Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

Free Marketing Report - 50 Marketing Charts & Graphs

Monday, May 10th, 2010

HubSpot.com has recently published an incredible report of over 50 charts and graphs of original market research.   The report clearly shows a significant shift for many businesses from outbound marketing (print, radio, telemarketing, direct mails) to inbound marketing (SEO, Blogs, Social Media).

The report itself is an interesting read for any marketer or business owner and you can download it free at Hubspot website.

Here are a few key statistics about the state of Inbound Marketing and why it works:

Larger websites perform better.

Businesses who’s website has more than 300 indexed pages in Google generate over 200% more leads than businesses with fewer than 300 indexed pages.

Bottom line: larger websites tend to perform better in search results.

Source: State of Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Report - http://bit.ly/cVMpkn

Bloging more often drives results

Bottom line:  The more often you blog, the more customers you’re likely to get via your blog.

A weekly updated blog generates 20% more leads than monthly updated blog.  Daily updated blog performs 30% better than weekly updated blog.

Source: State of Inbound Marketing Report - http://bit.ly/aewfHr

Blogging adds huge SEO value to websites

Companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages.

Bottom line: Adding a blog (and blogging often) is the easiest way to generate relevant pages and boost your rankings in search engines.

Source: Data from over 1,500 small businesses - http://bit.ly/XDkQV

Inbound marketing works!

According to HubSpot study there are two big reasons for businesses to focus more on inbound marketing.

A - Economy.   92% of businesses cited economy to be the biggest reason for them to increase their inbound marketing budget.  Inbound marketing cost less.

B - Past success with Inbound Marketing.  58% of businesses cited they had a success with inbound marketing in the past (as opposed to 4% of respondents who said they had success with outbound marketing).

51% of surveyed businesses said they increased their inbound marketing budget in 2010 compared to 2009.

Bottom line:    Inbound marketing works!

Source: State of Inbound Marketing Report - http://bit.ly/aewfHr


Inbound marketing is more effective

According to HubSpot, inbound marketing has an incredible 60% lower cost per lead!

Bottom line:  Inbound Marketing is more cost effective.

Source: State of Inbound Marketing Report - http://bit.ly/aewfHr

Inbound Marketing is important for lead generation.

Virtually every aspect of inbound marketing has grown this year compared to the last one.

SEO and organic search has grown in importance by 4%, up to an incredible 59%.

Blogs have gain 2% in importance compared to last year. 48% of businesses view blog as important tool for lead generation.

Social Media has grown the most: up by 14%.  60% of businesses view social media as an important lead generation tool.

Bottom line:   Inbound Marketing is becoming more important to many businesses.

Source: State of Inbound Marketing Report - http://bit.ly/aewfHr

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Website statistics - what to look for?

Friday, April 30th, 2010
Almost every business with a website does something to market and promote it.  When we ask business owners how well does their website perform, many don’t have the key data to answer this question.
Measuring the performance of your website, where do your visitors come from, what is your conversion rate and what keywords people use to find your website is very important for your inbound marketing strategy. Yet many small business owners still either don’t have access to their website statistics or can’t find the time to make sense from the analytics data.

So what is the easiest, quickest and most user friendly way to track your website’s performance?

Consider adding Google Analytics to your website.  It is free to use and if you ask your web developer to add the tracking code to your website it won’t take him long to install it.

In a recent post at the Online Marketing Blog, Thomas McMahon offers these tips on what to analyze first:

  • Unique Visitors. “If your unique visitor number is low, it could mean that your site is either having issues [with] search engines, or needs more content,” McMahon explains.
  • Traffic Sources. Are you getting traffic from Google, Yahoo, Twitter, or other sites? This information can help decide where and how to promote your future content.
  • Referring Keywords. If these keywords don’t refer to your company, then “maybe you’re not optimized, or optimized for the wrong phrases,” McMahon notes.
  • Top Content. Use the same format as your top content, or build out on those topics, to help drive more traffic, he advises.
  • Location. If your business seeks to have a strong local search presence, the location area in analytics can tell you the country, state, and city of your visitors.
  • Campaign Tracking. This feature helps you track visitors from your ads, wherever they appear, to a particular goal, page or conversion at your website.
The conclusion? With minimal effort you can use analytics to help you improve your website’s performance and increase sales.
Need help adding Google Analytics to your website? Contact us and we’ll set it all up for you in no time.

