In marketing circles, the value proposition is often overlooked because of the urgency to produce lead-generation initiatives. After all, sales leaders want qualified leads immediately and will accept nothing less. What’s a marketing team to do?
Today, if video is not part of your marketing strategy, you’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Here are 6 reasons I feel video is one of the most powerful marketing channels to-date. And number 4 just may shock you.
Yes, your business does need a strategy to innovate. But, there is not one clear path for crafting an innovation strategy. Nor is there a one-size fits all for businesses to start the innovation process.
Have you ever wondered what business would be like if the industry you’re in suddenly changed overnight? I know this sounds rather nutty, but seriously. What would you do? What typically ushers in sudden change is technology and new ways of thinking about and solving existing customer problems.
As a career marketer, I’ve always believed that great marketing can overcome pretty much anything the brand or market throws our way. (Lack of demand, lack of funds, poor lead-gen activity, PR challenges, increasing competition, and poor high-school turnout to name a few). Time and time again, I’ve been part of marketing teams that created strategies and executed on them — all designed to overcome business challenges. However, conquering a monumental challenge shouldn’t have to be the norm for marketing teams; there are other ways to attract the students you want and need that do not have the dark cloud of a looming “crisis” overhead.
The strategy first starts in the minds of the business leaders who are trying to solve complex issues and ways to acquire new customers. But there are many missing components commonly overlooked for your strategy to be successful.
The word value as it relates to an inquiry or lead for your company is defined in different ways. Many definitions arise, and those definitions vary depending on the professional trying to define it and the hat they wear within your company.
First, let me say this is not a new topic. It may, however, be a new twist on it so stay with me. Marketing teams are strategists, constantly maneuvering resources and content to increase conversion opportunities. Simple right? Let’s continue. Much like a Chess match, there are several opportunistic moves to strategically place to get closer to your goal. Each move is performed with tools (or Chess Pieces) that have strengths. However, if you’re not planning ahead with a strategy guiding content and placement… hmm… you will soon be cornered with no place to go. Sounds like Chess and marketing have a lot more in common than people thought.
Project fatigue is disruptive and is like a disease. When unrecognized and untreated, project fatigue will negatively impact your marketing team and their productivity. Fatigue feels like your car is speeding beyond its limit and the wheels are shaking, steering safely is nearly impossible and staying under control is all but lost. Don’t do this to your marketing team.
Marketers and sales professionals need to pay closer attention to their customers’ needs, wants, and interactions. They are giving us clues to what makes them tick and how they want to be treated. The digital environment, which was the new frontier over 20 years ago, isn’t new any longer. But, it is changing rapidly and we need to keep pace with our customers’ expectations and communication preferences on digital.
As a marketing leader, one of your many critical tasks is to create a clear vision that provides a roadmap for transformation from where the business is now to where it needs to go; all while creating sustainable growth. Simple? Huh…Yeah right. All you have to do is create a self-guiding system that drives all marketing in the correct direction that leads to business goals. Oh c’mon, it’s not that hard; and once you set it up, it’s like being on auto-pilot. Hear me out and let me set the stage to give you an idea of what I am talking about.
As marketers, we are trained to create marketing content and initiatives that help attract the prospective customer. We go the extra mile to understand their motivations, pain points, questions, what customer touch points are effective and many other attributes that help create more effective marketing. We call this prospective customer a “persona.” But there’s more to understand – more on that later.
Regardless of your plan of attack after you review your data, you need to have quality data in order to make a quality assessment.
It’s no secret that marketing is all about reaching the right customers with the right message at the right time. Marketers want to know more about their audience than ever before, and the secret sauce to reach that audience most effectively is data and lots of it— right? Well, not so fast.