RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
Knowing your customers' preferences and competitors' positions are the
first steps to business success. We can help you gather the information
you need to make informed business decisions based on where the money
flows and trends with staying power. Research and analysis are the best
and only way to aggregate, then objectively evaluate hunches and anecdotal
evidence of market movement.
POSITIONING & BRANDING
The second step to communicating a powerful marketing message is differentiating
yourself from existing and potential competitors based on what you now
know about customer's preferences and needs. Positioning and branding
comprise the process of honing and visualizing your message. It's a step
too often dismissed, but it can yield great returns to the bottom line
in future business. It's an investment in your company's future.
Cost-effective branding balances the identity's vision with the production
costs of maintaining that identity. We excell at building cost controls
into your brand identy and management strategy from the design phase.
You set the paramaters within which artistry will take place to ensure
your branding is cost-effective and translates to returns on your investment.
WEB & PRINT COLLATERAL
This one's a no-brainer. You have to have it. You need leave-behind printed
collateral to stay fresh in your customer's mind and avoid being a techno-fascist.
Similarly, you must have a website. Even if only for brochureware, to
have credibility with investors, partners and customers, you've got to
have it. We can help you assess the real benefits of web marketing to
your business, then help you balance reasonable technology-based marketing
with traditional forms for the greatest possible impact.
PROMOTIONS
Now that you've gotten inside your customer's head and decided what message
to emblazen there, it's time to have some fun! Promoting your business
with an array of programs like advertising, events, co-marketing, affiliates,
and link exchanges, is just the beginning. Did I mention cool t-shirts
and other SWAG?
There is one very important part of Promotion that we don't do, and that's
Public Relations. Why? Because we've seen it done well and have too much
respect for the profession to do it less than justice. But fear not, we
know the right folks to call on your behalf or will work closely partnered
with whomever you chose for PR.
TRACKING MARKETING ROI
How do you ever know if your marketing dollars are working? Isn't marketing
like boating, just a big whole into which money is poured? We've heard
it a thousand times. This perception is common among long-term investments,
which is what marketing is, an investment in future customers.
The truth is that marketing exposures and conversion-to-leads can be tracked.
It takes a well thought out system, and then immense diligence and follow through, but it can be done.
It's not easy. It's not fun. It's not glamours. No one wants to do it; except us, because we
have that kind of work ethic and tenacity.
Over time (how long depends on the nature of sales cycle and industry)
you'll determine the lag time between marketing expense and the ROI. You'll
also project marketing returns into your financial model and see how changes
to the marketing budget can dramatically impact the bottom line a year
or two from now. Tracking shifts your perspective from "marketing the
cost center" to "marketing the money maker!" If your going to spend those
dollars, let's make sure it was worth it!
SAMPLES:
Wireless Harbor - Business Analysis, Financial Projections, Brand & Identity,
Exec/Board Recruitment
TriNet
- Marketing Director -- Product Marketing Management, Web, Brand Identities
(2), Marketing & Service Communications, Sales Tools, Sales line Scripting,
etc. I did a lot of good work at TriNet, but from a branding perspective
the smallest thing I ever did, in my mind, turned out to be the most important.
I patiently stalked the TriNet.com URL until the company that owned it
was purchased, then I refused to cave on replacing TriNetEmployerGroup.com.
Tough to sell your time-saving, web-delivery when they see you've got
a 23 character URL on your business card. It was a credibility killer
from the first handshake. Now TriNet.com, that's fast!
For a free consultation or to see more of my or my associate's work, drop
me an email.
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