Sound Research Foundation of Successful Marketing Plan

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Conducting thorough research before embarking on marketing planning is a wise investment that can save thousands. While many small companies may not have the budget for extensive primary market research, other resources may exist to help them make the best marketing decisions for their organization.

Once you’ve defined your target audiences, determining how your product or service will best benefit them and the best ways to reach your audience will help you make efficient marketing decisions with less waste.

If you don’t have the budget for market research, find out if similar research has already been done. Many associations conduct consumer research on behalf of its members that may help. If your industry has an association, find out if they have such research available. Knowing why your audience wants your product or service will help you craft the correct messages to reach them.

Researching the correct channels in which to reach your audience is also important. A wide variety of marketing options exist. For example, if there are five trade magazines that target your clients, how do you choose in which to advertise? Your ad representatives should be able to provide you with circulation figures, and, sometimes, demographic breakdowns of their circulation to help you reach the most people within your budget.

And while social media is hot right now, you need to consider whether spending staff time updating pages is worth the effort. If you sell machine parts to factories, probably not. If you’re a nonprofit, a Facebook page might help you keep in touch with volunteers more readily.

Thorough research is vitally important to target your messages appropriately, choose the correct channels to reach your audience and make the best use of your precious marketing dollars. For more information, or research support, please contact me at randy@woottonmarketing.com or visit www.woottonmarketing.com.

Wootton Marketing Associates provides sales and marketing services using traditional and electronic solutions primarily for B2B organizations in Atlanta. Services include public relations, web technologies, social media marketing, lead generation, research and creative services.

Are You Making the Best Use of Socia Media?

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Companies have jumped on social media as an inexpensive way to reach current and potential customers, but not everyone has utilized this powerful tool as effectively as they could.

Many simply put up a Facebook or LinkedIn page without a clear idea of what information they will communicate on the pages or how it complements the rest of their marketing efforts.

While the way you communicate on social media platforms may be more casual, what you communicate should be thoughtfully considered, and reflect your company’s messaging from other platforms, such as your Web site, printed materials, etc.

Like any marketing project, you should construct an implementation plan for your social media efforts. Define how often you will update the page, what topics you will talk about and who will be responsible for monitoring the page to answer questions and interact with customers.

Make sure what you communicate on your pages reflects what you need your customers to know. Are you having a sale or event you need to promote? Do you wonder if customers enjoy a new product or service you’re offering? Social media gives you another, more timely and interactive way to communicate your core messages to your audience.

While implementing your social media marketing plan, you may also want to consider creating a social media policy for your employees as a guide for appropriate content in a business setting, especially if they are connected with clients via social media.

Wootton Marketing Associates provides sales and marketing services using traditional and electronic solutions primarily for B2B organizations in Atlanta. Services include public relations, web technologies, social media marketing, lead generation, research and creative services.

Are Your Press Releases Press-Worthy?

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While tight marketing budgets are making media relations efforts more attractive than ever, companies should make sure their press releases are newsworthy. But what makes a press release attractive to the media?

Real News

New services and product launches are actual news, as are events your company hosts. Some media outlets will also run short articles about charity involvement.

Promotions and New Hires

If your company has promoted someone or hired someone new, media such as your local newspaper or the Atlanta Business Chronicle may be likely to publish the announcement. But unless you are a large, Fortune 500 company, you shouldn’t expect announcements like these to make it into the Wall Street Journal or CNBC.

Expert Articles

Articles of interest to the general public or trade audiences are sometimes picked up by media. If your organization is health care-focused, for example, articles about preventing the flu or general health articles might be well received by media. Or if you’re an accountant, tips on taxes might be an appropriate topic and welcome during tax time.

While the above are examples of newsworthy press release topics, you still aren’t guaranteed coverage. To increase the chances of your press releases being picked up, identify the media that serve your target audience.

Wootton Marketing Associates, LLC can provide expert media and public relations support to ensure your company maintains a consistent profile with your target market. Contact me today to find out how we can help!

Wootton Marketing Associates provides sales and marketing services using traditional and electronic solutions primarily for B2B organizations in Atlanta. Services include public relations, web technologies, social media marketing, lead generation, research and creative services.

 

 

Identify Your Audience for Maximum Marketing Impact

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Clearly defining your organization’s target audience is the first step to a successful marketing plan. The importance of your audience cannot be overstated. A well-defined audience will help you:

  • Craft messages – creative or straightforward? Short and snappy or loaded with information? Playful or serious?
  • Choose a design style – artsy or down-to-earth? Clean or lots of graphics? Bright or subdued colors?
  • Identify appropriate communications channels – trade or general media? Facebook or LinkedIn (or both)? Online, print, TV, outdoor and/or radio advertising?

The characteristics of your audience are of paramount importance when embarking on any marketing plan. For example, a company whose target audience consists of engineers would choose different writing, design and channel options than a company whose audience is affluent housewives.

The more you know about your audience, the better you can create and design messages that appeal to that audience, as well as best choose the channels that reach your audience.

