Frequently Asked Questions

Having a strategy is the best way to ensure you maximize limited resources. A clear marketing framework helps you focus on high-impact activities that align with your goals, avoiding wasteful spending on ineffective tactics.

Understanding your differentiation value, specifically what's meaningful to your customers, will help you develop a unique value proposition. Then this can be used to position yourself and communicate effectively in your niche. Read more

Before you can choose a website designer, you need to understand what type of site you need, how much money you have and how much you can do yourself. Then you need to vet them like you would most vendors. 

We launched a website called Dempsee to help startups and small businesses learn all about market research. It also contains helpful links to low and no-cost consumer and industry data. There are a few surprises too.

Strategy is deciding what will take you from point A to point B — from where you are now (current status) to where you want to go (objective). Yet, it's not a list of tactics. It's a comprehensive look at what will help you make the most of your marketing resources, while meeting your overall business objectives.

Set clear marketing objectives from the beginning and track the relevant metrics to those. Not just sales or leads, but what drives website visitors to that point. This may include traffic, pages visited, quality metrics, and other KPI's. Regular analysis of performance data will help you understand what's working and what isn't, and then you with the proper analysis, you can make corrections. Also remember that data can come from many places, not just your website, such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, email marketing tools, etc.

Absolutely! Structure is the only way you'll be able to market efficiently and effectively. This  approach ensures that all your marketing activities are purposeful and contribute to reaching your objectives.

Don't rush at marketing by implementing a range of tactics without a clear strategy. It's not going to work very well, you'll lose valuable time, and your spend won't be efficient. 

If you have marketing chops, by all means give it a go. Hiring freelancers or an agency depends on your budget and your capacity for managing all the moving pieces. Managing freelancers and keeping them aligned can take time and know-how. If you need strategy and coordinated implementation, hire a consultant. 

1. Marketing strategy starts at the top of the organization, taking into account the 4 P's. Sales doesn't deal with product development, pricing or distribution (place). And as everyone should know, if you have a product that a certain target customer wants to buy, that makes selling it a whole lot easier. 
2. As for the 4th "P", sales is just one part of the promotional mix, which takes into account advertising, PR/social media/earned media, sales promotions and personal selling. They must work together to bring about a sale, i.e., where would sales be without leads and sales materials? 
3. Personal selling is the most expensive part of the promotional mix - labor, training, travel, commissions, etc. There may be better ways to drive revenue than relying on sales, i.e., ecommerce. A live salesperson is better saved for more complex/high involvement products. 
4. The salesperson is the last in the chain of events, since most people will search the Internet for product info first. It's marketing's responsibility to create this consistent total user experience; not the job of sales. 

There's more to be said on the topic, but these are the major points.

Like any other media, social media should be used strategically. The first step is to focus on platforms where your target audience is active. This ensures that efforts are concentrated where they can yield the most engagement and conversions.

However, it should be emphasized that it's very difficult to turn social media engagement into leads or sales. This may work well for influencers, but unless you're ready to invest that kind of time, social media  alone is not a promotional tactic that is going to yield results.

You may be missing the mark when it comes to usability, messaging, and alignment with your business objectives.

We offer thorough website reviews to identify and address your issues, so you can transform your website into a more effective lead and sales-generation tool.

Optimizing your site for search with SEO and developing content strategies tailored to attract the right audience are essential. By optimizing for relevant keywords and creating valuable content, you can increase visibility with potential customers. In addition, you should absolutely sign up for an optimize a Google Business Profile, which is specifically designed to help you show up in near me searches. Read  more

It's important to develop content geared towards the needs and pain points of your audience and the questions they have related to your business or industry. This includes educational materials, case studies, and insights that demonstrate expertise and build trust.

The "promotional mix" is a way to understand communications strategy. I'll use the example of podcasters to explain it. The mix has 4 components: personal selling, like asking guests to tell people they're going to be on a show; advertising or the things you pay for, like brochures, buttons, media time, etc.; public relations or "earned media" which leverages other people's eyeballs — this may include articles in blogs, blog posts, social media engagement, etc.; and sales promotions, which includes sampling, discounting, etc. — like giving people clips of your show to entice them to listen to a longer program. They all have a role to play, and it's important to understand the differences between them. For example, how your listeners respond to an ad vs. a blog post. 

