When brands prepare for a trade show, they have specific objectives in mind: an estimated 83 percent say that they want to increase brand awareness among the attendees. Despite this planning going into the show, however, an incredible 70 percent do not have a plan for trade show follow-up that nurtures the leads and converts them into customers.
According to Cone Communications, 54 percent of people made a purchase decision that was influenced by a particular cause. When done correctly, cause marketing can have a powerful impact on your brand’s reputation and your success. The struggle for many organizations, however, is determining how to incorporate the right cause into your brand so that it engages your customers while also driving your business.
So, you’ve decided to exhibit at a trade show. This is an excellent way to make connections in your industry and get your name out to new people and businesses. However, once you get to the show, what should you expect and what should you do? Here are five things you should make an effort to do when at the event.
Your brand is your promise. It’s the message that you send to your customers about what they can expect from you. It is an important step in establishing a relationship with customers.
The massive surge of millennials as powerful buyers in the marketplace has forced companies and industries alike to re-examine everything they thought they knew about marketing. While some skeptics may wonder whether or not this approach is overkill, the fact remains that millennials are the most important group of consumers to come along in a long, long time. Marketers owe it to themselves to understand this group and to do whatever is necessary to appeal to this segment of the marketplace.
Are you planning any events this spring as a fundraiser, an annual golf outing or to launch a new product or service?
Email marketing can only be as good as the quality of your email list. Each year, there is a natural decay in email marketing lists that reduces the effectiveness of your outreach. According to HubSpot, about 25% of your email data is out-of-date after one year.
The name of the game in retail is to get people into your location and interest them in the goods or services you provide. Successful retailers know that starts with eye-catching, easy-to-understand signage, like custom window graphics.
A detailed business plan is important for any small business, as it confirms your vision and business direction for you, your employees and your customers.
With email marketing, you have a fast and affordable way to stay top of mind with existing customers and reach new audiences.
Many small and mid-sized business marketers play favorites when it comes to choosing marketing channels, but may not measure its effectiveness to evaluate whether or not it’s doing the job. Smart marketers know a “team effort” works best, and they capitalize on the strengths of multiple channels.
If there’s a special event on your horizon, you’re probably planning on posting a promotional banner on a wall, ceiling, booth, tent, nearby fence or elsewhere.
It’s no secret that participating in trade shows, conferences and other events can be a great way to increase brand awareness, improve product knowledge through hands-on demonstrations and, ultimately, drive more sales.
It’s a first! Blending a warm rose tone with a cool tranquil blue, the color pros at Pantone Color Institute have named two shades, Rose Quartz and Serenity, the 2016 Color of the Year .
Creating more engaging content was picked as the top priority by 72% of B2B content marketers, according to Content Marketing Institute’s (CMI) new 2016 study. Yet becoming stronger writers ranked lowest; just 19% considered it important.
A recent observational study commissioned by Canada Post aimed to understand how people interact with their mail. The results are eye-opening for marketers who may have questioned the value of traditional mailing campaigns in our highly digital world.
According to a recent InfoTrends survey, 64% of customer communications and marketing campaigns are personalized with one-to-one messaging, or targeted to a segment of customers or prospects. Only 35% are generic, one-size-fits-all.
It’s the time of year when many begin addressing marketing strategies for 2016. Planning-wise, before you formulate , it makes good sense to evaluate .
Recent buzz around the effectiveness of direct mail and print marketing communications may have marketers who’ve had all of their eggs in a digital basket rethinking their strategy in 2016 to incorporate a multi-channel approach. This “best of both worlds” strategy blends the emotional impact of paper with the convenience and immediacy of digital delivery.
For small and mid-sized businesses as well as many organizations and nonprofits, the fourth quarter is prime time to begin planning your marketing efforts for the upcoming year. Of course, it’s also the period when countless other priorities come calling.
Sometimes called online print ordering, e-procurement or W2P, many small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are calling web-to-print a smarter way to go.
Some businesses and organizations open their doors with little more than a logo and basic brand identity materials like business cards, letterhead and few forms. Others make their mark in the marketplace with a well-defined set of brand identity guidelines for application across all of their marketing communications.
About six in 10 companies say they plan to share their holiday cheer this year with a wide range of logoed gifts, says the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI).
When you have a need for communications speed, nothing tops a digital message. Yet, we all know what an email inbox can look like at the end of the day. And how attractive the delete key can be when we have to prioritize what gets our attention.
The importance of the offer you present on your postcard or mailing envelope can’t be overstated. Among direct marketing pros, it’s generally accepted that it will account for fully 30% of your campaign’s success – second only to the list (50%), but ahead of the creative (20%).
With personalized, relevant messages that drive higher response, increase engagement and deliver greater ROI. Technology makes it easy! Enter variable data printing for one-to-one marketing.
Today’s savvy marketers can’t afford to waste time or money reaching out to prospects that have little chance of becoming buyers. Even if you have a pretty good idea of who your best customers are, can you define them in terms that will help you find the next “like kind” business or consumer?
4. Action-oriented. 50% of recipients have purchased a product in-store over the past six months as a result of direct mail. (Canada Post Corporation, Breaking Through the Noise, June 30, 2015)
Seasoned event marketers know the many advantages of participating in conferences or staging their own special events to reach their top goals: increase brand awareness, improve product knowledge through hands-on demonstrations and drive more sales.
An effective online response mechanism is a must-have for every direct marketing campaign. According to the Direct Marketing Association, two out of five prefer to respond online to a direct mail offer. (Others may like to reply by mail or phone, so always provide options.)
If video isn’t yet part of your content marketing mix, there’s ample evidence it should be. According to Cisco, videos will account for 69% of all consumer Internet traffic by 2017.
