The Complete Manual of B2B Marketing for 2023

The Ultimate Guide to B2B Marketing in 2023 gives you an excellent overview of the latest trends in B2B marketing. It includes account-based marketing, social media, augmented reality, and loyalty loop marketing.

Account-Based Marketing

Account-based marketing (ABM) has become more prominent in the marketing world. ABM can be defined as a strategic approach for identifying and engaging targeted accounts and retaining and expanding relationships with them. It also increases sales opportunities and generates better ROI. Depending on the objectives of the company, ABM may take various forms.

Account-based marketing is different from other types of B2B marketing. The main goal is to identify and engage highly-targeted high-value accounts. This allows the company to increase loyalty among its customer base. Investing in these relationships results in long-term customer relationships, which is crucial for business growth.

ABM is typically used in conjunction with other marketing techniques. Some examples include social media and ad campaigns. For example, LinkedIn is a great way to target specific companies. Using InMail and Sponsored Updates to communicate with targeted contacts is an excellent way to stay in these prospects' minds.

Marketing and sales teams can also collaborate on account-based campaigns. Association management offers numerous services, including leadership, membership, event planning, marketing, communication, and financial management. An Association Management company can ensure the campaign is optimized for success.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality in B2B marketing is gaining momentum and has the potential to be a game changer for your business. Adding digital content to your customer's experience will improve engagement, shorten the sales cycle, and increase conversions. Whether you're a manufacturer, retailer, or service provider, you can use augmented reality to enhance your product or service offering.

With augmented reality, your customers can try out a new product, view a demo, or learn more about a particular product. This immersive experience will encourage decision-making and make it easier for them to select the right products for their needs.

Augmented reality for B2B marketing will also reduce the risk of human error. You can use an AR system to allow your customers to interact with a bank teller or insurance agent. You can even equip your employees with smart glasses that can scan and sort inventory, increase the accuracy of your inventory, and streamline workflows.

Loyalty Loop Marketing

You should consider loyalty loop marketing when looking for the ultimate customer experience. This loop involves using psychology to deliver a memorable experience.

It works by taking the most critical step in the customer's journey and making it easy for them to take the next step. Creating a simple but effective process will allow your customers to move from consideration to evaluation to buying with you.

The loop also works by recognizing that people will need to reevaluate your brand's value. They will return to you for more if you give them the correct value.

Using the loyalty loop to its full advantage can increase your sales. In today's competitive retail environment, this is an essential tactic.

The loyalty loop is a great way to increase the return on your investment. Loyalty loop marketing includes providing incentives, purchase rewards, and learning experiences.

There are many ways to achieve this. One of the most effective is by leveraging social media. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter offer powerful tools for engaging customers and collecting valuable information.

Social Media

A social media marketing strategy is a must for B2B sales. It helps build relationships, conduct research, and generate leads. However, it can be unclear because there are several platforms and campaigns to choose from.

To develop a successful social media marketing plan, you need to understand the benefits of each platform. To determine which is right for your business, start by identifying your audience's habits and the best tools to use. Then, create a comprehensive strategy that aligns with your business goals.

In addition to using social media to generate leads, you can also build a community of brand advocates. This includes employees. Employees can help establish your brand as a trusted industry expert by sharing company info and recommendations.

Employee advocacy is one of the best prongs of a social media strategy for B2B sales. People trust their employees' recommendations. Plus, the content that employees share has a higher CTR.

Social media is a powerful tool for B2B sales, but it takes an expert to make it work. That's why hiring someone who knows how to manage a social media account is essential.

Top Web Designs for Small Businesses

An impressive web design can help generate and convert leads, improving your business prospects in the long run. According to Zgraph, you'll need to compare various web designs and choose one that suits your small business. The following are the top choices you'd want to consider.

Illustrative

Excellent illustration readily converts your business website into revenue- and lead-generating tool. You can use various images on the site to communicate particular brand messaging. For instance, cartoon drawings will help bring your site to life. These impressive graphics will make your website more inviting, warmer, and appealing. It ensures that the users connect better and at personal levels.

Typography

Every small business wants to make a lasting impression on whoever visits their sites. Typographical web design is the surest way to achieve this. This website design in Atlanta helps connect with the user, even before reading anything. That is because typography focuses on telling a story, particularly about your brand or products. It helps elicit immediate responses, increasing the chances of converting leads.

Minimalist

A minimalist web design is an excellent choice for businesses with multiple services or products. The minimalist view allows visitors to navigate the page effortlessly, taking the shortest time to identify whatever they want. However, this website should be dynamic and significantly responsive. That means it must be user-friendly and mobile-friendly, allowing a more significant part of your target audience to use it.

At the same time, you could consider a one-page website. This site design is considerably effective and practical. It is an excellent choice when targeting people that spend the least time on websites. However, it can only be a choice if you do not have many things to share.

To sum it all, various web designs are suitable for different small businesses. The options above are ideal for enterprises on a budget and those that need to convert more leads.

Reasons Why Trade Shows Are Crucial For Your Business

Whether you have a big or a startup business, marketing is crucial for growth and expansion. The use of trade shows is a popular marketing strategy that has been around for ages. It is also among the most satisfying forms of marketing.

