Two Special Words

With New Years Eve upon us, I’m looking forward to singing Auld Lang Syne, the traditional song that is now sung all around the world to ring in each New Year.  For me, the lyrics have always signified recognition of, and gratefulness for, our long-standing friendships.

Writing this last blog for 2012 got me thinking not only about my personal relationships, but also about others who are near and dear to me – namely, my clients.  I own Creativeworks, a marketing agency offering strategic marketing advice, development, implementation and measurement to SMBs.  In developing strategies, I spend quite a bit of time getting to know and understand not only my clients’ business, but very often the business owner as well. 

Once we implement the strategy, we work with our clients, sometimes on a rather constant basis. As such, I have a number of thank-you messages for my clients, with whom I have built and fostered long-term relationships. Without you, my agency would not exist. 

1. Thank you for continuing to be open to my innovative ideas, and letting me push the marketing envelope to help you obtain your goals.
2. Thank you for calling me whenever you want to brainstorm your way through an idea. I appreciate that you value my opinion, and trust that I will develop solutions on which to act.
3. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to help you better understand the nuances of your marketing, e.g. why social media works, and why your printer should not design your logo.
4. Thank you for working with me on fostering our relationship.
5. Thank you for continuously allowing me to bring you the latest industry trends and insights to your attention, so that we might implement them for your business.
6. Thank you for letting us work hard for you every day.
7. Thank you for allowing us to celebrate and share in your successes that have been realized through the work we have done together.

To those of you reading this blog who are not my clients, I thank you for reading my blog. In 2013, I will continue to bring you hands-on, thought-provoking insights based on my personal experiences as an owner of a Toronto marketing agency. To all, a happy new year!

Please let me know if there are any topics you’d like me to write about in 2013. Do you have any other marketing or related questions for me?  Please share your questions and comments below.

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If This Isn’t Marketing, Then What Is?

I often come across small business owners who have spent their hard-earned money on ad-hoc advertising tactics, off-shore website designers, local printers and, more recently, SEO specialists and YouTube-focused video production companies. However, they find that these efforts yield little to no return on their advertising investments. These failures have left many small business owners feeling discouraged about investing in further marketing, as they think that marketing as a whole simply “doesn’t work”.

As the owner of a marketing agency targeting small- and medium-sized businesses, I want to set the record straight: Marketing is not about how pretty it looks, or how cool it is – it’s about how effective it is. Marketing tools will have limited effects when developed without a clear purpose. However, when developed to support a marketing strategy, marketing tools can generate qualified leads, and thereby increase your results.

In this blog, I’d like to advise you of a number of marketing tool suppliers that are often confused with actual marketers. If you are able to identify what results you can expect to get from these types of suppliers, the outcomes of any efforts undertaken with these individuals/companies will be easier to comprehend.

1. Printers.

As their name states, printers only know how to print marketing materials. They do not develop marketing strategies.  Although some may offer web and logo design, or know how to layout your business cards and letterhead, this does not make them a marketer.  Printing is nothing more than an advertising tactic.

2. Web designers

Web designers are individuals who can design a website, and will advise you on what makes the most sense to feature on your site from a navigational or flow perspective. They might know what looks best, and might even share with you some best practices of site design, but, typically, they are not marketers. Like print, web design is a marketing tactic or tool.

3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialists

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialists can help you to increase the chances of your site being located online, through search engines such as Google and Bing.  Although I believe that SEO is one of the most important marketing tools available today, it is nothing more than a tool that should be used to support marketing strategies.

4. Social media specialists

Social media specialists are amazing at getting your brand out there, and keeping you relevant to your customers through social media strategies and implementation. This does not necessarily mean that they are marketers.  Social media is a marketing tactic that should follow a strategy, and it should be aligned with your overarching marketing strategy.

5. Online marketing

Although the word “marketing” is in the name, online marketing is, again, a tactic that needs to be identified and aligned with your marketing strategy. Many companies offer a proprietary online marketing tool “guaranteed to increase your sales”. This needs to be considered as part of a marketing strategy.

6. Video marketing

Video marketing is undoubtedly a marketing tactic.  Frequently, video marketing is provided by video production companies – individuals who can shoot and edit video, who lack a marketing background. As well, some marketing companies with no background in video often claim to provide these services.  Professional video requires expertise in the field, and if used for marketing purposes, also requires alignment with your marketing strategy in order to be successful.