With inbox overload at an all-time high, it’s the ideal time to freshen up your marketing strategy with a direct mail campaign. It’s an effective, highly targeted way to get in front of consumers, and the statistics back it up. The Direct Mail Association reported that in 2015, direct mail campaigns using a house list generated a hefty 3.7 percent response rate.
With inbox overload at an all-time high, it’s the ideal time to freshen up your marketing strategy with a direct mail campaign. It’s an effective, highly targeted way to get in front of consumers, and the statistics back it up. The Direct Mail Association reported that in 2015, direct mail campaigns using a house list generated a hefty 3.7 percent response rate.
Don’t underestimate the business impact of customer care with your current client base. While providing quality customer service with every transaction is important, going above and beyond will help you stand out from the crowd. Sometimes, you need to show your clients some love, and a gift can be the way to do just that. Does it need to be costly? Not at all. Is it worth it? Absolutely, and if you carefully choose the right branded promotional products to do the job, you can build brand awareness at the same time.
Once you’ve completed this process, you should have a print-ready PDF file. The PDF document should:
Regardless of company size, direct marketers face the same challenges across-the-board when it comes to managing their customer data. Here are a few sobering statistics from Experian:
The ability to engage multiple senses gives print communications a decided edge over digital messages. In fact, the tactile nature of print impacts the brain differently than digital media, generating a stronger overall positive response at a subconscious level where emotionally driven buying decisions are made.
Previously, search engine optimization (SEO) was defined as the process of gaining traffic and visibility from search engines such as Google, Bing and others through both paid and unpaid efforts. But that definition has evolved, observes Martin Laetsch, a noted digital marketing strategy leader.
It’s said you only get one chance to make a good first impression … and it’s proven that color plays a huge role in whether that impression on your consumers is positive or negative.
Today’s marketing focus is largely on digital, and for good reason. Content in electronic form such as blogs, emails, e-newsletters and webinars as well as that developed for social media and websites can be distributed quickly and relatively inexpensively.
If you’ve thought that trade show marketing no longer has a place in today’s highly connected, digital world where you can add new friends or contacts at a click of button, think again. As much as communication changes, nothing has replaced the power of a face-to-face meetings when you’re asking someone to part with their money.
If you’re planning to participate in a trade show this year, you’re part of a strong trend. A 2015 EventTrack study by the Event Marketing Institute and Mosaic reports that a significant 79% of the brand respondents say they will execute more event and experiential programs this year compared to last year.
Many small and mid-sized business marketers play favorites when it comes to choosing marketing channels, but may not measure its effectiveness to evaluate whether or not it’s doing the job. Smart marketers know a “team effort” works best, and they capitalize on the strengths of multiple channels.
Google the phrase “marketing services” or “advertising agency” and it’s likely you’ll be surprised at how many choices appear … and how distant from you some options may be.
The year’s end naturally causes us to pause and take stock, both personally and professionally. Goal-setters are either feeling good about accomplishments or making resolutions for the coming year to improve upon past performance.
For many, newsletters and e-newsletters are a preferred component of their content marketing strategy – measures by which you create and share content with the aim of acquiring and retaining customers.
A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%, say Emmet Murphy and Mark Murphy in Leading on the Edge of Chaos. And we’ve all heard it said that most unhappy customers don’t complain; they just don’t bother to come back.
A top business marketing priority for the next 12 months is to gain new customers, according to recent research by InfoTrends.
For most small and mid-sized businesses, organizations and nonprofits, there’s no denying the need for printed marketing materials.
While many charitable organizations are in search of donors, others are seeking something that’s often more difficult to get than financial assistance… and that’s someone’s time. Here are five ways you can find more volunteers by bolstering your online presence:
Whether termed “advertising specialties” or simply “giveaways,” promotional products deserve your consideration and for two very good reasons. With them, you can:
If you haven’t yet optimized your website for smartphone users, you risk losing customers. Potentially a lot of them.
You know this: You’re driving by a business and there’s only a name. You don’t know what they do. They could be anybody . . . doing anything.
Sponsorships, donations, pro bono services, discounts and volunteering. These are just a few of the ways through which small and mid-sized business owners can begin to build a profile as a good neighbor in the community.
You’ve got a website and people are “liking” you on social media. You might have lively dialog on your Facebook page, but are you seeing foot traffic as a result?
Defined as persuasive, authoritative and in-depth reports on specific topics, white papers are for many small and mid-sized businesses an excellent tactic in content marketing – primarily for business-to-business enterprises.
Check your desk, shirt pocket or what you’re wearing on your head. Chances are you’ll find a logoed item from a company you interact with on a regular basis. Why? Because people enjoy getting free stuff, and these promotional items go a long way in building goodwill, brand identity and repeat customers.
We’re bombarded with thousands of messages every day, from billboards to digital ads, direct mail to email. Competition for attention is keen. That means you need to engage a potential customer and deliver your message about your products and services as quickly, simply and efficiently as possible. Anything you can do to make it easier to consume your marketing messages can pay off. And sometimes that can mean the absence of stimuli.
Recognizing hard-working and loyal employees makes good business sense in more ways than one. Staff turnover has a negative impact on employee morale and overall productivity, not to mention company revenue.
Event marketing is made to order for small to mid-sized businesses, nonprofits and other organizations with aggressive goals but limited sales resources. Participating in the right local, regional, national or international events allow you to present your sales story to many prospects in one place within a short period of time. Individual sales calling can’t match it for efficiency.
A major advantage to direct mail is its capacity for one-on-one communications with the prospect or customer. Unlike other forms of advertising, you can get “personal.” What makes a great sales letter that motivates action? Here’s the breakdown:
It used to be that scores, perforations, laminations, adhesives and other special techniques had to be added after your piece was printed. Not anymore!