Archive for the ‘Business Development’ Category
Tuesday, August 4th, 2020
We launched Strategic Communications in 2008, at a time when the country was plunging into a deep recession. It wasn’t a great time to land new clients. But it was a great time to take a deep dive into something that was relatively new at the time, at least from a business perspective–social media. At the time there was an interesting talent gap that represented an opportunity for us. Most businesspeople didn’t have experience in using social media channels for marketing purposes and colleges weren’t yet educating students about these new marketing tools. So we were early adopters and spent quite a bit of time learning about and experimenting with the tools that were best positioned in the business-to-business (B2B) space: LinkedIn and Twitter.
Since that time we’ve built our social channels organically and have helped a number of clients do the same. There’s no real magic to this. In fact, the basic tenets of effective marketing via social channels are really the same as they are for using any marketing tools. We recently responded to a reporter’s inquiry about our top tips for marketers using social media as a lead generation tool. We pointed to six:
(more…)
Tags: linkedin, Social Media, social media best practices, social media strategies, social media tips, twitter
Posted in Business Development, Content Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Communication, Social Media | No Comments »
Friday, July 17th, 2020
17877227 – social media
I’m often asked by colleagues—and sometimes even competitors—where I find my clients. There are probably three primary channels that work best for me: referrals, speaking engagements, and LinkedIn.
I
have used LinkedIn myself for a number of years to establish myself as a thought leader in the marketing/digital marketing space and to generate leads and new clients. Many of my clients come through connections I’ve made on LinkedIn, or by showing up in search results from people/companies looking for marketing assistance. I also help various clients use LinkedIn for their own lead generation or thought leadership efforts. For those in the business-to-business (B2B) space, it truly is a valuable tool—if it’s used effectively.
(more…)
Tags: communicating on social media, establishing thought leadership, LinkedIn best practices, LinkedIn groups, LinkedIn influencers, prospecting through social media, thought leadership, using LinkedIn, using social media effectively
Posted in Business Development, Marketing and Branding, Social Media | No Comments »
Friday, July 3rd, 2020
by Linda Pophal
My first job out of college was working in traditional direct mail marketing and I spent ten years with that company. I loved the work because it was so measurable so you could tell what worked, what didn’t and continually make improvements to boost response. Digital marketing, of course, offers even greater opportunities to measure the effectiveness of content in a variety of ways so it’s a field I really enjoy.
Literally any content that is accessible online–e.g. via the internet–is considered to be digital marketing. (more…)
Tags: digital marketing, marketing analysis, marketing effectiveness, marketing measurement, using digital channels
Posted in Business Development, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Friday, June 19th, 2020
As businesses slowly begin to open back up, many find themselves doing business far differently than they may have before the pandemic. Safety is top of mind. Not all customers feel comfortable at this point, interacting in person with the businesses they may have frequented without fear in the past. That means for many companies, a combination of in-store/in-person and online or socially distanced interactions. Many are operating on the fly, figuring things out as they go. But now may be an excellent time to take a step back and update, or create, a marketing plan to help you move forward more strategically.
Here’s some advice for doing just that: (more…)
Tags: Marketing, marketing during the pandemic, marketing plan, marketing planning, marketing strategy
Posted in Business Development, Customer Communication, Marketing and Branding, Strategic Communications, Strategy | No Comments »
Thursday, June 4th, 2020
Competitors are a fact of life for businesses of all types and sizes. Even if you think you have no competition (and some companies do think this), you do! We like to define competition, broadly, as “any available alternative to what you have to offer.” For instance, I worked in the healthcare industry for a number of years, leading the organization’s marketing efforts. We had direct competitors (other hospitals and clinics) serving the same market we served. We also had indirect competitors—Google search for instance. How often have you gone online to find information about some medical issue rather than make an appointment to see the doctor?
The point is, we all have competition. (more…)
Tags: analyzing the competition, brand analysis, brand audit, brand review, competitive analysis, competitive positioning, direct competition, indirect competition, positioning
Posted in Business Development, Competition, Marketing Research | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 14th, 2020
With millions of people out of work and countless businesses shutting their doors temporarily, or even permanently, many businesses are wondering whether they should maintain their marketing communication activities.
Our Advice: Yes, But…
(more…)
Tags: coronavirus, COVID-19, Customer Communication, Employee Communication, managing communications, pandemic, public relations
Posted in Brand Management, Client Relations, Content Marketing, Customer Communication, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Friday, April 10th, 2020
One of our clients in the health care space has been focusing her communication efforts with health care organizations on reminding them to maintain their focus on the brand promise. This may not seem like the time to do that. We agree with her, though, that it is.
(more…)
Tags: brand alignment, brand promise, coronavirus, COVID-19, employer brand, pandemic
Posted in Brand Management, Client Relations, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
“How are you doing?”
It’s a question we’ve been reading and hearing a lot over the past few weeks. Chances are, unfortunately, we’ll be hearing that question for the foreseeable future.
How are you doing? It matters and it pays to ask.
Our clients tend to be consultants, publishers, agencies and very large organizations. The vast majority, while not always technically “essential enterprises” are still doing business, but not in the same way.
(more…)
Tags: Community Relations, coronavirus, COVID-19, customer relations, Employee relations, pandemic, strategic communications
Posted in Client Relations, Customer Communication, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Friday, December 13th, 2019
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
In many B2B relationships, the amounts of money changing hands can be significant. For small businesses engaged primarily in the B2B realm, a single B2B client could make up a huge percentage of the small business’s total revenue. Moreover, the products and services offered to B2B customers can be fairly complex and take time to deliver in full. All of this makes the invoicing process a valuable tool for small-business owners serving B2B customers. A well-designed invoicing system can help smooth cash flows and provide revenue even before the ultimate completion of a final deliverable. (more…)
Tags: better business practices, billing clients, business practices, Customer Service, invoicing systems, managing cash flow, payment milestones
Posted in Business Development, Client Relations, Customer Service | No Comments »
Saturday, October 19th, 2019
17877227 – social media
I’ve had a profile on LinkedIn for a number of years now. LinkedIn and Twitter are two of my favorite social media platforms. Most business people would agree with me that LinkedIn is a great tool for building a strong network and engaging with others. Most would likely not agree with me that Twitter can also be a great business-to-business (B2B) business-building tool. We have, though, definitely found that to be the case for ourselves and for our clients. (More on that another day.) Here we want to focus on LinkedIn. (more…)
Tags: linkedin, LinkedIn best practices, Social Media, social media marketing, twitter, using LinkedIn, using social media
Posted in Business Development, Content Marketing, Internet Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »
Subcribe to This Blog
Brand Evaluation
CONTENT CREATION
PR/MEDIA RELATIONS
SOCIAL MEDIA
STRATEGIC PLANNING