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Research Shows Websites Influence 97% of Clients’ Purchasing Decisions

Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Influence of websites over purchase decisionYour website may very well be the most powerful marketing tool at your disposal.  Not only it is your point of contact on the web and the place for your clients and prospects to find out information, but your website also has a huge impact on your prospects’ purchase decision.  In fact a whopping 97% of the 200 surveyed buyers—from companies of all sizes—say a provider’s website has an influence on their ultimate purchase decision.
The survey was conducted by RainToday.com and included more than 200 buyers responsible for more than $1.7 billion in professional services purchased, such as accounting and financial consulting; architecture, engineering, and construction services; human resources consulting; IT consulting and services; legal services; management consulting; marketing, advertising, and public relations; and training services.

The influence of professional services websites on purchasing decisions has increased significantly over the past four years. According to the survey, 74% of buyers report the provider’s website holds at least “some influence” over their ultimate decision to buy services from the provider. This is 23 percentage points higher than in 2005 and represents a significant increase in the importance of websites.

It’s clear that having a good, well established website that delivers results is vital for professional services firms. With more and more of our daily activities conducted online, having a good website could be the key to success for many businesses.
With a well performing website you can:
  • Establish that you are professional: through professional design, writing, and arrangement of content.
  • Establish that you are worthy of consideration: through an overview of your services, your client list, biographies of your professionals, and case studies that show how your helped clients.
  • Establish yourself as an authority: through blog posts, publications, videos, and other resources to help build credibility, reliability, and trust.  All of these are essential elements necessary to win clients and increase your sales.

How important is your website to growing your business?

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Posted in Business, Marketing, Web design | No Comments »

How to Start a Business Blog (free ebook)

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

A 12-step process for starting a business blog packed with vital and actionable information. Business Blog blogging business blogging Business-Marketing

How to Start a Business Blog

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Social Media Revolution

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

If you still think social media does not concern you or has no impact on your business, watch this video and think again.  The way we receive information and make decisions about where to spend our money is changing and social media plays a vital role in this change.  While it may take a while for this world-wide trend to have full impact in New Zealand, it is only a question of when will it happen.  The real question is: will you and your business be ready for change or will you be left behind?

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Posted in Advertising, Business, Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

B-to-B Marketing Fundamentals Don’t Change

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

It’s amazing how business to business fundamentals are the same now as they were fifty years ago. While the times change, businesses change, technologies change, the basics of B2B marketing don’t.  While we have new technologies and tools available, it’s still about relationships. This short, well acted gig clearly shows why having an online presence is now more important than ever.


YouTube - B2B marketing fundamentals don\’t change.

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Eight Tips for Marketing in a Recession

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Business woman watching her business growWith many businesses starting to feel the full impact of current slow economy, it might be a good idea to review your current marketing efforts to make sure your business stays on top of the game. Here are some tips for what you could do.

1. Intensify Marketing

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make during periods of economic slowdown is to cut back on marketing and advertising, doing this could be most damaging to your business. Studies have proven–and every marketing analyst will agree–that marketing should be the last thing to cut in recession.
Instead, your marketing needs to be more aggressive and more comprehensive than ever. You can simply start by contacting past clients and simply touching base. Chances are a good number of them will have projects for which your services may be required.

2. Spend smarter

You may have to reconsider your current marketing efforts and focus your spending on things that work best for your business. While you won’t always be able to measure the ROI, there are statistics and studies available online on the effectiveness of the most common advertising channels. Do you know where are your customers coming from? Is there another channel you haven’t use before for some reason? Your Yellow Pages advert may work fine for you but what if you are missing out on whole lot of business that you could get through a web site? If you wonder what to do next with your advertising budget, give us a call. We can have a look at your marketing, see if there is anything we can improve and offer a objective suggestions and recommendation. We can also provide you with case studies on what will work best for your particular business.