Meet Your Clients

At a trade show, you'll meet with your online customers and other consumers whom you've never met. This personal connection will help strengthen your relationship, ensuring you provide the best customer service at the booth.

Boosts Brand Image

Trade show displays can give you a great opportunity to boost your business. If you develop a good design that describes your business, you can attract potential customers and expose your business to many prospects.

Learn About New Developments In Your Industry

In business, it is wiser to keep your competitors and customers closer. At the trade fair, every business will show their latest developments. Check what your competitors are doing differently and create better strategies from their ideas.

Find Valuable Partners

Trade shows offer a great opportunity to meet and connect with valuable partners. Yes, it's a place to sell your products and services to prospects. It's also a place to connect with other like-minded people, such as distributors or manufacturers. You never know who you may find at a trade show, so make sure you have your business cards ready.

Meet Face –Face With Potential Customers

Trade shows are a great way to generate sales and promote your business by meeting potential clients face-to-face. A trade show will be an effective marketing tool, no matter the size of your business. You may be surprised to meet a prospect who may be interested in your products or services.

Make Sales

You should always have something to sell at a trade show. Whether you bring your latest products or have a wide variety of products to choose from, don't miss an opportunity to sell them. Make sure your presentation has pictures and descriptions of every item.

Increase Customer's Base

Trade shows and convention displays are conducted in various parts of the country. Make sure to attend shows in different regions to increase your customer base. You'll likely meet customers who didn't know about your business and create new connections. Instead of going with a bigger team, you can send a representative to cut expenses.

Instant Feedback

Attendees at your trade show display shelves can help you get ideas from their feedback. While promoting your products and services, ask people for an honest opinion about what they think about your products and use the feedback to improve your brand.

Create Strong Relationships

Today, most businesses are conducted over the phone, by text, or through email. At a trade show, you will meet face-to-face with potential and existing customers and strengthen your relationship.

Education

At a trade exhibition, both the customer and the employee enjoy learning. When a client approaches you at the booth, you will educate them more clearly than an ad or email can do. Inform them why your products are unique from those of other companies. Similarly, when talking with customers, you'll also understand their needs.

Advertising Your Business

Business advertising is crucial for your business. So, carry branded giveaways to people at the trade show. Your business will also gain exposure through trade show marketing, which recognizes each business at the fair.

Networking

One of the greatest benefits of a trade fair is that it allows businesses to meet with other people in the industry. Even if you don't make sales as anticipated, you will get ideas and experience from like-minded people.

The major purpose of trade shows is marketing and making sales. In addition, a business will enjoy an increased customer base, networking, and business advertising.

Benefits of Sales and Marketing Alignment

For all B2B company sales and marketing, alignment is essential in selling complicated products to various committees that make decisions over a long time. Account-based initiatives may be in danger of being flat unless professionals align sales and marketing.

Many companies without sales and marketing professionals may experience negative outcomes. If you fail to align sales and marketing, it may result in lost opportunities, customer frustration, and duplicate effort. Established companies like Maxlend loans can help you collaborate and align with professionals in sales and marketing and help you achieve better results.

Here are some of the benefits of sales and marketing alignment:

Understand Your Customers Better

Sales and marketing can be stimulating by nurturing, closing, and attracting deals. All these must be on one page about the customers they want to reach. When different teams work together, it becomes much easier to make accurate buyer profiles.

The decision may involve various stakeholders at different points. It is essential to know when and who to engage in creating a story thread with many stakeholders from the start to the end, allowing a simple handoff between sales and marketing. It is also important that the sales and marketing understand what may influence the buyers at different stages.

When you understand the customer, you enhance the possession of the client's experience with your partner. Prospects don't like the influence of siloed organizations, which is seen through confusing and fragmented engagement.

More Customer Feedback

Both sales and marketing collect applicable knowledge about potential clients while they observe them and interact with them in the process of buying. Shared customer knowledge and feedback helps to create a way for better conversions and big win rates.

Both teams can position to engage and identify the most promising clients. This only happens when two teams share insights about the customer preference, pain, interests, and even behaviors. When the customer feedback has more details, it increases the sales team's accuracy, and much less time is spent on which one should be the priority.

Business Leaders Offer Better Support

When a company's team shows total commitment from sales and marketing to coordinating their efforts, the executive group becomes motivated to help ensure the sales and marketing alignment are completed successfully. Such support can be extended to various places, such as communication concerning the benefits of collaboration and the commitment of resources to maintain it, including initiatives to simplify department silos, like integrating all important tools and adjusting compensation plans to reward and reflect the combined efforts accurately.

Better Engagement Between Marketing and Sales

If sales and marketing work separately, every team does its activities without being attentive to what the other team is doing. Such separation may result in unclear experiences for possible clients and redundant efforts. It can also make it very difficult to identify where the leads drop in the client's journey.

 Nonetheless, when two teams cooperate and interact more often, they may join their forces to increase the effectiveness of their efforts. Collaborating like an oiled machine can help sales and marketing launch a campaign to maximize the impact, engage more prospects, and handle lead fluids in attractive ways for all the potential clients. Sales and marketing alignment can respond faster when there is a change in marketing dynamics because of the collaboration between two teams.

