Marketers today have many flexible ways of generating and nurturing leads at a reasonable cost with minimal time invested. These tactics are often classified according to their position on the sales funnel (the process where prospects are guided down a “funnel” which either nurtures them into profitable clients or filters them out as a mismatch along the way).  The more universally appealing, attention-getting tactics are at the top of the sales funnel while more refined strategies fall closer to the middle of the funnel.  Here is a closer look at a few of the trends that we’ve been following.

Whitepaper Marketing

The use of Whitepapers as a lead generation tool is a great way to educate readers and help people make buying decisions.  This type of content marketing has proved to be an effective tool for generating B2B leads and guiding potential clients down the sales funnel.

Software Trials

If your organization sells software, allowing users the benefit of trying software before deciding to purchase it is an extremely effective marketing technique.  Since this technique is fairly specific to the client’s needs it falls towards the middle of the sales funnel.   Also known as shareware, many developers (both large and small) are seeing results when they offer a limited or condensed version of their software to potential clients.

Case Studies

Case Studies are a great tool to have available to your sales team and do double duty as a wonderful reference program.  As a marketing platform, case studies are a straightforward and specific way to get new prospective clients on board.

Webinars

Both live and on-demand webinars are quickly replacing face-to-face meetings as one of the most potent ways to sell your product or service.  Webinars are a great way to spread the message about your brand and sell to new leads in real time.

But as Spider-Man says, with great power comes great responsibility. SMS marketing is extremely effective but can also backfire horribly if it is used recklessly or without very careful planning and preparation. And sometimes even the most well crafted SMS marketing campaign can fall under the “SPAM” banner, which will not only kill your business, but it could also get you banned from cellular networks and occasionally even sued.

Thankfully, there are ways to utilize SMS marketing legally and effectively. These tips will help you get the most bang for your advertising buck while also keeping you off of the blacklist and out of the courtroom.

1. Never send messages without permission. Basically, this means the only time it is ever acceptable to send SMS messages is if each individual recipient has agreed to be contacted in such a manner. Be extremely careful if you purchase a list of cell phone numbers, as some may not have opted-in.
2. Give customers the option to opt-out. Sometimes people sign up for SMS marketing without realizing it. That’s why it’s very important to give all customers the ability to easily opt out.
3. Control how customers opt-out. Redirecting customers to your website in order to opt-out can generate tons of new business. Not only do you give them the option to receive updates in the future via other marketing avenues, but you also drive more traffic to your website.
4. Make your call to action obvious. A vague, non-descriptive text message will be regarded as spam by virtually everyone who receives it. As with any form of advertising, a direct call to action is essential for converting sales. The character limit in SMS messages can make this more challenging, but it is a crucial step in the process.
5. Make it beneficial for customers. Sending a message with nothing more than a sales pitch will turn most customers off. However, if you include an incentive like a coupon or discount code, a potential customer will be much more likely to follow up on the message.
6. Don’t use too many abbreviations. While it might be tempting to abbreviate most of the words in your message in order to conserve space and characters, you should resist. Not only does it make your message look unprofessional, but it’s also plain difficult to read. Short, concise, and correct is the way to go.
7. Send messages sparingly. Bombarding a person with messages on a daily basis is a sure-fire way to get them to opt-out. But your campaign won’t convert many sales or have much of an impact if you rarely send messages. Schedule regular messages at certain intervals throughout the month and you’ll keep your business in the thoughts of customers without being distracting.
8. Consider the time. Because SMS marketing is instantaneous and immediately calls attention to itself, you should be very careful when picking a time to send a message. Nobody wants to be woken up at 6:00 a.m. by a 15% off coupon for frozen yogurt.

Despite the potential pitfalls of SMS marketing, it is still undoubtedly one of the best ways to get a message directly in the hands of potential customers. If you play it safe and abide by the rules while at the same time delivering a high quality marketing campaign, you’ll quickly see just how powerful it can be.

The enormous reach of the Internet is undeniable, and while that kind of exposure can definitely do wonders for your business, it can also cause significant harm. Consider this scenario: A potential customer hears about your business and decides he needs your services. He types your company name into a search engine, and four of the top 10 results that show up include the words “rip-off,” “scam” or “fraud” in their headlines. If he’s even the least bit cautious about spending his money, he will quickly expand his search to find other businesses with squeaky clean reputations that look more trustworthy.