If you only take away one point from this blog, let it be that marketing requires a strategy. Every vendor that you hire should be asking to see how their marketing tool aligns with your overall marketing plan, increases ROI, and will be measured against your marketing strategy.

Do you have any questions about the difference between marketing tools and marketing strategies? Do you have any other marketing-related questions for me? Please share your questions and comments below.

Why Stop-and-Start Marketing Does Not Work

All businesses see fluctuations in their revenues. And it is understandable that when faced with “cash flow” issues, many businesses owners look to cut what they deem to be “unnecessary expenditures”. However, I can tell you from my many years of marketing experience that marketing is an integral part of your business, and stopping marketing activities can have a dramatic impact on your business.

A good example of this in practice is the 2008 financial crisis. Many businesses were faced with huge revenue challenges, and although some decided to stop their marketing and withdraw from their consumers’ radars, there were those that looked at it as an opportunity to “market smarter”. They continued to invest in their marketing, and not only survived the crisis – they actually thrived. Fueled by a strong marketing presence, these companies pushed forward with bolder strategies, and thereby gained a competitive advantage.

The reason that marketing is so important to businesses is that marketing is your main lifeline to customers and sales. Without it, you can’t be sure that customers know who you are, and what you are selling.

I’d like to share with you a few tips to consider, if you are ever in a situation where you are contemplating stopping or “pausing” your marketing activities:

• Sync your business operations to be in line with your marketing strategy, so that if you have a “weak” month, you can pick up sales leads and revenues via another avenue.   For example, if you know that August is traditionally a bad “cash flow” month for your business, plan to combat that with a campaign running in July and August. Your marketing strategy plays a key role in your success.
• Stop the marketing activities that are using non-measurable tactics, and replace them with other more measurable marketing practices.
• Focus your advertising campaigns on lead generation instead of simply brand recognition.
• Leverage social media strategies to increase engagement, audience and potential leads.
• Find more ways to connect with your customers, so that you will be “top of mind” when they are making a buying decision.

I understand why, when faced with a crisis or dip in revenues, companies look to cut marketing budgets. But, simply stated, as “marketing” encompasses everything you do to place your product or service in the hands of potential customers, your marketing really needs to be continuous.

With markets becoming more competitive, it is more important that you get ahead of your competitors – by any means necessary.  That should start with a great marketing strategy, and continue with “smart”, measurable tactics that attract customers to your business.

Have you ever contemplated stopping your marketing?  What impact did this have on your business?  Please share your experiences on the importance of continuous marketing in the comments below.

Social Media: Should I Hire an Internal Person or External Resource? (2 of 2)

I dedicated last week’s blog to addressing why SMB owners should make social media an integral part of their marketing strategy, and this week I’ll outline some reasons behind who should implement their social media.

There are several opinions on who should handle your social media, and as an owner of a marketing agency dedicated to helping SMB owners realize their marketing goals, I’d like to share with you some tips – a check list, if you will, on factors to consider to help you evaluate and make the right decision for your company.

Tip 1: Commitment
Internal: This is by far the biggest difference in internal vs. external.  You need to decide how much time you can personally commitment to making your social media a success.  Do you have the time to train a social media person, supervise them, manage them, and ensure that what they are doing follows your social media strategy? Can you make at least a year commitment to supporting an internal person?

External: A professional social media resource will require a minimal time commitment from you. Although you’ll need to work with them in deciding what processes, quality assurance, frequency and measurement metrics, and update meetings are required, this will be established upfront, and ought not require a daily investment of your time.

Tip 2: Skill Set
Internal: An internal social media person needs to understand your brand, and all the legal nuances involved in its marketing. They need to be able to react and provide customer feedback, and create social media processes for handling online customers. But perhaps most importantly, they need to be at the top of their game in terms of know exactly which social networking sites are right for your business, and why. It seems simple: hire a professional, and they will do a professional job. Although that can often be the case, as the owner you, yourself, need to have some knowledge of social media in order to ensure that this internal resource is recommending the right path for your business.

External: An external resource will work with you from the outset, to understand your social media goals and objectives.  They will invest their time and resources to best understand your business, and as a social media resource have already established a reputation of excellence.  They will provide you with their recommendations as to which social media sites they will be targeting, why/how, with examples of suggested content, quality assurance measures and measurement metrics and frequency.

