Diversify Your SMB Marketing Plan-Part 2
Our previous post looked at diversifying an SMB marketing plan through both behaviorally-driven and demographically-driven campaigns. Let’s look at two other types of campaigns.
Here is your one-stop destination for all things related to inbound marketing. In today’s digital age, inbound marketing – a strategy that focuses on attracting customers through relevant and helpful content – is more important than ever. Whether you’re a small privately held business, a budding entrepreneur, or a larger company, understanding the ins and outs of inbound marketing can significantly enhance your brand’s visibility, drive customer engagement, improve lead generation, and boost conversions. Here, we’ll explore the fundamentals of inbound marketing, share the latest trends, offer practical tips, and provide insights into crafting successful strategies. Join us as we navigate the fascinating world of inbound marketing, equipping you with the tools to attract, engage, and delight your audience.
Our previous post looked at diversifying an SMB marketing plan through both behaviorally-driven and demographically-driven campaigns. Let’s look at two other types of campaigns.
Diversification is essential to any marketing plan. Focusing on just one campaign, technique, or demographic might yield success, but it is more likely to produce underwhelming results or simply fail.
Now is the ideal time to revisit your marketing collateral and consider how an update or addition may help your top-line revenue growth. Here are seven areas you should focus your analysis.
There are many ways to create content ideas, but we choose to focus here on these 4 ways as a place to get you started.
We’ve previously written about how to improve content marketing with How to Write Content Answers and How to Write Content in Times of Upheaval. But what good is investing in a content marketing campaign if no one reads it? We’ll show you how to improve content marketing below.
There is a digital divide that exists with every small business owner, despite that the first two decades of the 21st century brought about digital transformations in sales and marketing. Too many SMB’s still look at their customer buying experience from an out of date perspective. How is your small business narrowing its digital divide?
We’ve previously written about How to Write Content for Answers and have realized it is also important to learn how to write content in times of upheaval. The current pandemic has severely impacted what your audience is prioritizing, along with how they may view your brand. This pandemic and any other future disruptions are sure…
We’ve previously written about How to Connect With High Value Customers. In that fashion, we want to show you how to write content answers for the questions your potential clients may have. Let’s break down what it will take to effectively answer your prospective customers by expertly answering the pressing questions they have about your…
Professional Services are not immune to economic downturns and must consider their post-COVID-19 marketing response today in order to resume a path to success. Inbound marketing is a proven marketing method that is ideal for every professional services business. We’ve previously written about How Lack of Marketing Plan Blows the Budget. Let’s continue that trend by…
Hang on a minute. Does Marketing Your Small Business 4 Pennies even make sense? It does if you have no marketing budget and are hard-pressed to find new prospective customers. Marketing your small business for pennies is a concept that many very small businesses use to get off the ground. While traditional marketing and advertising…
We’ve all seen the blind taste tests for soft drinks, wines, beers, and even bottled waters. I think a Pizza Taste Test is a lot like a multi-channel Content Delivery strategy.
Do you struggle with a process to keep your loyal subscribers loyal? One of the easiest things to do is to establish an email sequence to keep nurturing your prospective clients,
I am confident you understand what an ideal audience is. They may be referred to as your Avatar or Persona as well. But your Alpha is a bit more specific.
Remember the original 1984 film Ghostbusters? The late Harold Ramis, playing the character Egon (the brains behind the group of ephemeral-capturing knuckleheads) coined that line as no one else could. Today, “Print is Dead” was perhaps the most relevant quote of the film as we take stock of the printed word.
A lot has been published on societal polarization, usually relating to political ideology but I contend it also relates to sales, especially cold calling.
A lot has happened in the world of marketing since the dawn of the digital revolution. Email and direct mail marketing have mostly been used independently, but savvy marketers are today joining them together as a multi-channel strategy. If you’re not getting the results you expect from an email-driven campaign, even after A/B testing, consider…
Do Newsletters Really Work? Are they still relevant in a point in time when social networking and blogging are all the rage? How can you leverage newsletters for more business and better customer engagement? You probably write a blog every few days, at least twice a month I hope. You’d like to convert more of…
Implementing an effective direct mail campaign is not as easy as it might seem. It involves content creation, graphic design, audience targeting, and an understanding of human behavior.
5 tips and tricks to effectively marketing your business on Facebook that you may not have heard about yet.
It is estimated that over half the population watch a YouTube video every day! And this demand profile isn’t limited to only consumers. One report suggests that 92% of business to business customers regularly watch online video.
