Archive for September, 2010

How pay-per-click marketing is perceived at budget time.

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Pretty darn well.

Chart about PPC marketing

Source: Marketing Sherpa

According to Marketing Sherpa (http://www.marketingsherpa.com/1news/chartofweek-09-21-10-lp.htm) “the majority of organizations say PPC is an effective tool for producing ROI, with 77% of organizations indicating that PPC is either producing measurable ROI, or that PPC is a promising tactic that will eventually produce ROI.”

That’s pretty big.

And only 8% say they won’t consider using it.

{Warning… softball sales pitch here)

Here at MarketSmart we optimize your PPC campaigns because we monitor the inbound phone calls you receive and track-back which keywords turned into sales (along with a host of other analysis tools).  Then we bid more on the keyword strings the produce the best ROI.  Let me know if you are interested in seeing how we do that.  It’s pretty neat!

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Posted in Inbound Internet Lead Generation, Pay-per-click marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Things to consider for smart marketing… instead of “wingin’ it”.

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Strategy is everything.Light bulb for smart marketing strategy and ROI

Am I going overboard?  Maybe.  But from where I sit, I see companies- large and small- spend tons of time and money on marketing without a well-conceived strategy.  It breaks my heart!  And if they would just take some time to think about what they are doing, they could increase their effectiveness by leaps and bounds.

Here are some things to consider for smart marketing (instead of “wingin’ it”).

A marketing strategy helps you define the heart and soul of your business.  I’ve heard CEO’s say, “we need to do more marketing” or “we need more leads”.  Then, some advertising opportunity comes along and they think to themselves, “let’s try it!”  So they fly out to an event, whip up an ad or blast out an email and WHAM!… marketing done!  Check!

Did it work?  Maybe.  But one successful marketing effort doesn’t mean squat!

You’re in this for the long haul, right?  So we recommend you sit down and THINK about what your company is really all about. You need to embrace the process of creating a strategic marketing plan.   Dig deep to determine:

  • who are your competitors
  • how does your business compare
  • what are your competitive advantages
  • what are your features and benefits
  • why should someone choose to work with or buy from you
  • and- more importantly- what is the core of your company all about

I’m over-simplifying the process- I know.  But I’m trying to get you to think for a minute because there’s so much that needs to come out of the strategy process you also need to consider your prospects:

  • how big (or small) is your target market?
  • who should you target and why?
  • are they profitable targets?
  • when and where should you try to reach them?
  • how can you reach them?
  • what’s the most cost-effective way to deliver your message?

Now that you know what the “heart and soul” of your company looks like, who you need to talk to and how to reach them… you need to figure out how to communicate with them.

  • how can you get them into the purchasing process now?
  • what messages will resonate?
  • what offers will get them to raise their hands?
  • what information can you provide to move them through the purchasing process faster?

You can’t just pull the trigger on marketing.  THINK first.  Create a strategy.  Only then should you seek out tactics.

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Posted in strategy, Uncategorized | No Comments »

4 ways CEO’s could use LinkedIN for results.

Monday, September 13th, 2010

We all know we’re supposed to be “on” LinkedIN.  But how can we make the most of it?

Here are some tips:

1- Use it to find top-notch employees. Remember, the best people aren’t necessarily looking for a new position.  And referrals are your best source for good people.  So, tap into your network.  Let them know you are looking for help.  Here’s how:

  • Send individual “in-mails” or post an update that announces the type of person you are looking for.
  • Post a job opening.  Go to the “Jobs” dropdown menu and follow the steps.
  • Review potential employees’ profiles online.
  • Check their references.  Do they have any?  Were they recommended by anyone on LinkedIN?
  • Run reference checks easily by searching for people who have worked at their previous companies.  Then contact them.

2- Help your team. If you have a great network, you can use it to help your team.  Suppose one of your salespeople is calling on a new prospect. She searches for the company on LinkedIn and sees that one of your connections knows the VP of purchasing. She can leverage the trust of that connection to build her relationship with the customer. Or ask you to help with an “introduction”.

3- Manage your time. You’ll get asked to connect with lots of people.  Many will be unknown to you.  Some may want to pitch a service to you while others may want you to speak at an event.  How do you know if that person or group is relevant to your needs and legitimate?  Before you connect you need to make sure they are a good fit for you and your network so they don’t waste your time.  LinkedIn makes it easy to check them out. You can easily search around to see who you know in common.  And you can ask your trusted connections if the person or group is for real.

4- Find smart answers from smart people fast. You can find an expert and have your questions answered easily on just about any topic under the sun.  Just go to the tab that says “More” and click on “Answers”.  Once there, search for answers to your question first.  Then, and only then… if you can’t find the answer you are looking for, go ahead and post a “Question”.  I recommend searching for the answer first because many questions have already been answered and you’ll be muddying the waters if you ask the same question that 30 other people have already asked.  It’s “LinkedIN etiquette” to search for an answer before you ask a question.

Obviously I’m a big fan of LinkedIN.  There’s a lot more you can do with it.  But these tips will get you started.

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Posted in Social media, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Why you should differentiate your business.

