Archive for STRATEGY – Page 7

Posted by DBC Digital on
 June 25, 2012

Establishing Your Inbound Marketing Pipeline to Success

 In a recent post about social media marketing, we posed the challenge that a business needs to prepare for success. Naturally, one cannot simply hire a commissioned sales person or two, throw up a website, maybe a business blog, and then start shopping for a new Porsche convertible. A business must develop a well-formulated strategy which will inevitably lead to increased revenue.

That’s basic business 101, which, in former days, meant allocating a small fortune towards marketing expenses. At DBC Digital, we’ve found that inbound marketing will minimize your costs and maximize your results, while helping you establish a sales pipeline to follow on your path to success. Here are some fundamentals to remember:

1. Be specific. Sure, that Porsche would be nice, but how is your success measured in business metrics? We suggest that you utilize the readily available inbound marketing analysis tools to determine what it will take to achieve your goals. For instance, does it mean expanding your social media presence? Or, what happens when you achieve a factor of “X” in Google’s search engine rankings?   How will you take the leads that you gather through your inbound marketing activities and convert them into tangible revenue? Lots of questions! Each business should know the answers to these, and many more. And each business is different. Know yours!

2. Know your prospects. Even the most sophisticated social media marketing campaign on Pinterest will avail you little if your prospects are auto mechanics. ‘Nuff said? Find out who your potential customers are and where they congregate online. Join them wherever they are. Make yourself visible. Get to know them. Those are real people behind the statistics you need to rely upon.

3. Solve their problems. What a great way to convert prospects into leads! Educate yourself thoroughly on the issues that challenge your prospects. Then find ways in which you can position yourself as an expert in their industry. You can easily do this through a variety of inbound marketing venues – webinars, blogs, videos and all the appropriate social media forums.

4. Actively engage your sales leads. Obviously, your goal is to convert your leads into customers. You understand them. You know their obstacles. They trust you. They know you can help them achieve their objectives. Give them a variety of means to consummate that confidence in you, both through both traditional and inbound marketing. They will also appreciate the convenience that you offer!

 

How does your business develop its pipeline through inbound marketing? What kinds of questions did you have to answer to achieve your success? Please share them in our Comments section below. At DBC Digital in Denver, we appreciate your involvement here with us!

 

 

Greg Sherwood is CEO of DBC Digital, a marketing agency based in Denver, Colorado.  With over 30 years of marketing experience with traditional and inbound (internet) marketing, Greg helps mid-sized businesses get a better return on their marketing dollars.  

You can reach Greg at (303) 357-5757 or at dbc@dbcdigital.com

Categories : INTERNET MARKETING, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, STRATEGY
Posted by DBC Digital on
 June 21, 2012

Reduce Marketing Expenses with Inbound Marketing

Where Should I be Spending My Marketing Dollars to Get the Best Return?

As the key decision-maker in your company, whether it’s a start-up operating on a shoestring budget or an established firm seeking to increase its profit margins, inbound marketing will help you save money while maximizing your results.

 

With Inbound marketing, time management skills are essential, as is wisdom in deciding which  tools and social media forums will work best for you. Is Facebook right? Twitter? LinkedIn? (And just WHAT is Pinterest anyway?) Do you blog? Should you? In addition to your website, are there other venues that are appropriate for your business? Newsletters, whitepapers, videos, ebooks…

How much is all this going to cost?!

Actually, not as much as you may think.

 

Re-allocate Expenses

Since most of the Inbound marketing tools are available at little or minimal cost, budgets that have been previously dedicated to significant advertising costs can now be re-deployed towards other company objectives, without losing the benefits of advertising. In fact, since effective inbound marketing is so eminently shareable, it even creates a Word-Of-Mouth buzz that can be instantly shared. Now that’s real Top Of Mind presence!

With social media, it is possible to create an entire community of followers and spread your message through your marketing at almost no cost other than your time (which, of course, IS a cost). Not only can your followers communicate with you directly, but they can also speak with each other through forums you establish.

You might even consider a webinar to bring everyone together at the same time. What a great way to stay in touch with the needs of your customers…and to increase both sales and profits for your business!

 

Traditional Marketing Still Has a Place at the Table

Here at DBC Digital, we’re not suggesting that you completely dispense with traditional marketing. There is still great inherent value to it. Direct mail, brochures and catalogues can still be employed effectively and profitably. It is our contention, however, that a company can now be much more strategic in its placement of these traditional marketing approaches. Most of these, if not all, can be “re-purposed” online. In today’s economy, it’s good to know that these traditional costs are no longer obligatory.

You Can Compete with the “Bigs” in Many Ways

You had a vision of success when you began your business. You may not be able to afford to produce cable TV commercials on your budget, but you can compete with the bigger companies in areas of social media and webinars.