Restoring your company’s reputation
The unfortunate reality of doing business on the Internet is just how vulnerable you are to damaging and often baseless criticism. Even worse, those negative comments tend to make their way directly to the top of the search engine results, often right next to the link to your company’s website. It’s like buying an advertisement in a newspaper only to have someone else buy the space next to it with an ad telling would-be customers to take their hard-earned money elsewhere. In other words, it kills business.

Thankfully, the results on the top search engines are dynamic and constantly changing. The negative comments that are at the top of the page today might not be there in a year’s time. With proper online reputation management, they can be pushed back to the second page, third page or beyond. The most effective way of doing this is through SEO (searching engine optimization). By updating all of the relevant information about your business with content that is easily searchable and links back to your business, you can populate the top search results on Google, Bing, Yahoo!, etc., with original content that displays you and your business in a more positive light.

5 Methods for Restoring Your Online Reputation
Using proper SEO, it is possible to bury any negative comments or reviews about you and your business deep within the search engine results – away from the first pages and out of sight from potential customers! The most popular methods for this are as follows:

1. Social media and original content. In the past decade, blogs and other forms of social media have exploded in popularity, becoming extremely powerful tools for people to quickly spread information and ideas. They can also be very useful for building up and repairing your business’s online reputation. Posting a blog on your website with regular updates is a good way to increase traffic, as is utilizing Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to promote your business and built contacts. The more times you get your business’s name on the Internet and the more links there are directing back to it, the more control you have over the search results.

2. Use online reviews to your advantage. Online reviews are everywhere – restaurants, schools, computers, businesses, and even doctors are all subject to intense scrutiny by anyone with a keyboard and occasionally — an agenda. Unfortunately, most reviews on the Internet tend to be negative. The customers and clients who receive spectacular service are grateful, but few think of spreading the word on the Internet. It is the people who have an axe to grind that make the most noise. However, it is possible to reverse this trend. Encourage your customers and clients to leave feedback on your website or on other review sites. Over time, the positive comments will begin to drown out the negative minority, and your business’s reputation will recover.

3. Take advantage of press releases. Press releases are vastly underused by most businesses today. While they were once only useful for journalists and newspaper reporters seeking a new story or article, they are now available for the public to read on the Internet. Digital press releases have some major perks: they almost immediately rank very highly in Google, they are delivered directly to a sizeable number of readers, and they represent a way to advertise your business. Consider purchasing a few press releases anytime you have positive news to announce about your business. Not only will you benefit by having more items under your control appearing highly on search engine results, but you will also get positive publicity. Press releases are a win-win situation for any business owner.

4. Respond to the criticism. Although it’s common for disgruntled customers/clients to post baseless complaints or to even falsify information altogether, most of the negative reviews posted online do have some basis in reality. Perhaps the customer felt overcharged or did not have the terms of a contract fully explained to them. Whatever the case may be, it is important that you respond to the customer both privately and publicly. If the complaint is on a message board, create an account and reply to the message. Many potential customers do at least some research online before spending money on a new product or service, and if they see that you have made an effort to appease angry customers or clarify the situation, they will be more likely to do business with you.

5. If all else fails, try to get the comment removed. Sometimes no matter what you do to influence a negative page’s search engine ranking, it will stubbornly remain on the first page of results. If this happens and if the complaint is truly biased or has even been resolved, you may be able to consult the webmaster and have the comment taken down. This is generally considered a “last resort” scenario as it can often fail. It’s much easier to get the comment removed if it’s from a message board or highly moderated fraud/rip-off report website. If you can provide legitimate documentation showing the problem was resolved or prove the comment is unjust, the webmaster may delete the comment entirely.

They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that’s certainly true when it comes to managing your online reputation. The best way to deal with negative comments is to make sure they don’t happen in the first place. But if excess negativity does make its way online, you have the power to fight back by following the tips above.

Advertisers have been quick to catch on to this change, and have adapted their strategies in response to it. Now, there’s an entirely new segment of marketing called mobile marketing that is generating huge amounts of sales and profit for companies that are taking part in it.

What is mobile marketing?
Mobile marketing in its most basic form is advertising that is viewed on mobile, wireless devices. One of the first examples of mobile marketing was “text to win” sweepstakes that were utilized by big companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s in the early half of the past decade. Consumers would text a certain code to a specific number, and afterward would receive a coupon or discount code in return.

Eventually, more companies began to catch on, and some began sending SMS advertisements directly to potential customers, alerting them of upcoming deals or offering exclusive discounts. With the advent of smart phones, the game changed again. Now, mobile marketing has taken on a much more visual approach, with many ads incorporating photographs, audio, video, and flashy animations in order to entice consumers to purchase a product or service.