Today it is all about what we in the business like to call conversion. Converting a completely unknown contact into an interested party, encouraging them to be interested to learn more, converting that person to then become a customer, then converting them to a raving fan.
an you imagine your dentist offering a Black Friday special? “Come in Friday from 3 am until noon and have two cavities filled for the price of one!” Or perhaps your cardiologist offering a BOGO on heart valve replacements. Can you consider a cosmetic surgeon advertising for “Black Friday Nose job Special. Purchase a rhinoplasty and receive a liposuction and tummy tuck for half-off.”
You have probably heard or read it before: content marketing is important to your online campaigns. Content is a leading channel of digital and inbound marketing – any reputable marketing firm, agency, or consultancy can tell you that content marketing drives new business for your brand through a combination of benefits that work hand in…
Blogging and Small Business are a great fit. In today’s world of social media and content marketing, it seems as if the rules for optimization change on a daily basis. Whether it’s Google’s Algorithm updates or the introduction of new features on Twitter or Facebook, change is a common normalcy in inbound marketing. However, blogging…
If you aren’t familiar with the power of blogging, then you’ve missed some of the most important developments in advertising from the last few years. Here are some of the main reasons why you should work blogging into your marketing plan – or avoid it in its entirety. To Blog: The Power to Get Noticed…
Blogs are one of the most popular forms of online content – just about anyone can start one, but many people worry that their blog is never read… or, if it is, that the readership doesn’t justify the time spent maintaining it. Does my small business need a blog? Let’s take a look at some…
Networking and Referrals Tops with SMB’s… Maybe? When asked for their best sources of lead generation, a recent article and poll suggests so. But is this really the truth? A friend and business owner I admire recently shared a magazine article that addressed lead generation strategies. According to the article, the use of websites and…
“E-mail is Dead”… according to Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook at the time of the quote “The Internet is Dead”… according to Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine 2010 “Digital Marketing is Dead” … Marc Pritchard, P&G, speaking at Dmexco 2013 None of them are actually dead. In fact, e-mail as an engagement tool is fantastically effective…
When last we wrote about how we promote our blog articles and how you could as well, we mentioned there was software to make the process easier; there were additional spots on the web where you could also post them. This article will hopefully encourage you to make better use of the Internet in the…
There is a real disconnect when I come across a business professional that doesn’t have an active blog on their site. It’s not that I don’t respect them as business people; they have a right to manage their business any way they wish. It just seems to be counter-productive to have a website and NOT…
We have covered the value of creating content marketing to allow prospects to find your website and you for quite a while now. One way to lead your competition and establish yourself as an industry expert is by creating engaging content in a variety of media. You not only bring valuable attention to your brand,…
Most businesses, even solo-preneur’s have taken the time and invested in a website. Any small business that wants to be noticed stake their claim on a domain name and put up a site. It is more or less how business is done these days. The vast majority of business feels adescribe the image certain obligation to…
One of the questions Zen Marketing receive a lot relates to search engine optimization and website design. Search engine optimization is really about driving the prominence of your website in a search, but seldom do you read about the website in its entirety. A good SEO plan should improve the search engine results plus the…
If you are new to email marketing or are in the process of building your first list, you are to be congratulated! Email marketing, despite all protestations to the contrary, is alive and well, and will be for the foreseeable future! On top of that, it is still the one essential piece that needs to…
It doesn’t matter at what stage of growth your business resides; napkin idea, start up, emerging enterprise or seasoned business, it will always need your attention. When it comes to growing your business, are you insane? What I mean by this query is there is a saying (attributed to Albert Einstein, by the way): Doing…
We all know there are a million things that can go wrong with internet marketing; far too many to name. Getting a handle on every single one of them is impossible, but we all do the best possible when it comes to generating leads and growing our businesses. Your marketing efforts can be sabotaged by…
Closed loop marketing probably wasn’t a terminology taught at Pace University or other fine schools with a focus on accounting. But it probably should have been. With time to focus on things other than late tax filings, closed loop marketing is a great follow up our article on Relationship Management. Remember the discussion about data,…
Regardless of your business entity’s status; a start-up or seasoned, when it comes to content creation, you may need some coaching at the beginning. Here are some easy tips to consider when the beginner of an inbound marketing strategy takes on the role of copywriter. Start with the end in mind No matter the effort,…
Email marketing is a great way for you to attract or shore up some of the client base, and accounting firms know that once the April rush begins, there will be no rest until it is all put aside. It won’t be long until tax filing season comes into focus; no sooner than the holiday…
We have been writing about content marketing, also known as inbound marketing, for more than 18 months, and our clients are enjoying the greater exposure and qualified leads this marketing approach provides them. Yet we occasionally are invited to meet with prospective client firms that are reluctant in adopting the concept. I thought it might…
If you want to get your point across and make a friend, use plain English. Industry jargon may be fine for working around your coworkers, industry friends and associates, but it should not be used in sales presentations. Jargon is one of the greatest frustrations for a buyer. The inability to grasp what is being…