Other benefits of sales and marketing alignment include:

• Getting a better map of the client's journey

• Having an effective strategy

• Better execution of customer feedback

Make sure your company hires sales and marketing alignment professionals who will help to effectively increase your results by collaborating, reducing risks, and taking your relationship to another level.

The Steps To Expanding Your Small Business

Many countries around the world are started by excited business owners right from the inside of their home. There is no data that suggests that companies that spend more money on the initial phases of opening their business make more money. In fact, wearing multiple hats can and very often does mean that you get a more nuanced understanding of your business practices. This is because during the process, you learn the intricate details that you can tie in to bigger decisions that you make for your business. While it is true that you lose some of this after building your company, you’ll also know what variables that you should track on a more intimate level when you’re looking toward building your own business. If you need tips on how to navigate your small business, this article is for you. 

Know When To Delegate Tasks 

It’s important that if you’re starting your own business that you don’t continue to do every task yourself. As mentioned earlier in this article, it is important to have that fundamental and base knowledge about how your business operates, but it can be detrimental to your business in the long run. Instead, as your business grows, make thoughtful decisions about how you delegate menial tasks so that you can concentrate your time and energy on making better business decisions. Look for phone assisting services New Milford CT to find outsourcing alternatives to menial tasks that are usually done in-house. 

Start With an Adaptable Business Plan 

Most business owners have lived in a traditional world filled with plans that have already been made as to how you should be successful in your specific industry. While this can influence you should stay cognizant of what works, it takes intimate knowledge and wisdom in order to make changes that line up with the world’s economy as it changes. Traditional ideals are generally conceived to be safer routes for new business owners because it is true that what worked before has some influence on what will work now. However, it’s also important to think of new and innovative ideas so that your company can be distinct from the pack. 

Nail Down Your Branding 

While it may seem at first that the biggest brands were either lucky or have fallen into good graces with the branding gods, there is actually much more at play when it comes to successful branding. Navigating the market with your audience is the most important way to ensure that you understand how to brand toward your market. You have the potential to expand outside of your specific market, but this must be done with thoughtfulness in order to be successful. 

Consider Franchising Your Business

Franchising is one of the most popular ways for small businesses to become a household name and expand business nationally and sometimes even internationally depending on how successful the business is. If you are interested in expanding your business and getting connected with potential franchisees you should use a franchise directory like https://franchiseek.com/ for example these franchise directories allow you to advertise your franchise businesses and connect with potential franchisees for a small advertising fee.

Effective Marketing The Old School Way

The rise of digital marketing platforms and social media influencers have helped the direct mail industry to find inventive ways to market products. If you didn't know what direct mail was before reading this then keep on reading because this article will not only shed light on this ingenious marketing strategy but will also highlight some key advantages to direct mailing as an industry alternative for brand exposure.

By now you probably get the gist of what direct mailing is about but to put it in simpler terms, this is a type of marketing that involves brands sending their promotional items to a person's home or work address without their knowledge. The main objective behind this strategic approach is to drive online sales of that brand or business. Nowadays, brands target influential people through this age-old marketing technique. 

Now that you are familiar with the concept, it is important to understand what the advantages are for brands when they opt to use direct mail as their marketing strategy. 

• It Commands  Attention

This is the oldest and most effective way for a brand to be noticed by a prospective client. It provides an intimate relationship with a client because it shows them that you have been attentive to their needs and wants. 

•  Personalized 

Everyone wants something different from the next person. Each delivery is customized.

•  You Get What You See

It is a tangible delivery service and as a client, it's easy to find out if you will like your promotional gift or not as soon as you open the door to sign for your delivery. 

Direct mail is popular for its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. You can receive your direct mail from anywhere in the country and there are many services providers that you can find for instance, if you search for direct mail services in Atlanta you will have a selection of more than twenty businesses that offer the marketing option to brands. So, it doesn't matter where you are you always have the option to do marketing the age-old way. 

How White Label Link Building Can Be the Boost Your Marketing Agency Needs

It’s important that you carefully consider the services that you offer as a marketing agency. Every agency has a menu of services that they excel in – search engine optimization, digital advertising, content creation – the list goes on and on. By offering white label link building, it can boost your agency to new heights while also giving you a competitive edge in today’s marketplace.

Attract New Clients

Businesses of all shapes and sizes need help with their marketing strategies. You may already be helping clients with digital advertising campaigns. You know how to get them the traffic they need through paid campaigns.

What about organic traffic, though? May clients want to focus on the best possible content along with backlinking strategies. It can ensure they get the traffic simply by maintaining their online presence.

When you can offer more services and help people achieve their goals in different ways, you can attract new and different clients. If you’ve been looking to diversify for a while, the simplest solution may be to look at white label link building. It can enhance your portfolio and ensure that you can continue to be the go-to marketing agency for all of your existing clients while attracting new clients at the same time.

Offer More Services

Today’s business owners are savvier than ever before. They’re reading magazines and blogs to tell them what they need to do in order to get more traffic. They know about things like search engine optimization and website conversion rates. When you know that business owners know about marketing, you have to be ready to field their questions.

Do you offer search engine optimization? What’s the average ROI? How do you handle link building? How long will it take to see results?