Methods of mobile marketing
Today, businesses utilize mobile marketing as much as they do any other marketing avenue because it can be personalized and direct. Some of the specific methods they employ include:

-          The traditional text and win sweepstakes
-          Voting and viewer participation for TV programs, such as American Idol
-          Direct advertisements
-          Coupon deals including sites like Groupon and Living Social
-          Advertisement deals with mobile video game developers
-          Branded mobile apps for smart phones
-          Targeted advertising based on GPS data
-          Ad-supported movies and television shows designed for mobile devices

These are just a few of the ways advertisers are utilizing the explosive growth of smart phones and tablets as a way to promote products and services. As mobile devices continue to grow in popularity, advertisers will begin concentrating their efforts on reaching people through these formats and less through traditional media like television, print, and radio.

Show Me the Money!
The answer is that almost all of them use the exact same money making methods as everyone else – they just use them more effectively and have a wider audience. Here’s just a few of the ways the top bloggers make money:

• Pay-per-click advertising
• CPM (page-view) advertising
• Banner advertisements
• Affiliate marketing
• Premium content
• Private, paid forums
• Surveys
• Donations
• Selling products or services
• Consulting

As you can see, there are lots of proven ways to make money from a blog. The only problem with this is that you’ll never see a single penny from these revenue sources unless you have one important element: visitors. If you don’t have any readers beyond your mother, your best friend, and your next door neighbor, there simply won’t be anyone to click on the ads or to buy your affiliate’s products, which means no money for you.

Driving traffic to your blog
Unfortunately, just getting readers isn’t enough. You need LOTS of readers – the more the better. But as you’ll quickly find out, obtaining a sizeable, regular audience is by the far the most difficult aspect of blogging, especially when you’re just starting out. To complicate matters, there are millions of blogs you’re competing against (156 million as of Feb 2011), and nearly every niche imaginable already has several blogs devoted it – some of which are already quite profitable and high profile. Breaking into that niche and turning a profit for yourself may seem hopeless, but there are some guidelines you can follow to drive more traffic to your blog.

1. Be original. This is by far the most important tip for would-be bloggers. You can’t expect to make any money, let alone have any readers, if the content you are posting is ripped off from other sites. Readers are savvy and will be able to instantly detect half-hearted writing or content that is not from your own imagination, and once they’ve clicked away from your blog, there’s a good chance that they’re gone for good. If you frequently create content that is original, thoughtful, and thoroughly researched, you’ll have a much better chance at landing a repeat audience than all of the other “copy-cat” blogs. In other words: Don’t write junk. Be credible. Get readers.
2. Write about your passion. Don’t expect to gain any readers by writing about things you’re uninterested in. This might sound like obvious advice, but if you’re only writing for traffic, it will be plainly obvious to everyone who visits your blog. Think about what inspires you and what you find interesting. Then devise a way to turn that into something that will draw readers. You have to think of your blog as a potential full-time job – except you get the freedom to pick exactly what you want to do on a daily basis. Writing about things you like will motivate you to write more often, and regular updates are a great way to pull more and more visitors to your site.
3. Self-Promote. In the beginning, promoting your blog requires the same legwork as promoting a new business. You have to get your name out there in a compelling way so that people will have a reason to click on your blog, and ideally, your affiliate links and banner ads. One way to do this is to get active in an online community that is centered on a topic relevant to your blog. If you blog about digital photography, for example, you might consider joining several message boards and forums related to the topic. Many message boards are read by thousands of people on a daily basis, and having a link to your blog in your “signature” will provide great exposure for it – especially if you become a trusted and valued member of the community.
4. Be controversial. If you’re simply looking for an easy, short-term traffic boost, one of the quickest ways to get it is to write something controversial. You should be extremely careful with this approach (see tip #2) as it can quickly earn you scorn (depending on the subject matter) and you may end up losing the readers you already have. There are countless topics that are considered “hot” at any given time (social issues, politics, war, etc), and delivering a well researched and thoughtful opinion piece about one of these can drive serious traffic to your blog. This works best if it is already tied in with the theme of your blog – in other words, if you’re writing about vegan food and suddenly deliver a manifesto decrying the status of immigration, you may raise a few eyebrows and turn off some of your readers. Tread carefully with this one.
5. Make effective use of SEO techniques. SEO stands for search engine optimization. The more highly optimized your site is for keywords, the higher it shows up on Google, Bing, and other search engines when people search for a relevant topic. Getting a high search result ranking for multiple keywords should be the number one goal of all bloggers. It is the best way to drive traffic to your site. There is a wealth of information on the Internet about SEO techniques, but they all boil down to one thing: proper keyword usage throughout your website, your headlines, and your content. If you can get your blog to the top page of Google, your monthly readership will explode – and so will your income.