You can now reach the entire globe or simply your local Denver neighborhood, all with a minimal investment in inbound marketing.

 

In Denver, inbound marketing is our passion. We want to hear from you wherever you are. Please let us know about your experiences in the comments section below.

sherwood sig v5

Categories : INTERNET MARKETING, SEO, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, STRATEGY
Posted by DBC Digital on
 June 7, 2012

Social Media Marketing – Part 1

Like traditional marketing, social media marketing in Denver requires that you connect with your potential customers in a way that is meaningful to them.

The first step in creating a foundation for success in any marketing approach is to identify who you want to reach and then tailor your approach and message to that profile.

If you want to maximize your reach with your prospects, social media marketing is one of the most effective methods available. But you do need a strategy.  The challenge is that Social media marketing isn’t linear (see chart below). You will need to consider where your prospects are finding and sharing their information and how your prospects are using the various social media platforms.  In other words,

What’s the Plan, Stan (or Mary or Phil…)?

 

Step One

The above chart is only a sampling of the myriad of ways you can connect with your prospects, so Step One is to create a profile (or persona) of your targeted prospects.  (Just like an FBI agent.  Well, not really like an FBI agent, but you get the idea.)

The easiest way to do this is to research who your best customers have been and create a “persona” for each of these best profiles. In other words, identify your primary audience, what their interests are and how they like or want to be communicated with.

This step will tell you the best Social Media platform to use to build your connections with this group.

Your plan will be specific to your business requirements. In virtually all cases though you will need to:

  • Establish realistic objectives (be ready to adjust these objectives based on the success of your plan)
  • Focus on your offer’s content. (What value you offer in exchange for their business.)
  • Use the most effective social media platform based on the profile you have created
  • Track your results, adjust, repeat.

The Beauty of Social Media Marketing

Your prospects are going to be so inspired by the power of your message, and by the value that you offer with your brand, that they will want to share their new-found knowledge with friends.  Or not.  If not, be patient and keep to your schedule and maintain consistency.  You will get there.

Perhaps your research was so thorough that you’ve already established a presence in your prospects’ friends’ virtual neighborhoods. If you’re not there yet, don’t worry. Most of the heavy lifting is going to be done for you by your newfound followers as they share and spread the word about your business.

Your new followers and clients will bring you credibility in their circles and give you a foothold to pursue a more engaged presence with them and their connections. You will learn their buying behaviors and you will better understand their motivations and their needs.

Your social media marketing message should be constantly adjusted as you learn more about your targets’ profiles and personas.  Be bold, but be consistent in your efforts.  While social media marketing doesn’t usually explode overnight, be prepared for a steadily increasing level of success in this new arena.

In our next post, we’ll take a closer look at the mechanics of successful social media marketing. Until then, go ahead and let yourself get a little carried away with the possibilities that social media can bring to your business.

Categories : INTERNET MARKETING, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, STRATEGY
Posted by Plumb Marketing on
 April 11, 2012

Blog Marketing – Why Successful Companies Use Blogs to Grow Their Business

blog marketing

DBC Digital, blog marketing.

Did you know that nearly 40% of US companies use blogs for marketing purposes?

Do you have a blog set up on your website yet? 

Here are some compelling reasons to consider it:

  • Denver-area companies that blog receive 55% more website visitors than those companies that do not have a blog.
  • B2C (Business-to-Consumer) companies that blog receive 88% more leads per month than those that don’t.
  • B2B (Business-to-Business) companies that blog get 67% more leads per month than those that don’t.

Blog Marketing – Why Successful Companies Use Blogs to Grow Their Business

Why You Should have a Blog

Marketing data clearly shows that blogging is an essential piece of the inbound marketing success and directly relates to better business results.

But just talking about your dog or your drive in to work today won’t dramatically transform your marketing into blog marketing. Your blog has to be well-optimized and promoted, and most of all, rich with valuable content.

Benefits

A blog is a long-term marketing asset that will bring traffic and leads to your business. It introduces you as a thought leader in your industry and allows you to earn people’s trust.

The impact of business blogging extends to several major marketing benefits that many marketers often overlook.

First, business blogging helps you increase your success with search engine optimization (SEO). The more blog posts you publish, the more indexed pages you create for search engines to display in their results.

In other words, business blogging helps you rank higher in search engines and get found when people search for your industry-specific products or services. Thus, your blog helps you to attract “organic” (non-paid) traffic and to familiarize prospects with your business.

Frequency Matters

The frequency of blogging also plays an important role. In fact, research from HubSpot (an Inbound Marketing software company) shows that companies that blog 20 or more times in a month experience the biggest returns in web traffic and leads (over twice as much traffic than those that blog fewer than four times per month).  While you may not be able to blog that often, set your goal to blog at least twice a week in order to see a nice return on your efforts.