If you don’t have the answers to their questions, they’ll bring their business to an agency that does have them. It’s not just about knowing the answers, though. It’s also about offering diverse services that will help them grow and get higher levels of traffic needed to achieve all of their goals.

The services you offer don’t have to be provided by you. It’s important to search for third parties that offer the services behind the scenes. With such things as white label link building, you can offer the service and take the credit while a third party does all of the work. It’s a chance to add to your menu of services easily.

Reduce the Hours You Work

It’s not uncommon for marketers to put in a significant number of hours. Especially if you’re just starting out, you’ll work your fingers to the bone in order to prove that you can help your clients. You know that you can only be successful if your clients see some kind of success.

Even with marketing automation software, you may be working countless hours each and every day. You may be writing the content, researching the keywords, and doing everything on the back end.

What if you could get some help? It can be difficult to hire new employees to your agency because there are not only hourly rates to worry about but also employee benefits. It can be expensive – especially if you don’t start growing your client base quickly enough.

Help doesn’t have to come from the hired staff. It can come from third parties that offer white label services. You simply have to decide on the areas you want the help in – such as link building. It can reduce the hours you spend working for your clients – and that can give you more time to pursue new clients.

Increase Your Revenue

With new services comes more revenue. When you take advantage of a white label link building service, you have the ability to set your own prices for the service. The third-party sets their fees – and you can mark them up as you see fit.

As you continue to offer new services and create various marketing packages for your clients, it allows you to boost your revenue. You can decide how many clients you want to take on – and when you’re not doing all of the work thanks to what the third parties are offering, you may find that you can take on more clients than you ever thought possible.

Ideal Hacks to Help Your Small Business Thrive and Grow

Growing a small business isn’t as difficult as you may think! With a little focus and guidance, you can make your startup a success.

Learn a few simple operations and marketing hacks to streamline processes, grow your business, gain a larger audience, and generate more sales.

Make sure you do as much as possible to think about the different ideas that are going to play a part in helping you improve and grow your business. There are many ideas you might like to keep in mind here, and helping your company to thrive and grow in such a difficult time is certainly something you need to make sure you make the most of right now. There is a lot you can do to make the right decisions that are going to help your business improve, get more customers, and thrive in this current climate without spending a fortune.

The global pandemic, politics, and the economy we are currently experiencing have made times tough for companies of all sizes in all industries. In fact, the Coronavirus has spelled the end for a lot of companies, and this is why it is so important to make sure you have a plan of action that can help you thrive as much as possible. Here a few tips you can implement now to ensure your business doesn’t experience those same issues.

Manage Your Short-Term and Long-Range Finances Better; Cut Costs and Lower Overhead

Managing your business finances better is one of the best things you can do. Keeping tabs on your financials and creating a budget to prevent overspending are keys to success in today’s oversaturated environment. Hiring an experienced accountant or attorney will be beneficial here. The right professional will help you prevent spending more than you have as well as minimize tax implications. It is a smart idea to allocate spending in this department.

Streamline Your Business and Improve Overall Operations to Enhance Efficiency

Streamlining the business as much as possible is the best action to take to optimize operations. There are quite a few ways of doing this, such as embracing a leaner approach to business and cutting non-essential costs. For instance, eliminate any unnecessary and redundant tasks for your team members, audit your tools and software every month and cut out excess spending, and modernize your processes to improve efficiency. When you keep a tight rein on your spending, oversee processes, and manage your team effectively, all of these actions will help improve your organizational operations.

Evolve and Expand Your Small Business During Today’s Global Crises

The evolution of any business is typically what launches you to greater levels of success and revenue increases. The world changes at a rapid rate, and we need to make sure we change with it. The most successful entrepreneurs are those who stay on the crest of the wave. They are always at the forefront of technology, innovation, creativity, and talent, understanding the changes that occur, and working toward evolving with them. This is essential for helping to keep your business as relevant and as professional as possible. Staying ahead of the competition is the key to success.

Spruce up Your Website, Improve Optimization, Enhance Conversions, and Design Other On Brand Visual Assets

Your company’s website is one of the key ways of being able to generate success. It is the one thing that gives the biggest impression of your company and your brand. Customers will visit your website to get a feel for the business and find out more about you. And they are going to be making judgments about your business based on the quality of the website and social media channels. This is why you need to make sure you have the best possible web design services.

You’ll also want to ensure that you hire a graphics person or a design agency to create your social media strategy and posts. If you’re just starting out and don’t have the funds to outsource these tasks, you can use free design software to create posts and use scheduling software to eliminate tedious tasks of posting your social content manually. These tools will shave hours off social media duties.

Hiring the best possible design team to create and maintain your website and social media channels is critical to your brand’s credibility, aesthetic, and overall reach.

Don’t Cut Back on Organic and Easy Marketing; Plan and Implement a DIY-Publicity Campaign for Free

The one thing that so many business owners do when the economy goes bad is cutting back on marketing efforts, and the budget, and not taking risks on other types of marketing. This is a no-no. Business owners should plan and implement a DIY publicity campaign in order for their businesses to grow. They don’t need to hire a PR firm or outsource a PR campaign to a freelancer. Rather, they can start learning how easy the process is by doing a little research. And what’s more, is that when you implement a publicity campaign on your own, it’s free.