Even if you perfectly utilize all of the previous tips and have your blog primed to make money and attract a huge amount of readers, you still have to play the waiting game. Very few blogs become successful overnight. Remember, most of the successful bloggers didn’t turn a healthy profit until after their blog had been up for at least one year.

In this case, patience is the key. Give yourself achievable, short term goals to reach. Try to improve your SEO skills every day and use things like Google analytics to see how your blog is ranking and who is visiting it. See if you can increase the amount of money it makes in a month by 25% — even if it’s just increasing a couple of dollars. And most importantly, keep posting quality content no matter what. Your blog could be one post away from going viral.

Here are links to Parts One and Two, for those who missed them.  Now, on to Part Three!

Test it
Once you have your value proposition set, it is time to test it.  The ideal way is to get feedback from your customers in order to determine whether you are measuring up to your promises.  There are a variety of ways to request and receive this feedback.  The important thing is to make sure that you are getting an honest assessment of two things.  First, how are you performing for your customers?  Does your performance measure up to your value proposition?  Secondly, is this what truly matters to your customers?  Your value proposition must propose something of actual value, otherwise it becomes a misnomer.  Because you may discover other things which your customers find more valuable, you will likely make changes to your value proposition throughout the testing phase.

Prove it
You may be thinking, “Isn’t this what we were doing during the testing phase?  Weren’t we proving to our customers that we will live up to the value proposition?”  Well, yes.  What I mean here is to prove to your potential customers who are reading your value proposition for the first time that you will live up to it.  This is where you allow your current customers to do the talking for you through testimonials.  Few things are more compelling for prospective customers than reading genuine praise for your company from individuals just like them.  How can you include customer testimonials into your value proposition?  Clearly you cannot include a three or four sentence verbatim testimonial, but there are ways to allude to your customers’ appreciation within the testimonial.  For example, “Our clients appreciate that our prices are 20% lower, while our product lasts 70% longer than our competitors,” or “4 out of 5 customers say our sushi is the best they’ve ever tasted!”

Exceptions to every rule
This section exists in part to be interesting and in part as a bit of caution.  Let’s do a little mix and match game with a few value propositions with which you may be familiar.

____ Everyday low prices                                                                                                          1.  BMW

____ The ultimate driving machine                                                                                         2.  Lending Tree

____ When banks compete, you win                                                                                      3.  Walmart

Okay, these are more like slogans than genuine value propositions.  For these brands which are so immediately recognizable, these slogans work.  However, imagine that you have never heard of Walmart.  If you read, “Everyday low prices,” you will think, “Great – low prices on what?”  The point is not to fall into the trap of using a cute catchphrase as your value proposition.  While it may work on occasion, more often than not when a prospective customer is trying to compare your company to others in order to determine which is going to best meet his or her needs, expectations, etc… that customer wants to hear you tell them exactly what you can provide which is better than those competitors.

We hope that this series has been helpful to you in establishing the importance of value propositions to the branding process.  When undertaking a marketing effort such as this, don’t be afraid to seek help, research and seek out as many resources as possible, and most of all, don’t be discouraged by some trial and error.  Once you have completed the process, developed a stellar value proposition, and begin to see it working for you, it will all have been worth it.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any feedback and/or questions!

Where to begin
Time for the introspection mentioned above.  Examine your business model, what you provide to your clients and how you provide it, and consider this:  “What three reasons should prospective customers choose me over my competitors?”  Objectivity (as much as is possible) is key here!  The difficulty in this exercise is that you are more closely familiar with your business, product, or service than anyone else.  Make every effort to pull yourself outside of the company persona and really ponder what it is that you would value most, what is important to you when looking for the product or service you provide.  The best way to do this is to ask others:  current customers, colleagues, and friends.  The answer to this question, along with the input of others should give you a great deal of insight into the tangible benefits that will allow you to move on to constructing or recreating your value proposition.  It may also reveal areas of improvement to make your business better meet the value proposal.