Any time you make a marketing decision, you should first think of your audience. Would this appeal to them? Will they see it? Is it appropriate to my audience’s taste?

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about researching or better defining your target audience to make the most effective use of your marketing budget.

Wootton Marketing Associates provides sales and marketing services using traditional and electronic solutions primarily for B2B organizations in Atlanta. Services include public relations, web technologies, social media marketing, lead generation, research and creative services.

 

 

Revisit Your Marketing Mix

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How long have you been using the same marketing methods to reach your audience? When was the last time you researched other ways to reach them? Is your current marketing mix effectively reaching who you want to reach, at the best cost?

If you’ve had a marketing plan in place for a few years, and it seems to be working pretty well, you may have decided to keep that plan and focus your attention on other areas of your company. While in some instances, this may be a good plan of action, you may be missing new opportunities for marketing that have sprung up since you formulated your plan.

If your company sells products or services to a niche market, for example, advertising in your local newspaper may not be the best use of marketing dollars. Determine if there is an association that serves your target market and see if the association has a magazine or newsletter in which you could advertise. The association may also host meetings you could sponsor to reach 100 percent of your target audience. Exhibiting or speaking at trade shows may be another excellent way of reaching this audience.

Additionally, social media is a hot area right now. Consider whether adding a LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter account for your company will effectively reach your audience. Or consider adding a blog to your Web site to provide advice, commentary on your industry and information on new product or service offerings. All of these options are relatively low cost, but require a fairly significant time commitment.

Make sure your marketing mix is still serving you well by taking a good hard look at what you’re doing, who you’re reaching and what is your return on investment. I’d be happy to assist you in any way. Visit www.woottonmarketing.com or email me at randy@woottonmarketing.com for more information.

Wootton Marketing Associates provides sales and marketing services using traditional and electronic solutions primarily for B2B organizations in Atlanta. Services include public relations, web technologies, social media marketing, lead generation, research and creative services.

Public Relations – Beyond Media Relations

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Good PR is more than trying to get good press. It can encompass your relationships with existing customers, your community, employees and even legislators.

While media relations are important, you have a wide variety of ways to communicate effectively with all your audiences:

Community involvement: consider participating in a local charity by either donating your products or services, volunteering time or contributing money. In addition to the satisfaction you’ll find supporting a worthy cause, it will give you an opportunity to meet other local leaders.

Trade show participation: exhibiting at trade shows allows you to support your customers’ trade association while also meeting current and potential clients face-to-face.

Newsletters: A regular newsletter is a great way to connect with clients and/or employees. Newsletters can be printed or distributed electronically and can communicate new products, services, policies and other company news.

Government affairs: For many companies and organizations, getting to know your legislators is vital. Attend candidate forums, town hall meetings and fund-raisers or volunteer to help on campaigns. Develop a personal relationship with your legislators by meeting with them in their offices and be sure to make regular contact with them by adding them to appropriate newsletter or email lists.

Facebook: Start a fan page for your company and ask your clients to become fans. Update your page regularly to keep your company fresh on your fans’ minds.

These are only a few ways public relations initiatives can help you communicate with your varied audiences. Feel free to contact me to find out what public relations activities could make sense for your company.

Wootton Marketing Associates provides sales and marketing services using traditional and electronic solutions primarily for B2B organizations in Atlanta. Services include public relations, web technologies, social media marketing, lead generation, research and creative services.

Promote Your Social Media Presence

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You’ve embraced the social media phenomenon by starting a blog and setting up accounts for yourself and/or your company on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

Now what?

While you could sit back and hope that search engines will present your various social media pages to would-be clients when they’re searching for your product or service, taking a more active approach is more effective.

First and foremost, regular status updates on networking sites and new blogs are vital to keeping your social media presence fresh and maintaining interest. Also, active involvement on the different sites is imperative. For example, answer questions in your area of expertise on LinkedIn, become a fan of other pages on Facebook, follow others on Twitter, etc. Doing these things puts you in front of others who are using the sites.

But what else can be done to encourage interest in your social media efforts? A number of traditional as well as digital media techniques may be useful:

  • Add your social media addresses to your business card. Sounds like a no-brainer, but how many businesses are doing this? If you don’t have a lot of room on your card, I would suggest at the LEAST putting your blog address on it.
  • Announce the addition of social media efforts in printed or electronic newsletters. If your audience isn’t technologically savvy, include a brief overview of how to set up a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account so they can find you.
  • Send an email to existing clients announcing your presence on social media sites.
  • Distribute a periodic blog e-newsletter that provides a few sentences from recent blogs with a link to the entire text so clients and prospects can see an overview of what you’ve been writing about and click on information that pertains to them.
  • Make sure links to your blog and all your social media pages are included prominently on the homepage of your Web site.

Making sure your social media is promoted properly is important to assure your investment bears fruit. Wootton Marketing Associates, LLC understands both traditional and digital marketing and can help you integrate your social media efforts into your overall marketing strategy for the best results. Feel free to contact me for more information.