Or why pretending to be someone’s Grandmother isn’t going to help you get that order. My latest favorite term is Sales Prevention Officer… borrowed from Jonathan Farrington on the Eyes on Sales blog. Professional, effective sales processes are a combination of art and science. A great sales person is trained in acting, engineering, politics, relationship…
For many a small business, especially those that rely on generating as many leads as possible online, pay per click is an easy answer, but it may not be the answer to your marketing dilemma. Your lead generation is what drives your business, and your marketing budget must yield as large an ROI as possible,…
Even if you don’t use it you already know Facebook is one of the most powerful social network platforms. You have probably come to realize that it’s not just for teenagers and socialites, but also for the small private business as well. Why? Because Facebook gives every business owner an effective and affordable marketing tool.…
While the world has “gone digital,” cold calling is out of date to say the least. However, there are cold calling statistics that make me wonder; well sort of; it’s a bit of a conundrum actually. In the past I posted articles relating to the cold calling marketing strategy. One article alluded to the fact…
What inbound marketing does really, really well is eliminate the cold call. After all, when you have scores of interested people taking the time to visit your landing page or blog and then leaving you their contact information the odds are pretty good your call will be taken. This behavioral bridge is amplified when they…
The aphorism “a rising tide lifts all boats” is associated with the idea that improvements in the general economy will benefit all participants in that economy. Many businesses see changes in their top line revenue in this same fashion. Everyone on the planet is aware of the economic storm wreaking havoc on the bond market,…
Strategic marketing is crucial during stagnant economies for CPA’s. Regardless of this time of year, the current economic storm we find ourselves in does not seem to be relinquishing its grip on the market. It is tax time, and everyone in the financial services field is busy taking care of clients. Let us not forget the…
We know it as Cold Calling 2.0 (in our office we refer to it as interruptive sales) but there is a tactic in telemarketing and phone sales that is guaranteed NOT win the hearts and minds of your potential customers. Don’t know to what I am referring? Reverse – cold calling is the act of…
Does Your Marketing Strategy Include Data? Professional services firms (PSF’s) rely on many things to accomplish their revenue goals, and marketing strategy certainly plays a big part. But do CPA’s, Lawyers, Architects and other PSF’s incorporate data into their marketing efforts? Whether traditional advertising methodologies or the use of digital, inbound marketing, or even a combination…
You rarely hit a home run in small business marketing; small ball works best. A well defined marketing plan around a realistic number of differing tactics will run up the score nicely. But because of restrictive budgets (or sometimes attitudes) many small businesses try a tactic and when the home run doesn’t happen abandon it…
We have covered the value of creating content marketing to allow prospects to find your website (and find you!) for quite a while now. One way to lead your competition and establish yourself as an industry expert is by creating engaging content in a variety of media. You not only bring valuable attention to your…
While there is a plethora (love using that word!) of good reasons to utilize the services of an inbound marketing firm, it is our belief that they all boil down to the three most important, as outlined below. We at Zen Marketing Inc., a fully digital inbound marketing agency believe that we can build your…
Social media is the new word of mouth, so when the conversation online with customers or prospects begins, the friends and contacts that like what they see and react, and are going to join the conversation as well. Perhaps you aren’t monitoring your social media feeds; in that case you are missing out on information.…
Email marketing is a great way for you to attract or shore up some of the client base, and accounting firms know that once the rush begins, there will be no rest until it is all put aside in late April. It won’t be long until tax filing season comes into focus; often this is…
There are five really great reasons why architects, Lawyers, CPA’s, financial planners, consultants, and other professional services providers should be responsible for their own marketing. You are intelligent beings, after all. The list below makes all the sense in the world, right. Let’s see if you feel this way. I learned to write reports and…
It really does not matter in which industry you serve, everyone markets to their prospective consumer. Some call them clients, some call them customers, some even call them members; they are all experiencing the effects of your marketing. That friends, is the power of content. Tailored correctly, content that is “persona-fied,” that is, crafted directly…
What do we mean by inbound marketing & the false beliefs in customer loyalty? While it is a long-standing tenet of business, “the customer is always right” may not be so, at least in the eyes of the traditional sales professional. Customer loyalty is part and parcel of good business, but when sales professionals insist on…
New Year, More Anxiety for Local Business Owners – From a column we produced running in The Hunterdon County Democrat and NJ.com While 2012 may have been a lackluster year for business, this curative approach could dispel much of the pent up anxiety small business owners may have experienced in 2012. The New Year often brings…
To wrap up this series on Lead generation and lead nurturing, we’ll explore the ideal prospect, how to actually construct a lead nurturing system, and more. This is the final installment in a four part series dedicated to lead generation and lead nurturing process. No business can be successful with new client development without a…
Part three of four This is the third installment in a four part series dedicated to lead generation and lead nurturing process. No business can be successful with new client development without a strong understanding of this phase in the sales cycle. You can read the initial installment which can be found here. Here are…