Contrast with competitors
It is important to differentiate yourself from your competitors.  The three reasons exercise above should be an excellent way to start.  The point here is to tell your prospective customers what you do better than your competitors.  It is okay to match them in certain areas, as long as you draw a clear distinction on some element of value that will cause a prospective customer to choose you and give you a competitive advantage.  This will likely require you to delve into the introspection and querying mentioned above, particularly depending upon whether you serve businesses or consumers.

Refine it
This can be the most difficult part for many people.  Many business and marketing gurus suggest that you should refine your value proposition into a single, clear and concise sentence, and that is a great idea.  Clear and concise is great, but it must also be believable!  Going back to our earlier example, if a prospective customer reads your value proposal, no matter what it is, and his or her first though is, “There’s no way that’s true,” then there is no way that he or she will give you a chance to prove it.  I can’t stress enough to steer clear of outlandish claims.

In Part III we will take a few other important elements in creating a value proposition, as well as a few examples.  Remember that this is an essential part of branding your business and should not be taken lightly.  For some, this comes naturally and very little effort is needed to come up with an instantly credible and stellar value proposition.  If that is not you, not to worry!  Please let us know if you have any questions, and we can also guide you to some good resources on the topic.  Thanks for reading, and see you next time!

According to Investopedia, a value proposition is, “a business or marketing statement that summarizes why a consumer should buy a product or use a service.”  In other words, it’s your opportunity to separate yourself from the pack, and give yourself the leg up on the competition.  The idea is to win customers and to provide exemplary service in order to retain those customers.  We’ll tackle a few important elements briefly here, before discussing some steps to building your value proposition.

For customers
An important distinction is that we are discussing a prospective customer value proposition, i.e. a strategy for winning new customers.  Value propositions may be constructed for current customers and various constituency groups like employees, partners or investors.  Though the value proposition structure is going to be similar, the goals of each differ, and so the focus here will be specifically for customer-building.

Realistic and deliverable
You should be able to deliver on your promise(s).  Suppose that you own an HVAC company.  Desiring to win customers, you determine that your value proposition is, “We are the least expensive in the world, we can repair any HVAC unit and have it running BETTER than new, no matter the problem, and we will never be late to, or cancel, an appointment!”  Well… okay.  There are several things wrong here, but most obviously, these are promises which can’t possibly be kept.  In addition to the likelihood that many prospective customers will be turned off by the hyperbole, the first time you tell a customer that their HVAC unit must be replaced because there’s a family of badgers living in it, they are going to be angry that you couldn’t repair it as you’d promised.  Clearly this is an extreme example, but it illustrates the point:  deliverable promises.

In Part II of this series, we will explore how to go about developing your company’s value proposition, as well as exploring some examples.  We hope this has been helpful, and we always encourage you to contact us with any questions.

Here are 10 “Do’s” and “Dont’s” for creating a successful email ad:

DO compose the ad using a combination of HTML and text
The use of graphics will draw the reader’s attention better than text alone.  It also allows for brand recognition through the use of a company logo and images of products.  The inclusion of text will help the SPAM score as well as to allow the recipients to read the portion of the email, should their ESP automatically block images.

DON’T feel that you need to close every sale with your email ad
Studies have shown that email ads that are too busy, offer too many choices, and present too much of a “hard sell” perform less effectively.  The primary purpose of your email ad is to get people to click and visit your website or landing page.  That is where the selling should take place.

DO keep the ad clear, concise and specific
This will keep the reader’s attention.  Create a great header to “hook” the reader.  Include three to five details about the product or service in the body of the advertisement.  Finally, be sure to have a call to action such as “Visit our Website.”  The temptation can be to want to tell your reader everything about your product, service, or company in the email.  But, as stated above, long ads often overwhelm the reader and have lower response rates.

DO maintain a greater text-to-image ratio
A ratio of approximately 65% text to 35% images is optimal.  If you include too many images your ad may be identified as spam by a reader’s spam filter.  It is essential to maintain that balance to avoid the pitfalls of using too much text or too many images.

DON’T include the bulk of your message inside the images
Recipient’s who have their email program set to automatically block images will not see the text of your ad if you do this.  By placing the text outside the images, recipients will see your message even if they don’t automatically see your images.

DO include a description of the images you use in the “alternative text” field
This means that, in the event that the images do not automatically display, the recipient will see a description of each image which might entice him or her to display the images.  For example, a furniture company may put a picture in their ad of a dining room set and have the alt text field read, “Mahogany dining set half off.”

DO keep your ad dimensions to 600×600
This allows most recipients to view your entire ad without having to scroll down thereby increasing the chance for a full read.

