you need to fill (based on existing resources). From there, you’ll be in a better position to hire appropriately.
This Marketing Minute is brought to you by Sarah Hurley, owner at WeberMarketing, LLC.
September 2019: They Don’t Know What They Don’t Know
I recently stopped by Forward Pharmacy to pick up a prescription. While there, tucked away in the WAY back, I happened to stumble upon their clearance rack of women’s apparel. It caught me by surprise because I had never seen a clearance rack there and I typically have razor sharp eyes when it comes to finding good deals. (And who knew a local pharmacy would have trendy, cute clothes at such an amazing price?)
While I was checking out with my prescription and two new dresses, I asked why they didn’t have the rack out front or even outside. The response was something I hear all the time. Basically, they don’t remember to pull it out and/or see it as an important thing to do (it’s a pharmacy not a clothes store, right?).
Are you forgetting or overlooking products or services that might seem small or non-relevant to you, but might be a big deal to your audience?
My marketing advice: Don’t assume.
Your audience doesn’t know what they don’t know. If you don’t bring a service to their attention, how will they know to ask for it?
Here’s a for instance. You have a product with seven unique benefits. Don’t assume your clients understand these benefits, tell them. An easy way to do that is to put a post on Facebook listing one benefit for the next seven months. You never know where your message/advertising is going to cross paths with a consumer on their purchasing journey.
Or, maybe your company sells large industrial equipment and that’s where your marketing dollars are spent. But what about the smaller or mid-size items on your floor? There’s likely an audience out there that might not even know you have a smaller scale item available (and THAT might just what they’re looking for). Plus, that smaller purchase might lead to something bigger when the time is right.
Are your business hours 9:00 am - 6:00 pm when your competition is only open 9:00 am - 5:00 pm? Get that message out there! That extra hour could make a big difference--but only if your local community knows about it.
A homework assignment for you: Take a moment to think of the smaller, hidden products or services you offer and think about how you might bring attention to them.
Not sure where to start? I’m happy to meet for coffee and hear about what’s going on in your world. Sometimes, having an outside perspective is just the kickstart you need. This Marketing Minute is brought to you by Sarah Hurley, owner at WeberMarketing, LLC.
May 2019 Beyond The Print Ad
Print advertising has been around for years and most of us feel comfortable turning to magazines, newspapers, local flyers, etc. to build sales and awareness.
When a business has a new product or special to promote, often the first response is, “Let’s put an ad together for the local paper.” My response: “That’s great. But what else are you doing?” In today’s world a print ad alone is not going to be enough to help you 1) get your message out and 2) drive the result you’re hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, print ads are great, but we need to think beyond them.
At the heart of any marketing piece is the message you’re trying to communicate to an intended target market. Who is your target? Where do they live? How do they research a product or company? What online sites do you think they might visit? Are they on Facebook? Whose opinion do they value? What path do they take to get to/from work each day? What type of music do they listen to--and do they rely on local radio?
Understanding the lifestyle and habits of your target market will help build an effective marketing plan. And your plan doesn’t have to be expensive. For example, you could spread your message out through posters on community boards, in a 30-second radio spot, or on your Facebook page. Do you have an email list of current customers? Send them an message. Marketing efforts are often focused on attracting new customers, but guess what? Your current customers are your best customers! Don’t forget to think about getting your message out to them.
Print advertising is definitely alive and well, but that should be one of many marketing tactics you deploy to get your message out. Today’s multi-channel consumer demands more and you’ve got to reach them where they are.
This Marketing Minute is brought to you by Sarah Hurley, owner at WeberMarketing, LLC.
March 2019 Watch The Clock Over the winter, I had the opportunity to coach sixth grade boys basketball through the Cottage Grove Recreation Department. It was an exciting season and we soon found ourselves at the end of season tournament, facing three teams we lost to during the season. Talk about intimidation! The first game we were down but came back to win; we went on to beat the undefeated first- seed team in our second game. We made it to the championship game against the second seed team. We jumped out to a nice lead but the other team came back strong. In the final five minutes it was back and forth.