Tip 3: Research and Writing
Internal:  This internal resource must be able to research and write. This seems obvious, but these basic skills are hugely necessary. There is nothing worse for your brand than having a spelling mistake, or wrong information posted on your sites.  Although the post can be deleted on most sites today, we can’t measure how many potential customers might have seen a particular post before it was deleted.  As such, the social media person needs to be able to research and write, and be accountable for the content of their posts.

External: Check references and previous social media posts from this professional external resource. Ask them to tell you about any research or writing mistakes that have happened, and how they have dealt with them. Make sure you feel comfortable with their writing style and tone, and that they are able to research avenues relevant to your business.  This social media resource will be held responsible for driving continuous and accurate content to your sites, as well as engaging in conversations and investigating new avenues within social media platforms to get your voice heard.

Tip 4: Track and Measure
Internal: You’ll need to establish with your internal person how they are going to measure and track your company’s social media activities. Simply tracking the “likes” and “followers” is not enough. Depending on your social media strategy, you may require deeper analytics to see if your Facebook page is referring new business to your site, and if so, which areas appear to be most popular. Google Analytics (GA) is a great tool for website analytics, however, make sure your internal person can provide you with the exact GA reports your need to validate the ROI on this social media venture.  Your internal person will also need to be able to interpret and make recommendations and adjustments to improve results moving forward.

External: A professional resource will be able to tell you exactly what they use to track and measure social media.  They should show you examples of what they have done for other clients and create an approach for you and your business.  The second, and most important part of tracking and measuring, is interpreting the results. A professional external resource will have the ability to assess and decipher the results, and make suggestions as to how to make adjustments to increase your ROI moving forward.

Deciding on who will implement, track, measure, and decipher your social media is not an easy decision, as every business and business owner is unique. By outlining some key tips, I hope that I have helped you to evaluate your options, and make the right decision for your business. Remember: nothing is set in stone. You may, for example, decide to hire externally until such time when it makes better business sense to hire internally.

Who is handling your company’s social media?  Are you pleased with the results? Do you have any stories you can share?

Social Media: Understand Why Before Hiring an Internal or External Resource (1 of 2)

As the owner of a marketing agency, I am often asked whether a company should take on social media themselves, or hire an outside agency to do it for them. It’s a good question. In fact, it’s one of the most important and frequently asked questions of our digital business age.  However, before I answer who should implement your social media, I want to address why you should make social media an integral part of your marketing strategy.

 

Small and medium business (SMB) owners, particularly those of B2B businesses, struggle with finding the value of social media. They often think of it as nothing more than people talking about what they had for dinner last night, or the music they are listening to (which, depending on your company’s field of expertise, may be rather useful information!). To be sure, there are many conversations occurring, covering a wide array of topics. Regardless, if you have a brand and want to further it,I advise you not toignore social media.

 

If we think back to about 14 years ago, in 1998, when the internet was at its infancy, many SMB’s were questioning whether or not they should have a website.  Although it is hard for us to imagine this debate happening today, business owners were questioning the validity of websites, and wanted to see hard evidence to substantiate their investment.

 

Their questions made perfect sense then, as they do today regarding social media – they want to see real proof to justify an investment in social media, either with internal staff or an external agency.

 

There are various statistics bandied about the industry when looking for this “hard evidence” or value in social media, but the top four stats that stand out for me are:

 

• 62% of the world’s population uses social networking, making it the most popular online activity.
• Over half of social networkers follow a brand online.
• Over half of consumers say they are more likely to recommend a brand if they are fans of the company online.
• Online ad spending increased to just over $30 billion in the U.S. last year, over 20% increase (Source: ComScore).

 

I share these four stats as I feel that they best provide the “hard evidence” a SMB needs to understand why they should integrate social media into their marketing strategy: the audience is there, your competitors are there, the audience wants to engage with brands there, and you can target your advertising there.

 

Simply put, social media is not going away anytime soon. As such, if you are not using social media in your marketing strategy, you run the risk of losing business to other companies that are.

 

In next week’s blog, I’ll outline some points to consider when making a decision to use internal or external resources to execute your social media strategy.

Have you integrated social media into your marketing strategy?  If not, why not? If so, do you have any success stories you’d like to share? Please let me know in the comments below.