Get your on-line marketing prepared for 2011 - 4 things to do

The end of one year, the beginning of another.  Lots of lessons learnt and plans for 2011 to make   The Christmas and New Year period can be a quiet time for some and a chance to catch up on some of those tasks that you keep putting off, tasks that are critical to bring you the best results from your on-line marketing activities.

Now is the time to get your on-line marketing ready for 2011.  Here are 4 things you should do this month, if not first thing in January.

1.       Put an On-line Marketing Plan together

Your plan might be in your head but by putting it in writing it makes it more official and available for others to follow and deliver.  A good plan should contain

• Who are your target market?– who are you aiming at and why they should buy from you.
• What are your goals?  - specific figures around sales, market share, growt
• What resources to you need? – people (internal or outsourced), suppliers, hardware, software, social media platforms
• Set out a 12 month plan – what is planned and when.  Think topics, compelling events and activities
• Document your on-line policy if you have other people working with you to ensure everyone is consistent in message and deal with feedback, enquiries in the same way.

2.       Review your Website

Your website is pivotal to your on-line marketing.  As well as ensuring the design is right for your target market, speaking the right language and clearly answering their questions. You should also have the ability to:

• Fully edit / add / manage main pages of the site as well as regularly add content such as news, special offers, events
• Add and edit “Call to Action” buttons on every page if appropriate
• Add unique titles, descriptions, keywords to any new pages, posts and if the content changes. Integrate with social media channels – follow on Facebook, Twitter etc buttons available on the site

3.       Set up Google Analytics

If you do not already have this facility or one with similar features then setting up Google Analytics on your website can give you valuable information about the traffic to your site.  Simple to set up and then add the code to each page of your website or ask your web company to do this for you. If you do have analytics then: 

• Set some goals to reflect the goals you have set in your On-line Marketing Plan so you can see if you are achieving these goals
• Create custom reports to see how specific on-line activities are performing i.e shopping cart, pay per click, social media
• Always review these reports and compare and adjust your on-line plan if needed

4.       Organise your data

Whether you have a dedicated CRM solution or just a simple spreadsheet ensure that all the valuable data your business is using is organised in one place

• Contact Details- customers, prospects, suppliers
•  Customer /Prospects – proposals, sales enquiries, visits
• Social media followers and friends
• Campaigns – who responded
• Referrals – who has been referred and referring others
• Results – where have these come from
• Costs – how much did it cost to make a sale
• Email marketing mailing list

With each of the above steps you will have a plan to execute, a professional and trackable website for people to visit and all the data at your finger tips to run any number of targeted, successful campaigns.

As with all marketing, particularly on-line if there are any elements of the technology or the marketing process that you are not sure about then get some advice.  

The Changing Face of Marketing - are you ready?

Marketing messages bombard us daily. These include spam, text messages, instant messaging, pop-up ads, television commercials, telemarketing and direct mail solicitation – just to name a few.  While this form of marketing has been tried and tested over the years, it is now having the opposite effect   but why?  What has changed?

As the internet and  social web evolves  we have collectively turned off our ears to unidirectional ads and messaging, armed with remote controls, mute buttons, pop-up ad blockers, spam filters, caller ID, and TIVO,  we are using technology to avoid irritating, uninvited marketing messages.  We prefer to “pull” the information we want rather than have it “pushed” at us.  We prefer to search and receive information at the right time and follow trusted advisors who we may contact when we are ready.

The new goal is to provide something of value…. The content that you provide might be an article, a blog post, a video, white paper, etc. It might be funny, proprietary and valuable research, or something else that will resonate with your target audience. The idea is to get something interesting and valuable in front of the eyes of your clients and prospects.  They should look forward to hearing from you.  

How can you get your marketing message heard?

You may already be using e-marketing to distribute you marketing message i.e. website, blog, social media but what sort of message are you sending out?

• Is the message anticipated? Do people expect to receive your message? Are they looking forward to hearing from you again?
• Is the message personal? Do people believe the information was designed for their individual needs?
• Is the message relevant? Will people value the information? Is it important and useful? Who are they?