On top of that, there are so many free resources out there that you can take advantage of, too, like reading up on a business growth consultant blog or trying out free trials, but of course, there are actual tools out there that you can use for free like ChatGPT, Canva, Unsplash for images, Creative Market Freebie Drops, and the list could just keep going on and on. You can still do marketing, even when the economy is tough.

Think about what a feature story in Inc.com, Forbes.com, or Entrepreneur.com can have on your business. Consider what a quote in the New York Times would do for your brand. How credible would that make your business? How much visibility could it produce? How much further would it propel your business over the competition?

Imagine having those bragging rights and the traffic and sales it would send to your website. To put it simply, the right media coverage can be a game-changer for any business when it’s done correctly.

Why not franchise your business?

One of the best ways to grow your small business is to franchise it. There are some things you will need to consider before franchising your small business, though, and tests you will have to perform to decide whether your business model can be franchised. 

Suppose you have a business model that is franchisable and can be replicated. It is essential you understand how to market your franchise so you can recruit franchisees as soon as possible to grow your brand either nationally or internationally. There are many ways you can market your franchise, from using Facebook ads and franchise shows all the way to creating a listing on a directory of franchises. Franchise directory advertising these days is the most popular option for franchisors to recruit new franchise owners. There are many directories out there that offer these services, such as https://franquicia-buscar.es/, as an example.

How to Avoid Common Mistakes in Business and Where to Shift Your Focus to Improve Processes

One of the things that you need to keep in mind is that there are a lot of mistakes that entrepreneurs make when running a business. Some of these careless mistakes include spending too much on the wrong things and not spending on the right things, hiring the wrong team, not planning for the future and setting realistic goals, implementing an ineffective pricing strategy, marketing in the wrong places, or not marketing at all, and not delegating tasks. All of these actions are hindrances to the success of your business.

Instead, try to come up with ideas that will play a part in this as much as possible. For example, you should be organized, understand your market, know where to spend on marketing, develop offerings that will sell, be strategic when advertising, be vigilant about hiring the right team members, spend on the necessities, stay focused, and be creative.

Put People such as Employees and Customers First; Create Brand Ambassadors and Brand Evangelists; Reward Your Employees Often

Putting people, specifically customers, first at all times is one of the best things you can do to make the most of growing your business. Make sure you try to come up with ideas that will allow you to put people first and make your business model all about putting yourself in the customers’ shoes. The more you can do to make the right choices here, the better this is going to wind up being for the company in the long run.

COVID-19 has caused people to re-evaluate their lives and what is important to them, and this has also impacted the way they have chosen to shop and do business, especially in the offline world. So your company needs to make the most of this and try to ensure you focus on people as much as you can. Essentially, providing top-notch customer service will build long-term client loyalty and improve your business's customer retention rate. Rewarding and praising your employees will also help keep them satisfied and motivated so they produce as much as possible.

These are some of the key things you need to make sure you get right when it comes to improving and helping your small business as much as possible in today’s unpredictable market. There are a lot of things that play a part in helping you to make the most of this, and it is vital to ensure you think about some of the best ways of achieving this. By taking the right steps now, you will be able to prevent issues down the road.

The Business Build Up: How To Stack Success

Starting a business is hard, but building one up is even harder. In truth, anyone can start a business these days. It’s as simple as offering a service through Instagram or any form of medium to a wider public. Stacking success is where things become a little more complicated. The majority of businesses fail in the first five years. If you manage to go for four or so years you know you’re doing something right but it’s in the stacking of the success where you have failed. This is why it’s super important to try and build on success and build outwards to new horizons.

Not everyone can do it properly but the truth is this is the most important part of a new business. It’s where costs can spiral out of control and where you really need to focus on your overhead. A new business can survive because the overheads can be low but one around for a few years will start to accumulate overheads that need to be paid off. This is why so many businesses went out of business during the Covid crisis. As soon as money stopped coming in, overhead punished them. Not that they did anything wrong of course, but there’s a lesson in there somewhere around business continuity and how you set up to succeed. These tips can carry your forwards to success.

Your Cash Flow Is Everything

The best plans turn to ash. You might have started off with a foolproof cash plan or budget. They go out of the window a lot of the time when the overheads start rolling in. Try to keep on top of it. Keep your cash plan alive as best you can. It isn’t always easy, but it’s certainly doable; it just takes time. As the business grows, your time becomes less prevalent.

If you get into trouble, you may end up looking at Wise Loan online installment loans, or other capital injections to get you back on your feet. If you feel like it's all getting away from you, consider hiring an accountant or tasking an employee with it. Make sure you stay on track and keep your contingency money aside. In reality, your plan should look exactly the same, just the amounts will increase as your business grows. These things should be easy enough to manage as you grow and build. The point being, don’t lose track of the money as you progress because it could come back to bite you.

