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Everyone has goals.
If you own, manage or work in a business, you’re a marketer. Marketing may not be your specialty – that is, you may not be the one calling the shots when it comes to marketing plans and decisions, but you are still an integral part of that activity. You are a marketer, like it or not.
Don’t think so? Think clear back to a time when (generally) a “market” meant a place in town where booths, shops and carts were set up to sell meats, produce, and other goods. That’s marketing at its most basic: a presence in the marketplace.
Bear with me, now, as I try to connect some dots.
Humans, by their very nature, are goal-seeking. We can’t escape it. Since we have goals, we also have strategies. Without thinking we form strategies and implement tactics to achieve objectives. From our perspective it seems like we’re just washing dishes or running errands, but the processes behind these actions relate to our goals. It’s automatic. It’s human nature. …Read more »
Play to win! Focus on the objective and build a strategy to get there.
Having a web strategy is a lot like declaring a major in college – once you decide on a career path and declare your major, you have a clear objective, something to work toward. This defines the classes you take, maybe your extra curricular activities, and even the people you associate with.
What’s your objective? Defining your objective helps you focus on the building blocks required to successfully take you from your freshman year to graduation to a promising career (this also makes your parents happy, as you will graduate on time and end up costing them less money).
As a business owner or marketer, you’re always taking steps to stay ahead of the competition in a marketplace that’s always changing. The web is no different; it’s always changing as well.
Businesses online must keep up with the constant changes in web technology, trends, and techniques, or be left far behind very quickly.
As for your website, you need to take dozens of constantly-changing elements into account that will, at some point, affect the value of your web presence and the viability of your business online. Here are nine. …Read more »
Most of us who are active in social web spaces (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.) do it privately – that is to say, we’re engaging online with friends and family. But what if you’re doing it for a business? How should you present yourself?
It can be difficult to know where to draw the line between the personal and professional when dealing with brands, vendors, clients, customers, etc. After all, you are YOU, and though you may represent your organization, you’re still a person. And people engage with other people.
Look, I “tweet” personal stuff all the time. Granted, I’m not the principle of the organization, or even a high-level operative (so to speak). So although I do represent my company to a degree, I’m safe from being seen as “the company voice.” Not so, for others. Being seen as the representative of the organization can put you in a tight spot where the line between personal and professional gets a little blurry. …Read more »
As the competition for attracting viewers to your web site intensifies, the questions of where to go from here keep coming. Today I am sharing my thoughts about the addition of web video to your web site.
In the audio below, I cover some basic questions that you need to consider before making a decision about web video, and talk about the age-old question of costs. While the discussion will continue in-depth in the weeks to come, this first clip should help you begin the decision-making process with some easy-to-understand fundamentals and historical perspective.
The web has changed the way we communicate, presenting brands the ability to reach a worldwide range of people in ways never before possible. Businesses, both large and small, can harness the power of the web to not only reach more people than ever before, but they can also extend the user experience by encouraging people to interact with their brand – making the brand more available to their audience.
Sounds good, but why does this matter? Why is this important? …Read more »
An old, rickety car slowly pulled into the car dealership lot and parked. It belched black smoke as the clunky engine finally backfired and gave up. A man got out of the car and strolled into the office. The salesman met him there, asking if he could be of any assistance.
The conversation went something like this:
Salesman: “Hi, how are you doing? What can I help you with?”
Customer: “I need a new car.”
S: “Ah, I see! Well you’ve come to the right place. We have plenty of cars on the lot, and can order anything you might want that we don’t already have. Any idea what you’re looking for?”
C: “Yes, you see I am a salesman myself, and I spend a lot of time driving to see customers and prospects. But my car is rather old, and the engine barely works. In fact, I can only drive in first gear!”
S: “Wow! I bet that makes it hard to visit many customers in a day. Can I interest you in this brand new Complete Car? It’s well-rounded with a great engine, good looks, comfortable interior, and will certainly connect you with your customers.” …Read more »
We're not supposed to talk about how great we are. (photo by JSolomon)
Time to take a step back.
Time to take a good look at what we’re doing here at RSA. The economy is down – way down, and people are cutting advertising and marketing budgets, big time. Looks like 2009 is shaping up to be a “building year,” right?
Maybe not. The problem is, we’re still as busy as ever, and I guess that’s less of a problem and more a relief. Some might call it good luck; I call it hard work and a passion for what we do. And a passion for having food to eat, there’s also that.
And yet we have been building as well. Since late last year we’ve added new departments, new staff, and new teams. We’ve got a new website on deck, and are partnering with new clients weekly. …Read more »
No. It is not so. *sighs of relief* The advertising world is changing, though – and rightly so.
Advertising is not dead; it just needs to be less of a one-sided conversation and become a more social dialogue with the consumer. (Sorry Kyle, I’ve got to say consumer to go along with her shirt.) As long as there is such a thing as competitive business, advertising and marketing will continue to live, ever flourishing in the perpetual evolutionary dance that is society…or something like that.
So, the word is out. Social media is happening. More businesses and individuals are getting involved everyday. It’s real. It’s now. And, just like all potential marketing mediums, it’s about to get really competitive.
With the exception of the last few years, NOW is the best time to hop on the social media bandwagon and get interactive. South Dakota businesses and industries, along with the vast majority of other regional mid-west businesses, have yet to tap this vital marketing, PR and customer service resource – giving you the advantage.