Wootton Marketing Associates provides sales and marketing services using traditional and electronic solutions primarily for B2B organizations in Atlanta. Services include public relations, web technologies, social media marketing, lead generation, research and creative services.

Optimize Your Web Site

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With many potential clients searching online for your services, a Web site is a must in your marketing mix. But simply having a site isn’t enough any more. Your site needs to be optimized so search engines find it and list it near the top of the search pages.

Some of the top things search engines look for include:

•            Presence of the key words searched

•            Frequently updated content

•            Links to your site from other sites

Surprisingly, many company sites, while including in-depth information about products or services, may not include typical phrases people search to find those products or services.

For example, imagine you own a Greek restaurant in Marietta, Georgia. Your Web site includes your restaurant name, a description of your food and your location. This should be enough to bring your site up when people are searching for Greek restaurants – right? Well, maybe. But assuming you want people from all over the metro Atlanta area to find your restaurant online, maybe not. Think for a minute how you search for restaurants … would you put Marietta Greek restaurants or Atlanta Greek restaurants into a search engine? If you put Atlanta Greek restaurants in, and your site doesn’t mention Atlanta anywhere, your restaurant is not going to come up in that search.

Thinking like a potential client will help you determine what key words they might use to look for products or services like yours. Once you’ve come up with a list of potential key words, you need to take a look at your site and see if those words are included on your site. If not, it’s time to update your content … which is another way to improve your search engine ranking. You can also do this by frequently adding news items or a blog to your site, as well as increasing your digital footprint by starting a Facebook page or Twitter or LinkedIn account.

Seeking links to your site from other sites can be time consuming, but also very helpful in improving traffic to your site. Look for opportunities to add reciprocal links to your site from trade associations, chambers of commerce, vendors or other sites such as Digg, Facebook and other social media sites.

Wootton Marketing Associates, LLC can help you define appropriate key words; update your content and identify linking opportunities. Contact me today to learn more!

Wootton Marketing Associates provides sales and marketing services using traditional and electronic solutions primarily for B2B organizations in Atlanta. Services include public relations, web technologies, social media marketing, lead generation, research and creative services.

Thoughtful Blogging Helps Improve SEO

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One of my clients has experienced improved search engine rankings lately, without optimizing his entire site. And he’s done it simply with his blog.

Blogging has several benefits – it provides new content to your site; it gives you the opportunity to add key words to your content; and, you can include links to other parts of your site or outside sites, all of which improve your rankings in search engines.

So, how can blogging help your company improve its rankings in search engines?

  1. Make sure the content is specific to your industry. It’s ok to vary it from time to time with company charity involvement or new hires, but sticking to topics about what you do best the majority of the time is advisable.
  2. Consider the key words you think your clients and customers are using when searching for you product or service and look for opportunities to use those words and phrases within the blog.
  3. Look for opportunities to link to external Web sites. If you are quoting information from another source, add a link to the entire study within your blog.
  4. Create a closing paragraph that you use every time that describes what your company does, using your keywords. For example, if your company is a law firm, you might use something like this: “Acme Law Partners in Atlanta, Georgia was established in 1987. Our attorneys specialize in family law, workers comp and intellectual property.” If your potential clients searched for Atlanta workers comp attorneys, all of those words now appear on your site.
  5. Link to appropriate sections on your own site. When discussing topics in your blog that correspond to your services and products, link to the area of your Web site where you explain what you do. Using the closing paragraph example above, perhaps that law firm would link the words family law, workers comp and intellectual property back to the corresponding pages on their site.

Please contact me for more information on how to make your blog an effective search engine optimization tool for your company.

Wootton Marketing Associates provides sales and marketing services using traditional and electronic solutions primarily for B2B organizations in Atlanta. Services include public relations, web technologies, social media marketing, lead generation, research and creative services.

 

Start Planning Now! Part III

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In the last two blogs, I covered identifying your target market, media research and selection. Once you’ve identified the correct media here are the next steps to ensuring an effective marketing plan:

Step Five: Maximize your efforts. Support your marketing efforts by ensuring they are all sending consistent messages, with consistent graphics to ensure your brand strength is not diluted. This is especially important as you branch out into multiple media platforms. Also, make sure you post any events you might be attending to your Web site, blog about them and post updates about them on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.

Step Six: Measure the results. While the success of Web-based advertising and trade show participation is relatively easy to track, print measurement can be trickier. Determine ways to track the success of these ads as well – can you use a special phone number or email address for people to reach you via these ads so you know how they found out about you? Can you ask your sales staff to ask clients how they heard about you? After a few months, if you can’t identify measurable success in a certain media, you may reconsider whether to move your dollars into an area that is more promising.

Wootton Marketing Associates provides sales and marketing services using traditional and digital solutions primarily for B2B organizations in Atlanta. Services include public relations, web technologies, social media marketing, lead generation, research and creative services. We can create a solid, effective marketing plan for your business to assure your continuing success in 2012. Please feel free to contact me to discuss!