Tag: marketing strategy

Does Your Business Really Need a Mobile App?

Have you ever pulled up a company webpage on a smartphone and immediately been asked if you’d rather load the content on the company’s app? It seems like businesses of all sizes have gone app crazy over the last several years. Google Play currently hosts 2.6 million apps and the App Store is not far behind with 2.1 million.

Many small businesses may fear falling behind on this ubiquitous form of customer interaction, but does your company really need to have an app? In an article for Entrepreneur, Thomas Smale discusses several factors to consider when deciding whether or not to spend the time and money to develop a mobile app. Continue reading “Does Your Business Really Need a Mobile App?”

Keeping Your Awareness and Engagement Efforts Focused

market research, marketing researchWe’ve written before about the sales funnel—the process through which potential customers become aware of, engage with and, hopefully, ultimately become actual customers of your company. The first part of this funnel is typically referred to as “awareness.” This is the stage at which the market—as you’ve defined it—becomes aware of your product or service. They may never be interested in making a purchase or even learning more about you, but they are aware you exist and have entered this first section of your funnel.

At the heart of the sales process is the drive to move potential customers through the funnel from awareness to action—i.e., making a purchase. A lot of resources are put into measuring the losses at each stage of the funnel and figuring out the sources of that attrition and how to reduce it. Unfortunately, a lot of these resources may be wasted. Continue reading “Keeping Your Awareness and Engagement Efforts Focused”

That’s Irrational! The Weird Ways Consumers Behave and Why

Economic theory has some fundamental assumptions underpinning it. One of the most important is that people behave rationally. In other words, that the decisions we make are designed to fulfill our best interests.

But we know this is not always the case. Continue reading “That’s Irrational! The Weird Ways Consumers Behave and Why”

Goby the Trash Fish and Nudge Marketing

Behavioral economics is the study of how and why consumers do not always act rationally —rational behavior is one of the fundamental assumptions underlying classical economics. Behavioral economics helps explain things like why consumers make impulse purchases and incorrectly value goods and services. Two of my favorite behavioral economists are Dan Ariely and Steven D. Levitt, authors of Predictably Irrational and Freakonomics, respectively–two books I highly recommend.

Nudge marketing is a key form of behavioral economics. It involves providing subtle “nudges” to guide human behavior in ways that serve marketers’ needs. Here we take a look at some interesting examples of how elements of behavioral economics can be put to work in the field of marketing.

Continue reading “Goby the Trash Fish and Nudge Marketing”

Leveraging the Law of Reciprocity

by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA

 

It’s hard to overstate the value of relationships in business. And, while it’s true for companies of any size, this can be especially crucial for success among small and midsized businesses (SMBs) as well as in the B2B world generally. “As an entrepreneur, you have countless relationships you need to manage on a daily basis,” writes Jennifer Spencer in an article for Entrepreneur. “There are your employees. There are the vendors who provide needed support services to help you run your business. And, of course, there are also your customers.”

  Continue reading “Leveraging the Law of Reciprocity”

Growing a Subscription Model Business

by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA

 

content marketing, content management, newsjacking, social media, digital marketing, SEO, online marketingWith an up and down history dating back to the 1960s, the software-as-a-service or SaaS model has become the norm in tech-centered industries over the last couple of decades. With a SaaS model, providers of various applications or data storage capabilities allow end-users to remotely access the application or data. This is in contrast to models many of us were familiar with in the 1990s and 2000s where you would purchase an operating system software and install it via CD on a personal computer, for example.

In an article for Entrepreneur, Thomas Smale writes that the SaaS model has moved further and further toward a subscription model and suggests several subscription model-oriented growth strategies. These aren’t strategies only for very large, enterprise organizations. Even the smallest businesses, or solopreneurs, can leverage the subscription model to build sales. Continue reading “Growing a Subscription Model Business”

6 Steps and 6 Weeks to an Effective Content Strategy: Week 6

content marketing, content management, content strategy, strategic marketing, marketing strategically, strategic communicationsJazz is almost ready to implement her content marketing strategy. Just one more important step before she’s ready to go. Continue reading “6 Steps and 6 Weeks to an Effective Content Strategy: Week 6”

6 Steps and 6 Weeks to an Effective Content Strategy: Week 5

content marketing, content management, content strategy, strategic marketing, marketing strategically, strategic communicationsJazz Jones is anxious to get moving forward with the implementation of her content marketing strategy. She is, after all, eager to begin building her coaching business. But she has just a few more steps before she’s ready to go. The next one, Step 5, is critical and all about keeping the end in mind. Continue reading “6 Steps and 6 Weeks to an Effective Content Strategy: Week 5”

6 Steps and 6 Weeks to an Effective Content Strategy: Week 4

content marketing, content management, content strategy, strategic marketing, marketing strategically, strategic communicationsJazz Jones has a clear focus on her goals, objectives and her target audience. She knows who she’s attempting to influence and she’s done thorough research into their AIOs (activities, interests and opinions). Now, she’s ready for the next important step in creating a content strategy. Continue reading “6 Steps and 6 Weeks to an Effective Content Strategy: Week 4”

6 Steps and 6 Weeks to an Effective Content Strategy: Week 3

content marketing, content management, content strategy, strategic marketing, marketing strategically, strategic communicationsJazz Jones is now well underway in the development of her content marketing strategy. She has clear goals and objectives in mind, she’s identified her specific target audience and she’s ready to move on to Step 3. Continue reading “6 Steps and 6 Weeks to an Effective Content Strategy: Week 3”