3. Utilize every marketing effort to it’s maximum

Do you give your clients all the information you could? You may already have materials you produced for some of your previous campaigns that could very well complement your latest marketing efforts. For example a case study you did a while back can be an inset to your brochures or a handout at your office. You can use it on your web site to improve your search engine ranking. Better yet, offer it for download on your web site when people register for your email newsletter. Your customers will get an interesting document to read and you have a new subscriber in your database to keep in contact with.

Offer discounts, freebies, or other extras as incentives.

There is a truth to P.T. Barnum’s quote: “Without promotion something terrible happens… Nothing!”

When money’s tight, clients expect more for their dollar. Offering discounts and special deals will help you attract new customers. It will also serve as reminder for your current ones customers to contact you next time they need your services.

You may also consider setting up a referral reward program for clients as part of your marketing efforts.

5. Double-down on your current customers

Sure it’s more fun to get new customers, but it’s more practical in a downturn to provide more value (and get more in return) from your current customers.

When customers make decisions in a downturn, they’re more likely to go with a more trusted source. Ask current customers what they need from you.
Care for them, and they will be even more likely to stick with you if the going gets tough.

6. Stay consistently visible

In any economic situation, being consistently visible and staying in close contact with media and the industry community is critical to a company’s success. See if you can partner with a local newspaper or have an article about your business published in an industry specific magazine or web site.

Not only can a you maintain a strong market presence for your business, you can do so at minimal cost, compared with traditional advertising. In addition, the credibility of an independent third party carrying your message strengthens its impact.

The first step toward gaining a new customer is being seen in the places they tend to be looking, including industry newsletters, magazines, Web sites, and association reports.

While press releases with substance are worthwhile, they should also be accompanied with interviews, background information, customer case studies and data on specific industry trends. All of this works to establish a relationship with reporters and positions you to be a valued resource to them.

7. Outsmart your competitors

You have an opportunity in a downturn to win market share from your competitors.

If you pay close attention to what’s happening in your target markets and how customers are reacting to a recession, you can act early and often with changes in product or service, price, and positioning.

For example, in the last technology downturn, software companies became very creative in their pricing schema, many switching to software as a service model (Hosted solution where you pay as you go) that gave them an edge over competitors who were stuck in an old paradigm.

8. Innovate

Bring in your staff and get everyone to put the thinking cap on. Are there areas of your business that could be improved? What about new service you could offer to market segment you’re not using that much at the moment? Strange as it sound recession may produce some new opportunities for your company if you are willing to explore them.

For example, in the last US recession instead of laying off staff, Apple got it’s employees to think and innovate. Six months later the first iPod was born - a device that revolutionized the music industry and is responsible for almost half of Apple’s revenue today.

Final thoughts

Current economic conditions require that businesses make difficult investment and cost-cutting decisions.

Maintaining a customer perspective in these trying times will ensure that the right activities are invested in and your customers are satisfied and secure.

Those that retain their customers in the current economic environment will not only be more resilient in the short term but also best positioned to prosper in the long term, when the economy begins to rebound.

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Business Blogging Explained

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

This is a copy of a previous blog entry as it was published on our last website. We feel this article is still relevant so we are republishing it here.

What is business blog?  Why do it?  What are the benefits?  Who can start a business blog?

RSS and blogging

These are the most commonly asked questions on this topic and I will try to answer them right here.

When I was working with Howie Clare from BulletPoint Marketing (by the way a brilliant marketing consultant) on our report called “13 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website”,one of the options mentioned in there is  “Business Blogging”.

What is a blog?

A blog is essentially a web page made up of usually short, frequently updated posts that are arranged chronologically—like a what’s new page or a journal.  But especially a blog for business encompasses much more.  There is a lot of benefits you can use to build up your brand and indirectly increase sales.

Why start a blog?

Some of the great benefits of business blogging include: Brand Building, Competitive Differentiation, Relational Marketing, Media & Public Relations, Position You as an Expert and Reputation Management.  If you are interested in more information about business blogging, please don’t hesitate to contact us at your convenience.

