- Better than nothing (is harder than you think): http://bit.ly/cFiMEs
2010
5 New Year Marketing Resolutions
This post was last edited by Alex Cohen, on the March 8, 2010 @ 10:35 am
In the spirit of New Year here are 5 marketing resolutions to make and stick to:
1. Measure everything
“Half of my marketing works, I just don’t know which half” is no longer valid today. With the shift to digital marketing you can measure just about everything – from how many people open your emails, to where your website traffic comes from, to how many websites link to your website, to how many Twitter followers you have.
Measure everything and then use the results to optimise your marketing.
2. If You’re going to produce content, commit to it
Ever been to a blog which has 3 posts in a week but then the last one was updated over a year ago? It’s very exciting to start a blog and post your knowledge to the world but it’s also time-consuming. What about Twitter – a flurry of tweets and then nothing – have you seen this before?
Social Media is great and it works; but it has to be done consistently over time. A blog that hasn’t been updated for months gives a bad impression. If you don’t have the time, outsource it.
3. Be strategic, not tactical
This week I fancy doing some direct mail, next week a bit of email and why don’t we think about Twitter as well? Sound familiar? Marketing should be a well thought through activity that helps you achieve your business objectives. Define your objectives and develop a way that marketing can support them.
4. Become an expert
You’re probably an expert in your field anyway as that’s why you set up a business. Use this expertise – blog about it, tweet about it, comment on news stories through PR, get on the radio, talk at seminars, write white papers…spread the word and people will find you.
5. Stay up with the trends
Marketing is changing and fast. Whilst pioneering marketers will talk about the end of direct mail, tradeshows and email marketing; these channels still have authority. New marketing like social media is here to stay; here are some trends to look out for in 2010. If you haven’t already, subscribe to our blog to ensure you keep up with the trends as the year progresses.
How much should you spend on marketing in 2010?
This post was last edited by Alex Cohen, on the March 8, 2010 @ 10:40 am
With 2010 just around the corner it’s time to start thinking about what marketing you should be doing next year. Our last blog post highlighted the marketing trends we predict in 2010, this blog focuses on what your budget should be.
Of course the answer is as ambiguous as how long is a piece of string? It depends on your size, industry and money available. Here are 4 things to consider:
1. Start with the end in mind
What are your objectives from marketing? At the end of 2010 what do you want to have achieved from your marketing? More sales, a new website, a refreshed brand, coverage in the media, a product launch? Define your ‘marketing vision’ for the year and this will help define the budget.
2. What have been the most effective strategies to date?
Look back over 2009 and beyond. What marketing has worked? What hasn’t? What aren’t you sure of? It may seem obvious but do more of what worked. Anything that hasn’t worked either stop it or look at taking a fresh approach to it. If something is more effective do more of that.
3. If You’re getting an ROI spend as much as you can
If for every £1 you spend on Google AdWords you get £2 back why give AdWords a budget? You have a licence to print money – if You’re getting an ROI put as much money as you can into it as you will get it back.
4. Remember the time cost
The tools are getting easier and easier. It’s simple and cheap to use email marketing software. It’s free to be on Twitter or network on LinkedIn. But how much is your time worth to you? If you charge £50/£75/£100+ an hour; for every hour you spend writing an email marketing campaign you can’t bill that. Will you get that ROI back? This time cost needs to go into your budget. You may want to outsource it.
So, how much should you spend?
This is all well and good but you want an actual sum…well there’s no hard and fast number but we do have experience which can act as a rough guide:
- The average B2B business that believes in marketing will budget 5% – 10% of turnover on marketing
- B2C professional services may spend a bit more as it needs to reach more people
- A B2C product/website based business will spend up to 100% of turnover on marketing as it needs marketing to get it going and to grow
Whatever you do, remember if you’re marketing with a fairly static annual budget, You’re viewing marketing as an expense. Good businesses realise it is an investment.
2010 Marketing Trends for SMEs
This post was last edited by Alex Cohen, on the March 8, 2010 @ 10:42 am
2009 was the year of Twitter, selling ‘value’ and a further shift towards digital marketing, here we look ahead to what we believe may be the marketing trends in 2010:
- Online Integration: Many people have ‘played’ with Twitter in 2009, they’ve continued to do the same style of email campaigns and websites have been refreshed. It’s time to integrate these activities taking a strategic view of social media, search engine marketing and your website.
- Direct mail to email to social media: Postal strikes, rising postal costs and being unable to measure the return from direct mail has meant many businesses have turned to email marketing. Businesses will continue to do this in 2010. They will also look at moving on from email and communicating through messaging platforms on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- The growth of Bing: 2009 saw a big shake-up in the search engine market with the partnership of Microsoft and Yahoo. Bing is the offspring of this partnership. In the past Google has had the majority of market share so optimising your site for Google and advertising on Google was the thing to do. If Bing starts to take market share you will have to consider optimising your website for Bing and buying advertising space there.
- People talk: Social networking and exchange of information outside of the brand space will increase. Look for more websites using Facebook to share information with friends from those sites. More companies will become members of LinkedIn. Twitter users will spend more money on the internet than those who don’t tweet.
- Analytics to customer intelligence: As more marketing moves online it’s easier and easier to measure campaigns. In 2010 this will be taken to the next level. Analysing data and using trends to drive future marketing campaigns. In 2010 businesses will be gaining more intelligence on individual customers, segment and target.
- Customer experience: Customer’s are no longer buying products or services, they want an experience. You don’t go to Disney World for the rides, you go for the magic. Give people a reason to buy from you, make the experience enjoyable and this could revolutionise your business model in 2010.
- Relevance: We’re getting more emails and seeing more adverts and marketing messages than ever before. People don’t care about what You’re selling. They care about what it can do for them specifically. If You’re targeting professional services, break this down. What problem does this solve for a lawyer? An accountant? Marketing that works in 2010 will be relevant.
- Personalisation: Building on relevance, personalising marketing and making it 1-to-1 not 1-to-many. People like to see their name, talk to the individual, if your market is only a handful of customers create each customer their own personalised campaign. PURLs will continue to grow within direct marketing in 2010.
- Mobile: Mobile marketing will grow. How does your website look on an iPhone? Is there an iPhone app that can complement your offering? What about using Bluetooth to send messages of an offer in your shop to people walking past or texting customers who have given their permission special offers?
- Marketing budgets will increase: Many businesses cut their marketing budgets in 2009 because of the recession. Despite all the statistics saying businesses who market throughout the recession will come out stronger, many businesses cut back, either shifting activity online or cutting out activity all together. As we come out of the recession in 2010 and money starts flowing again budgets will rise. Your competitors will spend more and you will have to do the same.
