Supporting Your Sales Reps: A Marketer’s Dilemma
Sales and marketing should go together like peanut butter and jelly. Unfortunately, many organizations experience friction between these two areas, especially when it comes to meeting goals and hitting sales numbers. Sales tends to blame marketing for lack of sales support and successful advertising campaigns, while marketing becomes frustrated with sales for not using approved advertising material and wasting generated lead opportunities. As a marketing professional, I can attest to how difficult it can be to balance marketing work with supporting a sales force. (And no, the two functions aren’t the same, but that’s another topic.) Responding to seemingly endless requests Read More
Talkin’ to Strangers: A Smart Investment
Chances are, you or someone you know will buy a new smartphone for someone they love this Christmas. As you’re dropping a few hundred dollars on an iPhone that’ll probably have a cracked screen by Easter, you should think about the massive opportunities – and increased accountability – the rise in smartphone users has for your business. We’ve posted before on the power of online reviews; 8 in 10 people say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Reading through others’ experiences at a restaurant or clothing store can feel oddly intimate, like you’re talking to a friend, Read More
Record Thanksgiving for Online Sales
Several big-name stores decided to open their doors on Thanksgiving this year, but shoppers declared their preference for shopping online instead of braving the crowds. According to the first round of data released, online sales rose significantly from Thanksgiving 2012, with mobile devices as the biggest drivers.
What’s Your Thanksgiving Game Plan?
By “game plan,” I don’t mean your strategy to catch all the best football games, even when they’re on at the same time. I don’t mean your kitchen maneuvers to successfully cook a turkey and 10 side dishes with just one oven, and I don’t mean your proven system to avoid talking to your creepy uncle who pops up at Thanksgiving dinner every year (although all of these strategies are necessary – and impressive, I’m sure). Family All Together At Christmas Dinner
The “game plan” I’m talking about is your strategy for marketing during the holidays, since Thanksgiving is the official kickoff. No matter what you’re selling, you’re missing a great chance at your own demographic of merry shoppers if you don’t have a campaign structured around the holiday season.
Cheat Sheet: 2014 Marketing Budget
We’re halfway through November, but you haven’t planned your marketing budget for 2014. Your boss expected a draft of recommendations yesterday (thank goodness you’re familiar with the “I forgot to attach the file” excuse), but you haven’t even started to research what your competitors are doing, much less what you should do.
Luckily, your frantic Googling landed you in the right place this time. We’ve put together a cheat sheet of ideas, trends, and predictions for 2014, each with a handy sentence or two of explanation.
Feel free to use the tips below to impress your boss with your preparation and insight. No need to quote us – this one’s a freebie.
Multi-Channel Digital Marketing: What matters most?
Multi-channel (or multi-touch) marketing is all about getting a message to your target audience using a combination of communication channels that, hopefully, work together in an effective integrated plan. In the digital realm, the most commonly used methods are email, social, paid search, mobile and content marketing via blogs and webinars. Since no single communication channel is 100% effective in reaching new and existing customers, it is important for businesses, big and small, to incorporate multi-channel digital marketing tactics into their overall marketing strategy.
Make It Easy For Customers To Find Your Business With 3 Simple Steps
As we approach the holiday season, it’s important for small businesses and first time entrepreneurs to take extra steps to ensure the accuracy of their online business listings. 1727098-green-radar-screen-with-world-map (1)
A recent Infogroup survey revealed that businesses have just one chance to get a new customer to try their product or service. Over 60 percent of consumers said if they arrived to find a restaurant closed, they’ll simply find a different one on their mobile device or navigation system. It’s simple. If customers can’t find you, they’ll go somewhere else.And small businesses can’t afford to have that happen during what is arguably the busiest shopping season of the year.
Property & Casualty Insurance Companies Ramping Up Marketing Efforts
The marketing of insurance has becoming a lot more interesting in recent years. A product category that had previously been perceived as uninteresting has gotten a lot of attention and marketing dollars. Many players in the space are using various tactics to promote greater brand awareness and more positive brand beliefs in order to induce purchase.
Can Banks ‘Bank’ on Social Media?
Banks as a whole are challenged to optimize social media use. Content generation and management are key concerns. Social media is a two way conversation, not a one way push mechanism for brand content. Banks need to sell product like many companies, and social media serves a way to aid the sales process if used optimally. Social media can be a good driver of brand awareness, research, and the development of brand beliefs that can serve to induce purchase.
Do Marketers & Consumers Really Understand Each Other?
It is an age old question in marketing, and one that mostly every organization struggles with on a regular basis. The essence of marketing involves fulfilling perceived needs. One viewpoint could be that there are more tools than ever available to marketers to examine customer behaviors and interactions, yet it appears marketers aren’t fully optimizing how they are using tools. Optimization of tools available plus the right mindset towards delivering innovative changes will be what gets us closer to a time when marketers & consumers can really understand each other.
