After the Pandemic: 7 Lessons for Smart Marketing Planning
The pandemic forced marketers everywhere to rethink their approaches. Some marketers stopped promoting entirely, while others adjusted and prevailed. Here’s what we can learn about smart marketing planning from those who successfully navigated an unprecedented challenge.
40 Questions for a Smart Branding Strategy
Branding is critically important to every successful business. That’s why smart marketers approach branding strategically.But how do you create an effective branding strategy? What should you consider when developing a new or revamped brand? What do you need to know to do branding right?As marketing and branding consultants, we’ve developed branding strategies and brand identities for many types of organizations. Here are 40 questions we ask when we’re creating a smart branding strategy for a client.
What’s Your Value Proposition? Ask Your Customers
Understanding the unique value your business delivers to customers is essential for a smart marketing strategy. Yet many businesses struggle to define their value proposition, especially B2B marketers that sell intangible business services.But defining your value proposition is easier than you think: Just ask your customers.In part one of a two-part post, here’s how Cleveland marketing consultant Jean Gianfagna recommends conducting customer interviews to determine a value proposition.
How to Survive Losing a Big Client: 12 Smart Strategies
The loss of a major client can be a huge blow to your business. But there are ways you can survive – and even thrive – following a customer defection. Here's how to do it strategically.
How to Create a New Brand Identity: 7 Steps to Success
Does your organization need a new brand identity? Branding is one of the most important strategic decisions you will make. Getting it right can help your business vault to the top of your industry. Getting it wrong can result in costly misconceptions about your business. Here are the seven major steps of creating a new brand identity from our experience developing branding strategies and brand identities for many organizations.
Why it’s Smart to Audit Your Marketing–Even If Sales are Up
Even if sales are up, critical marketing issues could be lurking behind the scenes that are limiting your company's success – or threatening your future. A marketing audit can help you find out. Here’s why auditing your marketing – when times are bad or good – can be so important to a smart marketing strategy.
10 Crucial Marketing Questions for Every New Business Owner
Marketing is one of the most important factors in the success of a new business. So before you put your name on the door, consider this: Every business needs a marketing plan that outlines objectives, positioning, messaging, targeted audiences, channels, tactics, and implementation. Whether you develop that plan yourself or hire a marketing consultant or agency, there are the 10 key questions every new business owner must answer to create a smart marketing strategy.
Big News: How to Tell Clients about Changes to Your Business
At some point, almost every business has important news to share with clients about major changes. Communicating big news is a pivotal moment in the customer relationship and it’s essential to do it right.Here are 12 tips for delivering important news to clients about your business from B2B marketing consultant Jean Gianfagna.
When Bad Data Happens to Good Direct Mail
Customer and prospect data drives direct mail marketing. Data that’s outdated, inaccurate, or poorly processed can turn a good direct mail campaign into a wasted opportunity. Here are two examples of excellent mailings that failed because smart marketers that are usually highly skilled users of the channel relied on the wrong data.
How to Create a “Drip” Direct Marketing Campaign
"Drip" direct marketing can be a smart marketing strategy for business-to-business (B2B) marketers. Here’s why drip marketing works and how to create a drip direct marketing campaign, from Cleveland, Ohio marketing consultant and strategist Jean Gianfagna.
How to Change Your Organization’s Name: A Marketer’s Guide
An identity change is a major undertaking with enormous marketing implications for any business. Where do you start? How do you do it? And how do you avoid mistakes? Here are the steps of planning a name change and selecting a new name for your organization.
5 New Rules and 5 Proven Principles for Marketing Success
In this new, technology-driven world of marketing, do the proven principles of marketing strategy still apply? Or are there new rules for marketing success? Here are five new marketing rules created by the enormous impact of technology plus five time-tested marketing principles -- and the reasons to consider both in a smart marketing strategy.
6 Marketing Lessons I Learned as the Mother of the Bride
Brides are spending big money on weddings. According to the Wedding Report, the cost of an average wedding in the U.S. is $25,200. Market research firm IBISWorld estimates that the U.S. wedding industry has grown to $55 billion in annual sales.That’s a lot of cake, tulle, and flowers – and as the mother of the bride, I can tell you from personal experience that it’s also a fascinating example of what works (or doesn’t work) in sales and marketing. Here are six lessons for your smart marketing strategy that I learned as the mother of the bride.
Is that Super Bowl Ad a Smart Marketing Strategy?
The Super Bowl is marketing nirvana for advertisers. Not only is it the most-viewed TV program of the year, but viewers are almost as interested in the ads as the game. But how do you know if a Super Bowl ad will be a winner -- and a smart marketing strategy? Here's my annual guide for how to evaluate the marketing effectiveness of Super Bowl advertising.
Sales Pitch Fails: 7 Errors to Avoid in Your Next Presentation
You’re about to make a sales presentation to a prospective customer. You have the right experience, the right products and services, and competitive pricing. You’re an ideal fit for the customer’s needs. This should be a winning sales formula. But too often, it isn’t, because vendors make dumb mistakes during presentations that cost them the business. Here are seven things NOT to do when making a sales pitch to a prospect.
B2B Marketing Strategy: 10 Goals that Belong in Every Plan
The most important step in developing a business-to-business marketing strategy is the first one: Setting your goals. Why are you investing in marketing? What do you want that investment to achieve for your business? For B2B marketers, the answer to these questions can be surprisingly straightforward. In fact, in my experience as a B2B marketing consultant, there are 10 critical goals that apply to almost every B2B marketing strategy, whether you’re selling manufactured products, professional services, or commodities. Here are the 10 goals that belong in a smart B2B marketing strategy and why they matter:
B2B Marketing Strategy: 7 Ways to Sell to Influencers
One of the trickiest aspects of business-to-business marketing is selling to influencers – people who are not end-users of a product or service but whose opinions influence the purchasing decision. Here are seven tips for marketing and selling to influencers in a smart B2B marketing strategy.
6 Reasons to Use Your Own Name in Your Company’s Branding
Building your company’s brand around your name can be a smart marketing strategy, especially for professional services companies. Here are six reasons why it’s smart to name your company after yourself, three ways it can be problematic, and some tips for branding success.
Anatomy of a Smart Direct Mail Letter: 7 Copywriting Tips
How a life insurance direct mail package uses 7 classic direct mail copywriting tactics to produce a smart, effective direct mail letter.