Recruit Right

You don’t want to end up paying for an employee who simply isn’t right for your business. If you end up in that situation, it can be completely disheartening, and depending on where you live you might have to jump through hoops to get them out of your business. The remedy is proper preparation when you employ. For a start, your job advert needs to be on point. Describe exactly what you need and want. Then you need to specify your criteria. It has to state clearly what they need to have. This might be experience or qualifications like a degree. This way, you cut out a lot of the potential applicants who don’t fit the bill. It saves them time, but it also saves you time sifting through applications that aren’t suitable. Then come the interviews. If you’ve never done them before consider getting someone in to help. You should never really do them alone any way to cover yourself, but having that extra person in there helps you pick up on the nuances of the conversation. It helps you spot things that might be hard to pick up all on your own. Try to upskill yourself with employment law too, you don’t want to run afoul of anything. Basically, you need to recruit someone who can help build your business with their experience and technical know-how.

Extend Your Product Base

Stacking success comes in many forms and one of the best is in building into multiple product streams. If you’re selling one well, start another and sell that too. It doesn’t matter where you’re selling either. It could be through Amazon or through your own website. Try to keep the products as closely aligned as possible. You might even get to the point where one product is bought merely to make the other one better. These create a kind of circle where one supports the other. You keep doing this and you’ll have a whole ecosystem of products that people can buy into. If you don’t offer products but offer services instead, you can do the same thing. Just be careful you don’t go too far where you have a stupid amount of add ons taking customers down a rabbit hole where they’ll feel slightly cheating. Some would rather pay a larger price for one service than that split in half for two services. Bear that in mind when you’re doing your research around extending

Look To New Areas

If you’ve done well in one area, you can do well in another too. There might be a reason why one geographical area has succeeded. It could be the demographics, like students for example. Is there another student area in your city? Or perhaps you can target the student population in a different city. Expanding should be done as close as possible at first. The closer you are to your target market the less you have to think about logistics. This is of course compounded by the fact you’re not crossing international boundaries. Start small, then move outward until you find another market like the one you’re successful in...focus on that one and be successful there before moving out to the next again. Point being, don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you overextend it could come back to haunt you. Slow and steady, gradually employing more staff as you hit each area. 

New Advertising Streams

If nobody knows about your business then how do you expect them to pay money for your products or services? It just doesn’t work that way. You need to get in people’s faces and push for sales. You’ve probably done this a little because you’ve made a success out of your first venture, but to keep stacking that success you need to keep moving. The type of advertising that works depends on your business type.

Does traditional advertising apply to you? Would you be better off getting out with the local community and passing on leaflets and flyers, or would you be better off instead looking to digital methods of advertising? What’s worked for you once might work again unless that first time was targeting a geographic area and demographic. Go for different ones. If physical advertising is the one for you it might be worth paying for some key locations in your city to get up and running with some visual advertisements. These are better for restaurants and local businesses. You can of course do the same online by paying blogs or relevant websites money for banner ads etc.

Social Media

In the same vein as editing, social media is a gold mine worth tapping. Again, it depends on your business type but most people are on social media these days. Some are on all forms of it, others just on one or two. It’s a great way to advertise. Get on there and start garnering likes and follows. Your social media page will link back to your own website and product pages. Some people search for local business solutions via Facebook these days without even looking at results on Google so it is certainly worth tapping into. Once you’ve set up your business page you need to post regular content updates around what you do and how you do it. Around key industry activities around your business area.

Never be too opinionated as you don’t want to alienate anyone at all. Then think about repeating this over social media sites. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Sites like Twitter are great if you want to speak to your customers. It’s great to interact with them this way because it shows that you’re listening to them and actively engaging with their opinions.

Network

Networking is huge in terms of keeping your business on even footing and getting the best prices you possibly can. This is because you can end up meeting and speak to people in various supply chains. It means building trust. Trust often results in better working relationships which means you may be in line for a discount or two.

These discounts allow you to have a better profit margin with more money for yourself or more money for your business to thrive. This means pushing yourself to get involved with industry events in your local area or even internationally. It means that you can forge long-lasting relationships which can help if you run into any form of trouble in business. Debts can be put off a bit longer, goods can be given without you paying for now because they trust you to pay later, etc.

Finding the Right Media Contacts and How to Land Media Coverage in National Magazines, Newspapers, and Websites

Knowing the right media professionals to contact during a PR campaign is only half the battle. I know, it may seem boring trying to figure out the right media professionals to pitch, but this sort of information is absolutely essential. 

Getting Started 

Generic email addresses like Contact@Magazine.com or Info@abccompany.com are very rarely monitored. So, here’s how you can start. (Just keep the following in mind while you’re going through the process—never send one of the same pitches to 10 or 20 different media outlets. If you do, that’s one way to kill a relationship before it even started. Consider how many times you receive emails that are mass-market, not personalized, or unsolicited. How often do you open and answer them? Probably never. The same goes for the media.

Get out a piece of paper and pen so you can start writing out your top 10 to 20 media outlets where you think your story can fit. Now that you have that list, it’s time to find the right media contact at that publication, but this will depend on your product or service. My first place to start researching is Google. I will start by searching the “Editor beat + media outlet” name. If I can’t find the right person there, then I will look at Twitter or Instagram. 

Now, to determine where your story can potentially fit, you need to understand the following types of jobs and the functions they have. Some of the most common are: 

Editorial Assistant – These titles are charged with managing administrative tasks and they are not the right contact to pitch a story. 