But the first step in any good strategy is to write down your goals, i.e., the number of listeners or subscribers you want to gain within a particular timeframe. Clearly outline your target audience. Then, think about a budget (time and money) and the best way to allocate it. And finally, put together a promotional calendar, so you're promoting at the ripest moments. 

The difference between traditional and digital marketing is that the latter defines techniques involving computerized devices, such as computers and smartphones. Everything else is considered traditional: TV, radio, print (i.e., newspapers), out of home (i.e., billboard), signage, printed materials, etc. To promote a business successfully — target an audience, build awareness, generate leads and sell more products, both methods may be used to great effect, depending on the marketing strategy. They work best when used as part of an integrated marketing plan.

It's common to clump email in with advertising et al. Email is a direct marketing technique used to reach existing customers, or at least ones who have signed up for your mailing list. It shows they're already interested in what you do. Email therefore will always yield a higher ROI. Other channels are used for attraction or mass marketing, and of course will have a lower ROI. To be useful, the data you look at should be apples to apples comparisons. Otherwise they're pretty useless.

Teasing out the impact of one medium in a mix of marketing activities is a challenge. Any medium will have both financial and emotional, and therefore, memorable results — which are all dependent on the unique qualities of a particular medium and where it fits in an overall marketing strategy — from business model, through positioning, branding and messaging, to marketing, promotional and media mix.

Radio can impact the bottom line by driving immediate purchase, and it can be used to build name recognition over the long-term. Its qualities give it a unique spot in the media mix — relatively low cost enables high frequency. It's a passive medium, yet the right blend of audio and storytelling can create a connection with people's emotions. In our world of media overload, the impact of any communication can be fleeting, particularly without incredible creative. To sustain those relationships, a business will typically need a long-term budget.

• Address the person by name (check your spelling).
• Start by reminding the contact how and where you met.
• Mention something in common or something you talked about; perhaps an issue they had that related to what you offer.
• Explain very briefly how what you do fits in with that — like one sentence.
• You may want to provide them with links or attachments to information that's helpful to them or relates to what you discussed.
• For the "call to action," depending on how hot the lead is, you could simply suggest they look at your site’s home page…or, if you think there’s a better page to link them to within your website, use that. This is where having an article they could read would be a great follow on. And that’s where the whole idea of the FAQ’s come in (writing articles to answer what people ask most). For example, if people really have a problem with "X" and want to know what can be done instead, put your response down in written form as an article — a quick read. Include simple bulleted suggestions to help them fix that problem. Then, create a web page or blog post with that article, and link them to that next step on their “buyer’s journey.” And while they’re there, the hope is that they take a look at the rest of your site. It also gives you an opening for a follow up…i.e., ”I hope you found the article useful. If there are any questions I can answer, let me know."
• And then of course, if they’re a hot prospect, you may want to try to arrange a meeting instead.

Start with a website with a strong value proposition, so you can start attracting the right people to your website. You'll also be able to use it as a sales tool by directing people to it when you do targeted outreach with your professional networks.

You'll also want to establish your authority through thought leadership that connects with key decision-makers. Developing content according to Google's EEAT algorithm will help you rank in search as well.

These are just some of the ways you can begin this process. Being creative in your approach can be a way to break through as well.

Consistently share valuable insights, publish relevant content, and speak at industry events. This will help you build credibility and establish yourself as an expert in your field.

These are the general ways you gain traction, but every industry has its unique opportunities.

They're both important and what you emphasize depends on your business model, industry, position, and recognition. Your personal brand should complement your company’s identity to build trust and relatability with clients.

It's important to develop content geared towards the needs and pain points of your audience and the questions they have related to your business or industry. This includes educational materials, case studies, and insights that demonstrate expertise and build trust.

Implement strategic marketing plans that include a high converting website, content marketing, SEO, and targeted campaigns to build a steady pipeline of qualified leads.

It's also important to consistently "harvest" from existing and happy clients, asking them for reviews and referrals (a "referral magnet" can help here as well).

Develop value-based pricing models that focus on the outcomes and benefits delivered, rather than the time spent on tasks.

You'll need to produce content that addresses specific challenges faced by potential clients to showcase your expertise and provide actionable solutions.

Start with FAQs and build out your content from there.

Follow-up with something valuable, like sharing relevant resources, insights, or connections, to maintain engagement without pressuring your prospect. Always be helpful, not pushy.

You'll want to develop structured service offerings that deliver on client needs and pain points. These productized services need to clearly communicate value, which makes it easier for clients to understand and purchase.