What is one piece of marketing advice you would provide to business owners and leaders? That is the question I posed to some of my marketing friends. As you read through each answer, think about how it can apply to your business.
■ Before hiring a marketing agency, business leaders should ask themselves, “Am I ready for a partnership, or do I just want an order taker?” Agency-client relationships are doomed from the start if you’re just looking for “yes” people. You must go into a new partnership with optimism and a certain level of trust. If you care about your business, hear out and respect other viewpoints that may lead to great insights and subsequent breakthroughs.
Stacey L. Vaselaney – President, SLV Public Relations LLC
■ At the core of any successful marketing initiative is the question “why?” And only with a clear answer to “why?” can business owners begin to define “how.” In other words, a well-researched and clearly articulated strategy will reveal effective tactics. So, my advice to business owners is to work closely with their marketing partners to thoroughly understand why they want to market themselves [differently], and be open to any methods that arise through that process.
Shane Culey – Principal, Culey Design
■ Never underestimate the power of integrative storytelling in your marketing. We’re confronting an over-saturation of mediocre, robot-driven content, so humanizing your businesses is more critical than ever in this post-pandemic era. Marketing is telling and selling. Storytelling is connecting and emotively influencing. Compelling storytelling combines strategy and vulnerability to continuously invite your audiences into your “why”. Humans will always relate to humans. In business, it’s as simple (and as hard) as that.
Michelle Loufman – Integrative Storyteller, Michelle Loufman
■ Before you spend one dollar on marketing, make sure you have clearly defined the goal … that is, what are you looking to accomplish with this marketing activity and what exactly does success look like. If you can’t answer these questions, don’t bother spending that dollar!
Matt Sonnhalter – Visions Architect, Sonnhalter
■ What gets measured, gets managed. Set success metrics and keep your eye on the data.
Anthony Milia – Author of Marketing Magnifier, and Owner of Milia Marketing
■ When thinking about how to reach your target audience, consider everything, not just what is hot and new. How can you cut through the clutter and make the most impact? An integrated campaign across channels hits the audience where they are. Direct mail and email can drive website visits and social media engagement. Think about everything – traditional and digital – for the best chance at reaching your audience.
Diane Martin – Owner, Direct Marketing Solutions LLC
■ When it comes to social media marketing, consistency is the key. Posting five times one day and then not posting again for a few weeks won’t prove effective. Commit to posting several times weekly and block the time out on your calendar to do so. Make sure posts are aimed at your target market, that the content reflects your brand and that posts encourage interaction with your audience – it’s called social media for a reason.
Heather Taylor – Boss Lady & Social Media Chick, GlitterGirl Media ●
Sue Stabe is Co-founder of Long & Short of It
