Today is the Day I Improve Marketing in Indianapolis

Today is the day that I capture more attention than I did yesterday. Today, I’ll have a clearer message and direct it to a more defined audience. Today is that day (as an Indianapolis based marketing company) I will be more relevant to my community. Today I will have more data about my customers, better calls to action and connect with them on a more personal level in terms of the message I send.

Alright, now I’ve tricked you with this blog. You’re probably thinking:

“Is something special about today?”

The answer is yes and no. Today is no different than yesterday in the broad initiative at hand. Everyday my goal is to improve what I did before (and what we as a company produce for our clients). I once made this video – it’s true, every day.

“But how do you plan to do that?”

Data and experience. About two years ago, I put together a video contest that attracted ZERO entries. It was a fantastic concept but I examined the data and learned from that experience. I’m often inspired by even a large organization like Apple who will continully tweek and improve their marketing efforts. As they increase their market share, grow their database, and more, the precision with which they market to their consumers becomes increasingly better. Use your past marketing history to better define your future marketing plans. What are three tactics that you use to do this?

Customer Surveys
Asking your customers how you can improve tells you a lot about who your customer is and what resonates with them.

Click Maps and Analytics
It’s a digital marketing tool but it is not just for digital marketing. They tell a lot more than you might think at the surface of it all. It shows how customers react to images, messages and is great for A/B testing.

Database Growth and Budget Growth
Yes, You might start day one with zero dollars and not a single name on your customer list. If you are purposeful, this will increase and each increment allows you to put more emphasis and time into doing things not just right, but better.

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redwall LIVE is an Indianapolis Marketing Company that provides Campaigns, Strategies and Tools for Successful Marketing.

Indianapolis Marketing, Is a Bad Economy A Bad Time to Market?

Everyday business are looking to increase the size, perception or positioning of their business. When tough economic times come around, one of the first things to get cut in most companies is the marketing budget. Perhaps their trying to avoid the bad press of laying off employees – or they just want to keep them for when volume picks back up.

Some marketing campaigns are focused on something other than direct sales, such as awareness, positioning or perception. Some would say sales is all that matters, but Sales is not all you need to build a strong company. Let’s not be foolish, sales should be a bi-product of everything you do in marketing. In other words, product positioning can be the goal in marketing and not necessarily increase sales immediately. On the other hand it may attract a certain type of buyer that is more likely to buy add on products form you. Perhaps your marketing focus can be to increase buyer loyalty and not increase buyers. An example would be the way that Apple has focused their marketing efforts on creating buyer loyalty. They may not increase in the first round, but in 2 to 5 years when you upgrade your device, you are most likely going to stick with an Apple product. So if sales is not the focus, all the more reason why we shouldn’t invest in marketing in a volatile economy right?

A down economy is often a great opportunity to grow market share. This is in part because people are reconsidering their own spending. This opens up the door to reach people that previously may not have taken the time to consider options. The other side of this is that inevitably, companies are cutting their marketing budgets. This gives the smaller players the opportunity to rise above the noise and get noticed.

Their are a number of tactics that can be used to take advantage of the opportunity in a down market. Consider offering a cost saving option. Add volume to your client base without the focus being on size of profit. A Movie Theatre can have Family Tuesday’s for 2 bucks (random idea) which may help to create a routine as you slowly raise the prices as the economy improves. You’ve added to your bottom line and customer base.

It is of course debatable, but it may be that a down economy is not only an important time to continue marketing, it may be the best time to market! What are your thoughts?

redwall LIVE : Experiential Marketing is an Indianapolis Marketing Firm that creates Campaigns, Strategies and Tools for Successful Marketing.