This is the second installment in a four part series dedicated to lead generation and lead nurturing process. No accounting firm can be successful with new client development without a strong understanding of this phase in the sales cycle. You can read the initial installment by clicking here. Obviously, trade shows are not the only…
Lead Generation & Nurturing for Your Accounting Firm is vitally important. Regardless of the methodology of lead generation you employ, in all probability your accounting firm will spend considerable time, energy and financial resources on lead generation. Some firms utilize direct mail, telemarketing, referral or customer-based marketing, trade shows, networking and a host of other strategies…
Is Inbound Marketing effective for a start-up or should I start cold calling? In a recent online post I was asked,” When starting a new business and trying to generate qualified leads, are there any tricks when you are cold calling or is it purely just a numbers game”? This is a common question, especially from…
Is Emailing Newsletters Still Relevant Today? Perhaps less than you think.
The Evolution of Referral Marketing for NJ Attorneys and Architects is fascinating. Remember when commercials were only about products for sale on television? There were “new and improved” this and that, “try this new” whatever. That sort of thing constituted the bulk of television advertising. Websites, content marketing, social media and blogging did not exist. Marketing…
We are approached by many companies who are looking to grow their revenue line, and in the process of understanding their approach to business development one question is universally asked – “How Do We Motivate Our Sales Team?” Sales Team Motivation benefits greatly from Inbound Marketing. First off- you cannot really motivate anyone. Motivation comes from…
Can Architects Create Sustainability in Business Development? We believe that they can… Your business development or sales organization has been very busy. Think about all that time spent drafting emails, responding to voice mails, writing proposals with little or no real relevance, pitching to non-decision makers and not holding prospects accountable to commitments… in actuality that…
Can Accounting Firms Get Sustainability in Marketing with Inbound Marketing? We believe so… Your business development or sales organization has been very busy. Think about all that time spent drafting emails, responding to voice mails, writing proposals with little or no real relevance, pitching to non-decision makers and not holding prospects accountable to commitments… in…
Do you sometimes feel like your company is using social media and blogging but not getting the volume of leads you had hoped for? Are you stressing over the decision to invest more time, talent, and treasure into your marketing effort? Or are you stuck in the old cold-calling paradigm? Heck, can a company survive…
Inbound Marketing is the Fuel Source for Successful Sales Teams. In your organization, is customer acquisition a “Seek” or “Get Found” mentality? If it is the latter, then you are ready for inbound marketing. If your firm’s belief system is that the sales department is responsible for lead generation, then, I am sorry to say, you…
The Olympics, Inbound Marketing, and Your Succession Plan… If you are like me, you were practically glued to the television and enjoyed the competition that is the Summer Olympics. Sports, like business, is about more than just competition but also involves decision making, preparation, planning, and especially desire. One of the stories in the most recent…
Inbound Marketing and History Lessons Can Work Together. A favorite saying in business is “those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it”. In today’s economy, this lesson can often be disputed. It is easy for a business owner to develop a rear window perspective and allow their business development to be determined by…
Is there a correlation between Inbound Marketing and the Affordable Care Act? The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides a classic example of why it is important to have a good marketing plan and a succinct message. The 2,700-page healthcare law known as Obamacare is incredibly complex and poorly understood by the small business community.…
How to get the most from your web presence is a struggle for many small businesses. No matter what the size of your business, it’s important to have a relevant message, delivered through an effective, optimized website. Small companies often comment that they get much of their new business from referrals, but that doesn’t mean that…
How to explain inbound marketing to professional services firms is a question we get from colleagues often. Not every marketing agency uses or understands a growth process centered around inbound marketing so we have come to expect this question. If you were to have the ability to deliver your very best, top ranked Keynote Presentation…
Why Professional Services Firms Need Inbound Marketing is easy to explain. CPAs, Architects, Doctors, Dentists, Lawyers, and Financial Services firms all use some form of marketing to gain new business. Some use informative dinner invitations to persuade unknown potentials to listen to their pitch, while others use display advertising, couponing, radio, television and a host of…
There are many integration efficiencies with the right inbound marketing platform. The entire business world is undertaking extensive efforts to market in these uncertain times. Typically, business goes about the routine, but the economic storm, which we are experiencing, has made each step a cautious one. Combine the fact that budgets are tight, the future uncertain,…
Inbound Marketing Levels the Playing Field for businesses in almost all industries, scales, and annual revenues. Large or small, multi-national or local, family-owned, companies today have as much of a chance at winning business for one very big reason; the internet. Yes, it’s true, the internet greatly impacts how business is won today, compared to just…
There is an unfortunate by-product of effective inbound marketing. According to a recent report from Symantec®, web-based attacks increased last year by 36%, with over 4,500 new attacks each day. What’s more, mobile vulnerabilities continue to rise. Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 17, can be found here. One of the unfortunate by-products of an effective inbound…
Cold calling does not work for a number of reasons, primarily because consumers and decision-makers hate telemarketers as much as they hate disruption. There is enough to do all day at work (and at home for that matter) without having to answer an annoying phone call from someone interested in “saving you time or money.”