What are the benefits of of blogging for small businesses?

Build an online community

Blogs provide your small business with a chance to share your expertise
and knowledge with a larger audience.  This opportunity to connect with
a wider audience and build a community is a strong benefit for example
for consultants and knowledge workers.
Increase your Search Engine Rankings

This is quite an important aspect that should not be overlooked.  A website is only as good as the amount of business it helps you generate. If you have a visually stunning website that no one can find, you might need to re-think your online marketing strategy.  With the costs of many SEO services between $5,000 to $10,000 per year, business blogging offers an affordable solution for small business. Blog offers the opportunity to promote your web site for hundreds of different keywords. Search engines like crawling through blogs because they offer a large amount of text content that is updated and added to on a regular basis.


Build up your brand awareness

A blog gives you a good opportunity to buld up your brand awareness. The more a customer hears your company name, the bigger chance of remembering it. By blogging you might also spread your influence in  areas of potential customers you would not be able to target otherwise.

Competitive Differentiation

How will your potential customers know what makes you different from
your competitors? Tell them on your blog! Show them how you
work, why should they contact you and how your solution to their challenges is unique.


Increase sales

Building up brand awareness goes hand in hand with increased sales. As indicated by Business Weeks’ Olga Kharif in “Blogging for Business”,
Jonathan Schwartz, president and chief operating officer of Sun
Microsystems discivered his blog was a gold mine when his sales people
started reporting they were selling deals faster to the readers of his
blog. Blog also gives you an opportunity to mention your latest special deals and promotions in a more casual form than your main website.


Appear accessible

You and your company will appear to be more
accessible especially if you allow freedom for all your visitors to
post comments. Accessibility is often a stumbling block for many
potential customers that still prefer to deal with companies offline. A
blog makes you more approachable and makes it seem easier for your customers to contact you.

Position Yourself as an Expert

Are you an expert in your field? Well tell the world on your blog. If
you really know what you are talking about people will pay attention and read your blog on a regular basis.


Communicate with your audience

Blogging provides several benefits in communicating with your customers. One of the biggest benefits is enabling a RSS feed for your blog that lets your readers know whenever you post a new article.  Blogging also keeps you in touch with a lot of interesting people, expands your views and provide you with new ideas for your business.  By allowing your customers to leave comments on your posts, you can communicate with them on another level.  You can also track which posts are being read more often and which generate a greater number of clicks. This is an important market research information that doesn’t cost you anything.

img_girlreadingonweb

Social Media Marketing

Social bookmarking
sites like delicious, Stumbleupon and digg can produce astounding
results. If you are lucky enough to have one of your blog articles go
‘viral’ on one of these sites you should brace yourself for a surge of
new website visitors and possibly some high quality inbound links.

Who can start a blog?

Because blogging software is the first true easy to use solution for small
business and free agents allowing one to create, publish, manage,
share, and syndicate communications to new and existing customers,there are no limits as to who can have a blog.

If you know how to browse the internet, you will have no problem publishing a blog. Simply write your thoughts, link to other articles and publish your blog with only a few clicks of a mouse.  You can either use some of the free publishing services like blogger.com,  or you can have a blog featured right as a part of your current website, much as this blog here.  Please don’t hesitate to contact Digital Arts for a free advice on how to setup your own blog.

Maintaining A Successful Business Blog

While there are free blogging services available they generally offer ad-supported blogs with a restricted amount of templates and options. To truly take advantage with a business blog your best bet is to use a commercial application or pay for a commercial service. These enable you to integrate the blog into your own domain incorporating your own design. This ensures that you offer the full benefit to site visitors while making it easier to point blog visitors toward the appropriate pages of your site.

Regular content is imperative to the success of any blog. This content needs to be informative, accurate, and written in a way that will appeal to your visitors. Every blog demands different content and by producing the right content on a regular basis it will pay dividends.

In some posts you should try to find an opportunity to link to at least one page on your main Web site. Try not to get carried away by placing too many links or linking from all your posts but if you mention a particular product, link the name of that product to the corresponding page on your site.

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