Next consider what you are sending.  Are you offering tips, advice, helpful articles, useful commentary, offers?  Your content needs to be valuable – you want your audience to keep, bookmark, past it on and recommend your information not delete it.

 Get the right message to the right audience

Choosing the right channels of communications is important,  you should consider:

• Blogging – Do you have a blog to add content to? Guest blogging is also good.
• Social Media  - use Twitter linked to your blog and build a network of followers to share your content with.  Linkedin – Join relevant groups or set one up of your own.
• Send out relevant Emails / Newsletter linking back to your website and blog
• Use online PR help to distribute to wider media outlets
• Keep your website current with all new content 

So even though the face of marketing is changing, the good news is it is getting even more cost effective.  If used correctly, e-marketing can cost you nothing but your time.  However you must ensure that before embarking on any marketing strategy to either take some advice or plan it in line with your other activities.  After all, the internet maybe free but your time isn’t!

If you would like any help implementing any part of your e-marketing or a content driven marketing strategy then please contact us.

Creating your marketing plan for 2010

2010 is upon us and we are all looking forward to a successful year. Bookings, orders and contracts already in place but we are aware that in the current climate we must always be looking and generating new work and clients. Marketing your business will do this. But it is important to plan your marketing so you avoid costly mistakes and also have a strategy to follow, a guidepost/compass to lead your business' day-to-day activities.

Your plan does not have to be elaborate, nor does it have to be set in stone forever. However, it should specifically define key information including your target market and what you have to offer them, as well as tactical ideas and action steps you will take in order to get customers and/or increase sales.

Here are 10 basic components to include in a Marketing Plan:

1. Product and Service: Describe your product or service in simple and easy-to-understand terms. Consider this message to be a version of your 30 to 60-second "elevator speech" - that’s as long as you get in an elevator to tell you key prospect what you do! Include your point of difference – what makes you different to the competition, why should someone buy from you? Also when do they buy – is there a compelling event?

2. Target Audience: Clearly describe your target audience. Be specific as to the demographics and psychographics of your ideal buyer. Who buys from you? Who needs your product / service? These are the groups you are going to focus your marketing tactics to.

3. Identify your Competition: Is your competition small local companies, or is it a group of large national companies with ample resources? Or, is your product/service so unique that the problem is really a lack of awareness? Either way, learn about and understand the competitive landscape. It will enable you to better position and target your message.

4. Pricing: How much to charge? A guidepost for setting price involves estimating the value your product / service gives to your client and understanding your financial goals and objectives. It is obvious to charge more than your costs but make sure you know what your costs are!

5. Establish a Marketing Budget: Marketing expenses can add up quickly, so set aside a specific amount per month or per quarter. Evaluate your marketing decisions based on what they can return for you i.e. A £700 Yellow Pages Advert – what business would you expect from it ? Track each initiative and keep what works.

6. Marketing Activities: Identify your marketing tactics. Brainstorm a range of ideas to reach your target market with your value message. Bring friends / colleagues into your idea generation. Be creative and don't censor wild ideas. Pick at least 5 activities that you feel you can execute within your budget.

7. Action Plan: Each marketing activity comes with its own set of action steps/road map. For example, if you want to mail a brochure, you need to write (or outsource) the copy, design the mailing, print the brochure, create a mailing list.… Take the time to create an action plan for each campaign.

8. Timing: Look at the calendar for 2010 and plan each campaign throughout the year. Give yourself realistic time to carry out each action plan. A number can be run simultaneously but be careful not to overload yourself and therefore not achieve your goals. With any business the sense of satisfaction is in achieving!

9. Measurable Goals: How are you going to measure the results of your activities throughout the year? Will it be on leads / opportunities / sales / bookings? – make sure you have the measurements in place from the beginning.

10. Marketing Assistance.: As part of your budget consider if you need assistance with writing and executing your plan from a Marketing coach. The best laid marketing plans fail when they end up in your bottom drawer, never to be seen again. Marketing may not be your strength so employ the services of an expert if you need to.

Creating and sticking to a marketing plan is the best way to keep you and your business focused, and on track for success in 2010. Writing the plan is the easy part, sticking to it tends to be more difficult for most people. Good Luck.