Tip: Make sure the titles of your blog posts incorporate those keywords that people enter in search engines as they look for the services or products you offer. This will help you get found higher up on the search engine results page.

Thought Leadership

Your blog is an asset that positions you as a thought leader over time. So when you have industry-specific information to share, your blog will help you earn people’s trust and help keep you and your company stay top-of-mind in your community.

What to Write (Blog) About:

The easiest way to get started blogging is to be a problem solver.

Think about the questions your customers ask you most often.  What are the biggest problems you hear about from your customers? What are your answers and suggestions to those issues?  With that in mind, write a practical and non-product focused blog that offers effective solutions to one of those problems. Solve your customers’ problems with your content.

Build Thought Leadership

Your blog can also act as a platform to showcase your expertise on an industry subject. It is the perfect place to demonstrate your knowledge of the industry and make a clear distinction between you, your brand and your competition.

Earn People’s Trust

FACT: 71% of respondents say that a company’s blog affects their purchasing decisions.

In another survey, HubSpot asked respondents how much blogs affected their purchasing decisions. (“How often does one proceed to a purchase decision with blogging research?”) 71% of respondents said that blogs affect their purchasing decisions either somewhat or very much.

The Take Away

Blogging is a simple and cost-effective way to increase your presence on the web and to increase your business.

If you have been hesitating about starting a blog, jump in.  It is important to remember that you will need to blog consistently for at least six months before you will start to see the real benefits of increased traffic and revenue from your blogging efforts, so hang in there!

Do you have other reasons why or why not to use blogs to grow your business?  Let us know by commenting below!  Go ahead!  We can take it!

If you need help setting up a blog on your website, give us a call at (303) 357-5757 or email us atdbc@dbcdigital.com , and we’ll show you how we can help.

greg_sherwood_photo_feb_2012_v8Greg Sherwood is CEO of DBC Digital, a marketing agency based in Denver, Colorado.  With over 30 years of marketing experience with traditional and inbound (internet) marketing, Greg helps mid-sized businesses get a better return on their marketing dollars.  

You can reach Greg at (303) 357-5757 or at dbc@dbcdigital.com

Categories : BLOGGING, STRATEGY
Posted by DBC Digital on
 March 2, 2012

Inbound Marketing or Sales Reps: Which Comes First?

We had a client ask us the other day if they should invest in Inbound Marketing (SEO, Blogging, Social Media, etc.) services before or after they hire new sales reps.

With the economy finally starting to make gains, Denver-based companies are looking at what they can do to move out of survival mode and start growing again. Since more leads and new customers are the key to growth, many companies start thinking about hiring additional sales people to begin building new prospects.

That is logical and we are big fans of great sales people.

But with the growth of Inbound Marketing, hiring new salespeople right away may not always be the best answer for your company.  At least not early in the recovery cycle.  In many cases, jumpstarting lead generation and improving ROI might be better handled through investing in Inbound Marketing.

Why? Here are the top five reasons:

1. Inbound Marketing Generates leads around-the-clock.  No matter how dedicated your potential new sales professionals are, they can’t generate leads around-the-clock like Inbound Marketing does. Humans need to eat and sleep!  With Inbound Marketing, your content and offers attract leads on your visitor’s schedule, without any “after-hours” restrictions. In many cases, the after-hours time-frame is when many of your prospects have time to look for solutions to their challenges and find your information.

2. Multiple “experts” for the price of one – When hiring an Inbound Marketing agency, your organization has access to a marketing strategist, a social media expert, an experienced web designer, a content developer and a data analyst for about the same cost as adding one sales rep.

3. Qualified leads, every time – Because prospects “self-identify” themselves and willingly share their contact information in exchange for access to your content, every lead is pre-qualified before a phone call is ever made.  Potential buyers come to you rather than you having to search them out.

4. No leads left behind – Even with the best intentions, personal follow-up sometimes falls short. Fortunately, there are very effective tools offered from a number of Inbound Marketing software companies (HubSpot, Marketo) that offer great Lead “Nurturing” tools that will automate your follow-up communications based on your pre-set timing and messages. As a result, leads don’t fall through the cracks!

5. Reduced cost per lead – In 2011, the average cost per lead for outbound (traditional marketing) -dominated businesses was $373 (from Hubpsot’s 2012 State of Inbound Marketing) per lead, while businesses using Inbound Marketing services reported their lead costs averaged $143. Inbound marketing-dominated organizations experience a 62% lower cost-per-lead than outbound marketing organizations.

Again, make no mistake.  We are big supporters of adding salespeople to your team.  But by implementing your Inbound Marketing system first, you will generate more qualified leads, and you’ll be letting your sales people do what they do best – build personal relationships and close deals!

What’s your take?  Do you disagree?  Let us know!

Leave your comments below…

 

 

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