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

Recently I had lunch with the CEO of a Sharepoint reseller and we were talking about marketplace differentiation.

He said he heard a speaker proclaim that differentiation is dead.  “Commoditization” is the future.  And we all need to learn how to get better, faster and cheaper in order to survive- especially considering the fact that the internet provides so much information to buyers that it levels the playing field to a point that makes it impossible to compete on differentiation.  “Volume and efficiency will rule,” he added.

MarketSmart says… that guy is a nuts!

It’s actually quite the opposite.  Rather than competing in the arena of equality and mediocrity, we strongly recommend finding a way to be different.  For example, Cirque de Soleil didn’t find a way to make a cheaper circus.  They created an entirely new circus experience.  And their tickets sell for much more than a traditional circus.

I know everyone cannot reinvent the wheel as they did.  But suppose you are… hmm…  an accountant.  Let’s reinvent an accountant’s business on-the-fly (I literally just came up with this)…

Overnight Bookkeeping Inc.!-  We do the books while you sleep.

Small business owners who need bookkeeping services don’t want to talk to a bookkeeper while the phones are ringing during normal business hours.  So wouldn’t a bookkeeper who works at night make sense?

“Call us anytime, day or night.”

Differentiation still works!

Here are a couple of firms for whom we recently created differentiation strategies.

Long Fence and Home logo

1- Long Fence and Home (Home improvements)- We carved out a niche that made them more than just a home improvement company.  They don’t just give you a kitchen.  They don’t just repair your siding.  They don’t just replace your windows.   …They improve your life.

A new kitchen brings the family together.  New siding makes your home look newer and makes you feel proud to drive home.  New windows reduce energy costs.  All home improvements increase resale value.  All home improvements improve your life.

Home improvements are life improvements.  So the slogan we carved out for them is “Improve your home. Improve your life.”  And all the web pages, sales materials and blog information supports that mission and directive.

2- Catapult (Business consulting)-  we renamed the firm, repositioned their core strategy, designed a new logo and wrote a new slogan for them.

This firm wasn’t just about business consulting.  They help businesses make sense of their chaos.  Plus they run events that help CEO’s connect with each other.

So here’s the name we conceived: Catapult Connections. The slogan: Business Clarity and Relationships for Growth.

Why act like just another business consulting firm when you’re not?  Find your key differences.  Carve out your niche.  And ignore the bozo that said “Commoditization is the future.”

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Posted in Branding, marketing, Philosophy/motivation, Slogan, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Beware of cookie-cutter blogs.

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

I recently came across a company that creates blogs for home improvement service firms.  They post two articles each week and to their clients’ blogs.

They have a video that promotes this “super-duper” service.  It emphasizes how important it is to blog regularly.  “Google LOVES frequent updates,” they say.  “It’s important to blog frequently in order to get your business found,” they continue.

Well…. not so fast.  They are right in one way.  But they are very wrong in another.

BEWARE OF COOKIE-CUTTER blogging services!

Yes.  Blogging is important.  It’s an excellent way to update your website often.  And, yes, Google does, indeed, like to see websites that are frequently updated because it signals that your site is active and therefore more likely to be relevant, engaging and valuable to humanity.

But here’s where the plan falls short.  It’s not real!  And you can only “fake it” for so long before people (and search engines) wise-up.

If you want your website to rank high in the organic search results, you can’t just throw up cookie-cutter blog articles.  You can’t let someone who isn’t part of your business write it.

Google and the other search engines are smart.  Their job is to help us (the searchers of the world) find stuff.  Google’s job is to figure out what’s real and what’s a scam.  Google will see that your blog is just like 20 other companies who are also buying the same copy and posting it online.  They will be confused and/or (worse) they will downgrade your website in the search results.

Blogging is about offering valuable information to the rest of the world.  It’s about giving without any hope of receiving.   It’s about helping people.

It’s about personality, uniqueness, and distinction.

In the old days (two years ago), companies had to spend tons of money to carve-out their uniqueness with fancy ad campaigns and quirky concepts like clowns (McDonalds), cowboys (Marlboro), and guys dressed as fruit (Fruit of the Loom).

A blog is the perfect tool to create a unique selling proposition… a differentiator…. a competitive advantage for your company in the new era of marketing.  A blog helps potential customers learn about you, your company, your staff, your philosophy.

We (at MarketSmart) use our blog to help humanity.  But our strategy is also one that was created with the hope that prospective clients will read the blog to see that we’re real.  We care.  We understand stuff they don’t want to understand.

Also, we use our blog to help current clients keep up with the right way to engage in marketing and sales these days.

We do it because we like to do it.  We do it because it helps the rest of the world.

And… of course, we know that Google likes helpful, useful, original content.  We realize that drives traffic to our website and delivers leads through our conversion funnels.  But first and foremost, we blog because it’s good for humanity.

So beware of cookie-cutter blogs.  You can’t fool Google.  And you can’t fool the world.  Not for long at least.  Attempting to “game the system” will only hurt you and your business in the long-run.

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Posted in Blogging | No Comments »