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This amazing video still blows our minds. If you've got the time, watch it to the end.
We have some great top tips this July: a source of free data, a tool to find out which page on your website your target audience prefer and a free opportunity to review your marketing over the summer.
Top Tip 1 – As many of you know, data can make or break a marketing campaign. It can be very difficult and expensive to source good quality data. Well, the good people at Corpdata have decided to try and help kickstart the economy by giving every business the opportunity to create their own target list of 200 potential customers for FREE. All you have to do is open an account for free, choose the types of businesses you’d like to include in your list, then download 200 records for free. That can’t be bad. Visit free data offer to download your free 200 records.
Top Tip 2 – Trying to get into the minds of your target audience can be tricky. Knowing what they like and don’t like can take a lot of time. Well Google have made it easier to work this out when it comes to your website. Their free website optimizer tool allows you to split test different pages on your website so can see which layout, copy or imagery is best received, very useful for improving your conversion rates.
Top tip 3 – If you haven’t taken your free Marketing MOT yet, the summer is the perfect time to do so. Many businesses experience slower periods during the end of July and August. This provides a great opportunity to take a look at your Marketing, review how successful it has been and explore areas for improvement. TLC Business’ free Marketing MOT does just that and gives you a whole host of ideas and suggestions on how you can improve your marketing performance. For more information or to book yours, visit our Marketing MOT page.
Hope you find these useful and do let us know how it goes.
We’re sure you’ve all heard of the remarkable tale of Paul the clairvoyant octopus, who correctly predicted the winner in all 8 of the matches he was prompted to, at this year’s World Cup.
Whilst his feat is certainly unlikely and many seem convinced of his psychic abilities, the cynic in us here, feels fairly confident that it was merely coincidence.
But what has psychic Paul the octopus got to do with marketing, I hear you ask?
All too often, SMEs leave their marketing success to chance. They might as well let psychic Paul loose with their marketing budget and see what happens. Would you feel confident in putting your marketing fate into the ‘tentacles’ of a clairvoyant Octopus, regardless of his past success at predicting the future?
If the answer is yes, then good luck to you. If it works, you’ll have a great press release on your hands! However, for those of us that would like a more stable foundation on which to make our marketing decisions, there is no substitute for proper marketing planning and preparation.
We keep shouting about it and that is because we believe that investing time, energy and money (sometimes) in this area will reap significant rewards down the marketing road. SMEs are notoriously keen to shun planning and preparation, in favour of pursuing ad hoc business interests. This attitude is a major factor in why many businesses are finding their marketing does not deliver the return on investment they expect and their business needs.
So what can you do about it?
3 crucial areas that you need to know about before you embark on any marketing campaign are:
Only once you have this information as minimum, should you consider formulating a marketing plan.
It has been proven that there is a direct link between the long-run profitability of a business and its ability to get a clear understanding of its customers’ needs. It makes sense really, if you know what someone wants and why they want it, it should be fairly straightforward to offer a service or product that meets that need.
The crucial next step is giving them a reason to get it from you. Here’s where knowing what your competitors are up to becomes vital. Armed with this information, you are in an ideal situation to position your company’s offering in a unique and competitive way that creates a compelling case for why your customers / prospects should use you.
As the old adage goes, fail to plan and plan to fail. This can certainly apply to marketing. A bit of planning and preparation will significantly push the odds of marketing success in your favour, giving you facts and figures on which to make your marketing decisions rather than the whim of a psychic octopus called Paul in a German aquarium.
Free Marketing MOT for Hampshire Businesses
As part of our quest to get SMEs planning their marketing more, TLC Business allocate a limited number of free marketing MOTs to businesses based in Hampshire that want to improve their marketing’s performance. Many businesses have benefitted from one already so don’t delay and book your MOT today. Visit our marketing MOT page for more information.
© 2010 The Lifetime Company. All Rights Reserved