Managing Editor – These editors are senior-level and determine which stories are accepted; however, they’re not the right contacts because they don’t look to feature new products or services.

Senior Editor – These media professionals usually oversee one section or a beat of a publication. They can be accountable for developing story ideas, crafting/editing articles, assigning stories to freelancers/contributors, or collaborating with the design department. These media pros can be great for pitching your products and services.

Features Editor – These media professionals are usually in charge of assigning stories to staff reporters or junior staff as well as for producing feature stories. You can pitch these editors with longer story ideas (between 1,000 - 2,000 words) but pitch them sparingly.

Digital or Web Editor – These editors are responsible for sourcing and developing web content by supervising staff reporters or freelancers. In most cases, pitching for online product placement coverage is appropriate. 

You now have an understanding of each editorial role so take a look at your list. Are your top ones the right ones to pitch? If not, then keep searching.

Drafting Your Pitch for Online or Print Media

Now that you completed that first step, it’s time to craft a pitch that’s concise and interesting. Below, are some tips to help you jumpstart the brainstorming process. 

To begin, make sure your pitch is newsworthy. So, for example, if you're trying to get media coverage for your new footwear collection, your pitch is going to be different depending on which season you’re pitching.  

Why don’t you try tying your pitch to the time of year or an affair that’s happening in the news at that moment? For example, Summer, Winter, Christmas, or Halloween are all great media tie-ins. If there’s a one media outlet where you’d like to be featured, you can also offer it an exclusive story which simply means that you provide that media outlet the first option to run a story. Just make sure no other outlet covers that same story until that exclusive piece is printed.

Your Perfect Subject Line

You only have one to two seconds to capture the attention of an editor with a pitch. In fact, most editors and television producers receive upwards of 600 pitches a day, so your subject line is the single most important piece of your pitch. It needs to be timely, relevant, and concise. It should also be: 

• Limited to eight words or few (I try to keep mine between five and six words)

• Include the name of the outlet you’re pitching

• Include what you’re pitching (i.e., a feature, event, or demo)

Here's one example from an agency client:

Feature: Stylish Women’s Sustainable Fashion at Affordable Prices 

Body: 

To build media relationships, you need to ensure your pitch is tailored to the editor’s column and matches the outlet’s tone. But the first place is start is by addressing the editor or producer by spelling their name correctly. Using a generic salutation such as “Hi”, "To whom it may concern", or “Dear Team”. Because your email isn’t expected, it doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be customized.

The body of any pitch you send out should be between limited to 500 words—this includes the brand narrative, bullet or talking points, and the bio or boilerplate. This format enables the editor or producer to skim it for the most important points in a few seconds. Keep in mind that editors see boring and unexciting constantly, and your only job here is to keep the reader reading and respond for more information. Stay away from including filler words such as “leading”, "premium", "leading", "innovative", and "superior"—you will sound like every other pitch. Add a line about what you’re pitching for, whether there’s a demo that can be scheduled, or samples available.

At the end of the pitch, include a short bio (if you’re pitching yourself for a feature story or interview) or a boilerplate (if you’re pitching your company, product, or service). For media bios, include your accolades, hobbies, and contact information, and for boilerplates, include your company background, history, and overview. Be sure to include your contact information.

Final tip: Include a link to images on Dropbox.com or links to your website. Don’t send attachments because the media won’t open them. 

What Happens After the Pitch:

Don’t panic if you don’t receive response from an editor within a few days after sending your initial email. You can send a follow up pitch a few days after your initial pitch, and then one more time a few days after that if you didn’t receive a response. Any additional follow ups will annoy the editor.  

Be sure not to ask an editor if they received your email and if your story is going to run—it’s irritating. Only send a thank you note after your story is published or after your interview.

 Pitching for Television

Pitching for television is a bit different than pitching print and online media. Searching for the right media contact—a television producer or assignment reporter—can be done via a Google search or on Twitter but it’s tricky because television shows have many different producers and reporters. You can call the news desk asking for the reporter or producer who covers your topic. Helpareporter.com can be a good source for contacts as well.

Writing a Pitch for Television:

When it comes to writing a pitch for television, it must contain a specific story or segment idea. So, for instance, pitching an easy yet healthy cooking segment during the holidays if you’re a chef can be a great idea.

The Subject Line:

Just like your print or digital pitch, your subject line needs to be interesting and concise to maximize the chances of capturing a producer’s attention. Your subject line should be:

• Limited to eight words or fewer

• Include the name and segment of the outlet you’re pitching

• You can use “Int” as an abbreviation for “Interview”

Body: 

You’ll want to ensure that your pitch shows you know the format of the show and where your segment would fit.

 Here are some tips:

·       Your pitch should include a short sub-headline in the beginning of your pitch to hook the reader.

·       Address the producer or assignment reporter by their first name by spelling their name correctly. It drives me crazy whenever I receive a pitch with my name spelled “Kristen” when it’s spelled “Kristin”. Do your research.

·       Your pitch should be 500 words or fewer including the brand narrative, bullet points or talking points, and the boilerplate or bio.

·       Be sure to include your reel so the producer can see how you show on television. Producers won’t put anyone on television unless they see you’re confident and comfortable.

·       Just like online and print, send a follow up email a few days after sending the original pitch. You can follow one or two more times before moving onto the next producer.