Guess what I found myself focusing on as I was calling plays, keeping the boys calm and doing my best to put the game away? I didn’t look at the score. I didn’t need to. I knew it was close. I knew it was going to come down to who had the last basket. All I kept looking at was the clock. How much time did I have to work with? How was I going to make the most of the opportunity when we had the ball? The last minute of the game came, we scored and went up by one. Our defense held strong in the final seconds and we won the championship game! [Insert “Eye of the Tiger” soundtrack]
What does this have to do with marketing? When you think of your own marketing initiatives, I challenge you to spend more time focusing on opportunities and less time on problems or things you can’t control. Over the years, I spend much of a initial consultation session listening to client challenges. How tough the competition is and how much better their marketing is than ours (client). How few resources were available to execute marketing projects. While this information was all valid, I now work to shift the conversation to opportunities: What are the differentiators between us and the competition? What are our internal key strengths and skill sets? Playing to those can make us more creative and better problem solvers. With all this information in mind, we can focus our time and energy on the things we can control and be good at.
Many of you have heard me say, it’s far better to focus on fewer marketing initiatives and do those things well, rather than trying to over stretch your budget and resources across scattered bits and pieces of marketing. If you don’t have time to actively maintain a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest, don’t. Pick one social media platform that you feel comfortable with and own it. If running digital advertising is not your thing, then skip it. On the flip side, if you are comfortable with customer service interactions, then find a way to put yourself in those situations through things like trade shows, speaking engagements, community events, or even telemarketing campaigns.
Your target market doesn’t care or even pay attention to places you are or are not (TV, billboards, social media, newspaper, etc). What is going to catch their attention is your message and being consistent within a marketing medium. If you are going to be on social media, then be there consistently and do it well.
This Marketing Minute is brought to you by Sarah Hurley, owner at WeberMarketing, LLC.
Feb. 2019 Web site or Website? By Sarah Hurley, owner at Weber Marketing LLC
Although most of us have some type of website--after all, it’s critical in today’s online world--the reality is that most of our websites could use a refresh or an overhaul. Here are some important things to keep in mind as you tackle yours.
What’s the purpose of your site? Is it to educate visitors? Is it the entryway to your ecommerce site? Settling in on the main purpose of your website at the start of the planning phase is key in meeting expectations.
What internal capabilities do you need to build AND manage the site once it’s up and running? Do you have the proper staff in place to build and maintain it from a technical standpoint? How about a writer to help articulate the purpose and keep the content relevant and fresh? A website administrator (the person that may build or manage your web site) IS NOT the same resource as the person responsible for writing the content on the site: those tasks require two different skill sets.
If you don’t have internal resources to manage a robust website, don’t build one. Keep it simple. I see nothing wrong with two-or three-page websites with basic information. I would rather have you build small and be able to manage it properly, then build out an eight-page website and fall short of keeping it fresh and relevant.
What’s a logical sitemap? A website sitemap is sort of like an HR org chart. Google “website site map template” to see an example. Really think this part through. How many pages do you need? What type of content will live on each page?
Having a sitemap helps you visualize your site. It makes it easier to ensure your team is on the same page in terms of content and flow. It also gives you a framework for discussion if you’re getting outside assistance to build your site.
Does your site contain critical key words? Next up: SEO or search engine optimization. SEO helps ensure that when customers or prospects are searching online for the product/service you provide, your company pops up in their search results (which is why you have a website after all!). And for this to happen, your website has to have a clear line of communication with Google, or other search engines, in order to connect your website to consumers’ keyword searches.
Proper SEO implementation is critical. I cannot stress this enough. SEO is a combination of technical and creative writing skills. It is not something that should be taken lightly or done later. It needs to happen now and you need to take it seriously. Do that and, you’ll see a vastly different result in the power of your website.
Last but not least, it’s important to commit to ongoing maintenance and content updates. A website is not a one and done marketing initiative. It takes ongoing, tender loving care.
If you are a small business and website responsibilities fall to you, please do me a favor: Block a half-hour on your calendar every month to sit down and review your website. Look for technical updates that need to be downloaded. Look at the content on your site. Is there new marketing material that can be added? Look at your web traffic and see which pages folks are spending time on. If you are apart of a larger organization and website responsibilities fall to you, same rules apply. You might just have the benefit of having other folks involved with monthly updates. But nonetheless, take initiative and schedules those monthly website meetings.
Spend time maintaining your website, and you’ll see two things happen: 1) You’ll get more out of this powerful marketing tool and 2) You’ll become more comfortable working within it. I always hear from small business owners, “I’m not a technical person so I don’t know how to keep up with my website.” As I tell my kids about sports, you are never going to get better unless you show up to practice and try. Start small and work up from there.
By the way, the debate continues if website is one word, or two, web site. Wikipedia and Webster both say website, so let’s all go with that.
This Marketing Minute is brought to you by Sarah Hurley, owner at WeberMarketing, LLC.