Because of the sweeping changes in the reach and role of marketing in successful organizations, we\u2019ve put together this guide to help our clients take a more strategic look at how they define and plan their annual marketing budgets and the related activities.<\/p>\n
Back in the day, a marketing budget was largely equated to a single activity – lead generation.<\/p>\n
However, because of the evolution of multi-channel communications, social media, reputation management, reliance on third party reviews, experiential marketing, content marketing, etc.. and the imperative integration of marketing strategies throughout the entire organization, lead generation is now only a small part of a successful, integrated marketing plan.<\/p>\n
Here are some quick facts about today’s current marketing trends:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>The better you execute on these more strategic areas of marketing<\/p>\n a.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0The more effective ALL lead generation activities will become 2.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>The cost of a new customer, via lead generation, is 5X more expensive than the effective retention of an existing customer To help you update your marketing perspective and better align with today\u2019s strategies, we have created this list of specific marketing recommendations. These are listed in order of importance:<\/p>\n Existing Client Engagement<\/strong> \u2013 Increases Retention & Referrals, lower cost!<\/p>\n Why Consulting<\/strong> \u2013 By engaging people to be a part of something and thanking them for this, they will have more loyalty and tell others about you.\u00a0 If they are just buying a product, this does not happen. But, by clearly conveying your Why, you can achieve this. Clearly define why you are in business and why anyone should care. Then, invite those who believe what you believe to be an engaged part of your community. Referral Marketing<\/strong> \u2013 Increases Retention & Referrals<\/p>\n NUDE Model Development<\/strong>– The only reason people give referrals is to feel good about themselves.\u00a0 There are four Novelty<\/strong> \u2013 what about the delivery of your product or service goes well beyond expectations to create novelty? Lead Generation Activities<\/strong> \u2013 Provides Potential New Clients<\/p>\n Increase The Results of All Your Lead Generation Activities<\/strong><\/p>\n More Effective Messaging & Offers<\/strong> \u2013 Instead of continually searching for the magic bullet tactic for Experiential Marketing Standards, Training & Monitoring<\/strong>\u2013 You will spend $20, $50 or maybe even $400 for each lead you generate through cold lead generation ads.\u00a0 To take full advantage of this, create standardized and repeatable experiences to convert more of these leads into customers.\u00a0 Some elements of this should include: Lead Generation to reach people who are actively looking for your services<\/strong><\/p>\n SEO<\/strong> \u2013 If done well, this will be your most cost effective lead generation activity.\u00a0 This is true because you are Lead Generation to reach people who are not necessarily looking for your services<\/strong><\/p>\n Direct Mail How to Use This Information<\/strong> 1.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>Creating a better strategy for increasing your lead generation effectiveness Be prepared. Often, marketing budgets have to increase to make sure all these activities are funded correctly, or portions of other budgets (operations, customer support, training, etc\u2026) may need to be allocated towards achieving these critical success elements.<\/p>\n Webolutions is a strategic marketing agency located in Denver, Colorado.\u00a0 If you could use some help aligning your marketing strategy to be more effective, please give us a call at 303-300-2640 to let us know how we may be able to help you.<\/strong>\u00a0 If you have any feedback or questions about this blog post, please feel free to respond below. Thank you for your time today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Because of the sweeping changes in the reach and role of marketing in successful organizations, we\u2019ve put together this guide to help our clients take a more strategic look at how they define and plan their annual marketing budgets and the related activities. Back in the day, a marketing budget was largely equated to a\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":50173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[706],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing-trends"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nb.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>The less important lead generation will become to your bottom-line profitability<\/p>\n
\n3.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>Referrals have a 300%+ higher closing rate than leads acquired through lead generations
\n4.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0If you are able to retain 90% of your existing customers and 80% of them provided you with just one referral per year, you may not need any lead generation to achieve your marketing\u00a0 goals.<\/p>\n
\nSocial Media Listening & Engagement<\/strong> \u2013 Proactive listening, and joining in the conversation
\nValuable Content Generation<\/strong> \u2013 Continually provide value through content that engages your customers
\nA Regular and Engaging eNewsletter<\/strong> \u2013 Critical to the sharing of your content and being ever-present with our customers
\nPost Service Surveys w\/Closed Loop Follow Up<\/strong> \u2013 creating this dialogue shows you care and provides feedback for Experiential Marketing Standards, Training & Monitoring. It also allows you to discover and address customer issues before they turn into negative reviews.\u00a0 This is also a perfect time to measure your Net Promoter Score (how likely your customers are to refer you to others).\u00a0 Experiential Marketing Standards, Training & Monitoring<\/strong> \u2013 These intentional and documented behaviorally standards should be based on your Why and desired brand experience. Create a database of the experience your clients have at every key touch point.\u00a0 Some of these might include:
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0How you answer your phone
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0Your sales process
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0What\u00a0 you to do celebrate with your clients
\nTouch Base Phone Calls<\/strong> \u2013 depending on the above, maybe all customers should receive a call every 6 months
\nClient Engagement Community Events<\/strong> \u2013 summer picnic or annual open house<\/p>\n
\nfactors that allow them to feel good about themselves:<\/p>\n
\nUtility<\/strong> \u2013 Does every one of your clients understand the full scope of services you are able to provide?\u00a0 The more people that understand all that you are able to, the more people to which they can refer you.
\nDependability<\/strong> \u2013 Ensure that the novel experiences for which you become known and are referred for are always dependable.
\nEconomy<\/strong> \u2013 make sure the experience you deliver, along with your product or service is worth the price of time or money your customers give you.<\/p>\n
\nyour ads to perform better, we recommend that you create better, more engaging ads.\u00a0 You can achieve this by
\nIncorporating your Why and differentiating your brand. Again, if you share what you believe about the world and what you stand for as company, instead of pitching you product or service, you will receive a better response rate.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0How you answer the phone
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0How you engage the lead to create an amazing experience
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0How you describe your services
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0Follow up emails and communications
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0Etc\u2026<\/p>\n
\nseen 24\/7, there is no incremental cost per lead, you can proactively target words with the highest search
\nvolumes and everyone seeing your listing is actively looking for your services
\nPay Per Click<\/strong> \u2013 If done well (ads, landing pages, call buttons, offers, etc\u2026) this is also very effective, again
\nbecause everyone who clicks your ad is actively looking for your services.<\/p>\n
\nRadio Remotes
\nBillboards
\nPrint Ads
\nTV Commercials
\nLead Gen Community Events<\/p>\n
\nIf you already have a reasonable customer base, the majority of your marketing efforts should be allocated to Existing Client Engagement & Referral Marketing.\u00a0 If Lead Generation is still a necessity, you should follow the order of activities listed above:<\/p>\n
\n2.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0Conduct lead generation to reach people who are actively looking for your services
\n3.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>Then, as a last resort, conduct lead generation to reach people who are not necessarily looking for your services<\/p>\n