Crucial Reasons Your Business Needs PR Now

if you’re like most entrepreneurs, you probably want to learn about publicity but have no idea where to start. So, I want to take a little time to share the benefits that publicity can have on your brand and business.

Generally, publicity is when a magazine, television show, radio show, or newspaper features your product or service in any article or broadcast segment without any monetary exchange. An editor writes about your business or television producer books you from an interview based on the pitch or press release they receive from you or your publicist.

You may be thinking to yourself as you read this: “Isn’t this the same as advertising or taking out a sponsorship?” No—publicity is very different from advertising or sponsoring content.

When you email an editor or send a direct message to a blogger on social media, there’s no guarantee your brand, product, or service will secure coverage. When it comes to publicity, you’re not able to control how large the placement is, what the sentiment is, or what it says, unfortunately. This seems why the publicity process is such an elusive strange practice to entrepreneurs. (But that’s not bad news! A third-party endorsement is worth its weight in gold, as you will see.)

When you purchase an ad or sponsorship, you have complete control over what it says, when it runs, and how large it is. But advertising comes with a huge cost that most startups and small businesses can’t afford, making publicity the better option.

Here are some other great reasons why your business needs publicity.

• Publicity is free when you do it yourself. I know you’re thinking that you NEED to hire a publicist or PR firm to do it for you, but that’s just not true. You can do it yourself.

• Publicity has much more clout and social proof because you get media coverage in some type of media outlet. Most consumers believe that if a magazine or television show features a business, it must be interesting and newsworthy.

○  Think about this - if a new restaurant, bar, or nightclub just opened in your neighborhood, would you want to go if you read an advertisement online or you saw it reviewed in Vogue, LA Times, or The Today Show? If you’re like most consumers, then you’d probably want to check it out if you read about it in a newspaper or magazine. See—that’s the point—publicity is SO much more impactful than advertising.

• Publicity has a way of reaching more targeted consumers than advertising and other types of marketing. If your story is picked up by WSJ.com, it could also be picked up on the NYPost.com and other national media outlets.

• Any type of media coverage can help position you as a thought leader and expert in your niche. When you contribute to an outlet like Inc.com or Forbes.com, then you are able to showcase your knowledge in the form of articles. Consumers or clients are more likely to trust you too more so than if you were to take out an ad or sponsorship on Forbes.com.

• Having your business featured on WSJ.com, The Financial Times, or NYTimes.com, you can attract funding from investors if you’re interested in securing those resources.

If you’re a business owner, now you know how important getting media coverage can be for your business. The longer you wait to start the process, the longer your business will flounder!

If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab the ultimate publicity guide so you can start brainstorming your campaign now.

Get the PR tips below!

Marketing Tips For Professional Services

Professional services firms such as law firms, accounting companies, or human resource agencies often have a reputation for not being very forward-thinking when it comes to marketing and more specifically digital marketing. In the distant past, professional services did most of their business on the back of referrals or face to face meetings. 

The world has moved on and professional service companies are embracing more sophisticated marketing tactics for finding their target audiences. Focus On Your Client, Not Yourself.

In professional services, it’s very easy to focus on your experience, accreditations, and credentials. Sell the benefits of your services, not just the features. Prospective clients want to know what you can do for them, it’s that simple.

While it’s important that you do have these, you need to focus on solving your client’s problems. A law firm or financial advisor prospecting for clients needs to identify and solve a problem for their clients. Every key message needs to be client-centric. 

Creating a buyer persona is a great way to get into the mindset of your potential clients. 

Don’t Forget Your Website Design and Messaging

A well designed, optimized website is so much more than an online brochure that you should just build and forget about. Your website should be working hard for you and work to drive customers to convert to qualified leads. 

Your website should be updated regularly with blogs, video content, case studies, and news stories.  Embed a way of capturing leads with calls to action and data capture forms. 

SEO should also be a big part of your online presence. This is done by researching your market and doing keyword research, optimizing your new and existing content to rank for specific keywords and keyword phrases.

A good SEO company will not only help you improve your site but should also be aiming to boost you ahead of your competitors. 

Find Your Target Market and Engage with Them

Many professional services companies try to be all things to all people and don’t target a particular niche.  This can make it difficult to effectively appeal to anyone. By targeting correctly, you’ll be able to identify and network within the right markets and gain a foothold through referrals and reputation. 

Use Linked In To Network With Potential Customers

LinkedIn has transformed from a place to look for jobs, to a fully-fledged networking and sales platform for business professionals. LinkedIn’s premium tools allow you to target and network with your ideal customers. Sharing articles and content is a great way to attract people to your website.

It is also a good place in which to build your employer brand to attract potential future employees. 

Speak At Trade Events and Conferences

You may already attend trade shows in order to market to new potential clients. It can be a great way to get new business. Take your involvement a step further and get involved in presenting at these events. As an expert speaker, you automatically have a level of credibility with the attendees. Through your presentation, you will be able to encourage future contact through sign-ups of connecting on social networks. 

Conclusion

Embracing up to date marketing techniques can give your company an advantage in the marketplace. Don’t just look to your competitors, sometimes the best inspiration can come from another industry entirely.