DO keep the file size and image resolution reasonable
We recommend a file size of 80kb (no larger than 200kb) and resolution of 72 DPI or 80% quality.  These numbers optimize the time it takes for the email to load (a key factor in whether or not it is read) while not sacrificing too much in quality.

DON’T use words, characters, or stylistic cues that will attract attention from spam filters
This will possibly keep your ad from being delivered to the recipient’s inbox.  Here are some things to avoid:  lots of font colors, large font sizes, all caps, excessive punctuation.  Also, trigger phrases like “risk-free” or “Click Here” should be avoided.  (You can find a more extensive list of these here).

DO run the source code of the final copy of your ad through a Spam Check program
A good example is spamcheck.sitesell.com. This free program will give your ad a score based on common spam flags.  It will help you to refine your ad, reducing the likelihood of it getting caught in a spam filter.  We do not recommend sending an ad with a score over 1.9.

Remember, the perfectly designed advertisement is only perfect if it is relevant to the recipients of the e-mail marketing list to which it’s sent.  If this all seems a bit overwhelming and some of the terminology is foreign to you, don’t be alarmed.  We’re here to help if you have questions.  Additionally, please check out our other articles on subjects like finding a reputable online marketing firm and what to look for in an e-mail marketing list.

Lack of analytics
Generally this is a result of one of two things.  The marketer either neglects to set up analytics (on a website, for example), or worse, simply refuses to make use of analytics that are already in place!  Today the online marketer has at his or her disposal a wide variety of analytics tools and software.  The range of things one can accomplish through analytics is invaluable; statistical tracking, revenue tracking, forecasting, communication, and goal setting are a few examples of analytics tools which can help streamline online business efforts.  Do not talk yourself out of using analytics because you are intimidated by the thought of having to learn how to use any particular analytics software.  The investment of time will more than pay for itself.  (If you need help with this, please do not hesitate to contact us – we would love to help!)

“All I need is a website, right?”
It may be laziness, lack of understanding of the online marketing world, or the intimidation factor mentioned above, but all too often we encounter successful business owners for whom this mentality is a reality.  Do not fall into the trap of believing that tossing a website up online will automatically earn you business.  It’s true that many times the first question you get asked about your business is, “What’s your website address?”  It’s an assumption that you have one.  That said, when they hit that site, if it is outdated, unattractive, difficult to navigate, or just doesn’t have well-conceived content, the visitor will leave as quickly as they came.  You don’t need to spend a fortune on your website.  But, keep in mind that most first-time visitors will base their impression of your company’s competence and professionalism on how they view your website.

Misusing SEO
Search engine optimization is often overlooked or overused.  When designing, maintaining, and improving your website, effective use of SEO is essential to an established and effective web presence.  If you find yourself reciting the mantra from the previous session, the importance of SEO has eluded you.  Content tailored to the search engines is the way you’ll improve your ranking, so do not overlook it.  That said, make sure that your content is conducive to your audience, and do not spend so much time/money on SEO that you neglect your other marketing duties.

Lack of planning
The Other IBM – Catapult – TV Ad
IBM put this commercial together several years back which reminds me of the approach of many companies new to online marketing.  When in doubt, spend money.  This is less common in the current economy than it may have been five years ago, but this attitude is an example of how many online marketers try to resolve a lack of planning.  Doing market research, setting goals, developing a marketing strategy, and contingency planning are all part of succeeding in the online business world.  You wouldn’t walk into a business meeting with a prospective client without having done your homework on their business model, their market share, how you can best meet their business needs, etc…  Yet many set up a website, visible to everyone across the globe, without giving any thought to their online strategy.  Don’t make this mistake!

Lack of flexibility
The world of online marketing is constantly changing.  The search engines are always updating their algorithms, new online communication media are popping up, terminology is shifting, and what’s hot today may be old tomorrow.  Be willing to adapt your marketing strategy!  This doesn’t mean that you have to revamp your website every couple of days, but you should keep abreast of effective marketing techniques and what is working for other businesses online.

The topics here cover a lot more ground than we have time to really unpack in this article.  This is merely an overview of the various ways they can manifest themselves, and there can certainly be a great deal more to these mistakes.  I hope that the illustrations provided give you a good overall picture of what to avoid.  As I’ve done several times throughout this piece, I’d urge you to contact us if the online marketing process seems too daunting, if you have any questions about these or other topics, or if you’ve made any of these mistakes with your marketing.  It’s never too late to right the ship and to make your business thrive, and we’d love to help!