There are 5 things Accountants don’t understand about social media. There are many things social media is and is not. Although the popular belief among professional businesses is that social media may be a complete waste of time, or only for the young and restless, it can be a valuable tool for all financial services firms.…
Do you know how to bring more value to your clients? Clients and/or customers make purchasing decisions based on numerous factors, but particularly through identifying value in their selection of products or services. Therefore, bringing value to your clients should be paramount in your thinking. How does one do that, you may be asking. Let’s take…
Just How Effective is Cold Calling Anyway? Let’s be honest for a moment; no one likes cold calling. Cold calling was once the standard method of gaining new business for many industries, the number one lead generation technique, especially financial services. For everyone from the boiler room operations seeking donations to the New York Stock Exchange…
What Does the NJ Supreme Court and Inbound Marketing Have in Common? If you follow the local industry news you know about the March 6, 2010 NJ Supreme Court unanimous decision on KPMG LLP’s previous Appellate Court negligence ruling. Big Win was the title of the article. Big Win indeed. What does the NJ Supreme Court…
Direct Mail vs Digital Marketing Stats May Surprise You. Both digital marketing and direct mail have their place in the world and come with their own advantages and disadvantages. But painting digital marketing as more ecologically friendly is actually a misconception. Here’s what you should know about direct mail: A study from the U.S. Postal Service…
CPA’s and Financial Planners Must Market Differently. It isn’t a question IF accounting firms, CPA’s and financial planners convert to internet marketing, it is more of a question of when. The traditional marketing model is broken, as people shy away from traditional marketing efforts like telemarketing, direct mail, television and radio advertising and other “old school”…
Is Blogging a Good Investment for Accountants? Many of those in the accounting world assume that blogging is a platform mainly for those who are involved with Internet marketing as their main business. The truth is, many major companies have blogs, even those that are not directly involved in the technological field. Blogging can be a…
How do CPA’s Reach New Clients? Accountants, CPA’s, financial services firms and financial consultants live to “get found!” Those accounting firms that have already embraced inbound marketing are experiencing significant growth in lead generation, lead capture, internet marketing “buzz” and have differentiated themselves from their competitors in new client development. Let’s face it, the traditional model…
One of the questions I am frequently asked is, “When is the best time to make sales calls?” I’m always hesitant to answer this question, simply because I despise cold calling and believe that anyone who tells you they enjoy cold calling is either a liar or a sales consultant. Yes, I never want to…
The 5 critical stages of creating an internet marketing sales process are less known than the traditional descriptor. Marketers usually prefer the term marketing sales funnel, as the top of the pipeline is wider than the bottom, where many prospects (suspects?) enter, but through qualification, choice and follow through determine how many actually proceed from suspect to…
What is Inbound Marketing? We love deploying inbound marketing strategies for companies looking to enhance their new client development or brand awareness. It is an incredibly effective method for enhancing a company’s marketing because it integrates: Search Engine Marketing Social Media Content Marketing Public Relations Email Marketing Search Engine Optimization Inbound Marketing easily supports pay-per-click or other online advertising campaigns. Moreover…
Can Inbound Marketing System Can Increase Revenue? By now everyone knows that the Internet has changed the way business gets done. As a business owner, whether you are a manufacturer or service provider, the question you might be asking yourself is: how can I use the Internet to make my marketing more effective and boost sales?…
Inbound marketing begins with good search tactics. We all want to see great organic search engine results. Where else can we get a daily (hourly?) measurable snapshot of a result in our business? And many small business owners, especially retail enterprises and craftsman/tradesman, need to be found by people residing or playing in a few specific…
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