Category: MFBO
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Aligning The Marketing-Sales Process For Profit
During the pandemic, small business weaknesses were exposed. Many failed because they did not align their marketing and sales functions into an integrated process. By this I mean that marketing, the sales personnel and all of the company employees must work together in the areas of strategy, tools, and customer acquisition to maximize the business […]
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Put eMail Into Your Marketing Strategy
There’s an old saying in online marketing: “The best time to start an email list was two years ago; the second best time to start is now.” Email, SEO and blogs continuously outperform their social media counterparts. According to several studies, about 58% of consumers check their email first thing in the morning…64% of small businesses […]
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Startup Brand PR Strategies
Are you starting a new business or looking to grow an existing company? If so, then it’s helpful to learn how to work with traditional media and online press outlets in order to maximize the power of coverage. And while there are standard PR strategy basics that are handy to know, one of the best […]
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Think Hourglass – The Buyer’s Life Cycle
In the past, I have blogged about the importance of understanding the buyer’s journey and how it relates to the marketing/sales funnel. Have you ever thought about how to change that funnel into an hour glass shape by focusing on retaining customers? First, let me quickly review of the buyer’s journey — sales funnel concept: […]
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How To Integrate Sales & Marketing Strategies
Your Sales and Marketing strategy is your plan for reaching, engaging, and converting target prospects into profitable customers. It’s the charter that guides Marketing and Sales in their daily activities, helping them clarify shared objectives and how to achieve them. Without a strategy, all your Marketing and Sales activities and tactics might be for nothing. […]
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Content Marketing Mistakes
Currently content marketing is one of the smartest investments a small business can make, especially if you are in the early startup stages. Content marketing is a way to provide your potential customers with informative content to questions they seek. According to a 2020 Hubspot survey around 40% of marketers say that content marketing is […]
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Effective Sales Process Management
How do prospects decide to purchase your product or service? Does a single decision maker find a product or service and buy on the spot, or does s/he go through many steps and approvals first? Perhaps there are multiple people or departments involved in the decision, each with their own needs? Your sales process management […]
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Start Measuring Downstream Brand Metrics
The Apple’s iOS 15 update rolled out on September 20, 2021 includes new privacy features which could significantly impact tools used by marketers/advertisers. The changes include Mail Privacy Protection which prevents senders from learning whether an email has been opened and hides IP addresses so senders can’t learn a user’s location or use it to […]
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Build Your Brand Message
Every brand has a unique selling proposition — the one thing they do better than everyone else. Unfortunately, founders often make the mistake of trying to focus on the same unique selling proposition as their biggest competitor, or they try to market themselves as being “the best” in almost every facet of their business. Naturally, […]
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Digital Front Doors Are Here To Stay
The customer journey is being transformed using digital tools and creative customer engagement strategies. Customers can: try on glasses at home and order them online; take classes and learn new skills from industry experts; order groceries, make appointments, and get medical care all from our cellphones and laptops. As I pointed out in my January […]
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Brand Management Strategy
A branding strategy is essentially a roadmap for how you’ll develop and communicate your brand identity to customers. It involves defining who your target audience is, what type of branding content they might want or need from you and where they can find it (including social media channels). It’s about coming up with relevant brand values […]
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Buyer Journey Map Format
In a previous thought post, I discussed, in detail, the benefits of buyer journey mapping. Since that time, I have been requested to post the spreadsheet format used in my past companies and workshops for building a buyer journey map. Several of you also requested the 5-Ws for building a successful buyer journey map. The […]
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Sales Process Steps
Any successful sales process is not based on how you want to sell; rather, it’s a reflection of how your customers want to buy. Over the past year, customers’ buying behavior has changed dramatically, so it is vital to tune, adapt or rebuild the sales process to reflect that change. One of the most significant […]
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Applying Technology To Sales
Understanding the role technology can play in recovery and growth this year, sales leadership needs to consider taking a more holistic digital first approach. As more people adopt a digital mindset and use technology for almost everything, sales teams have to engage with customers in a relevant digital way. Making this shift lets sales leaders and […]
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Marketing Failures During the Pandemic
During the pandemic, small business weaknesses are being exposed. Many small businesses are failing because they have not followed an integrated marketing/sales process. By this I mean that marketing, the sales personnel and all of the company employees must work together in the areas shown below such as the strategy, tools, and customer acquisition. Your […]
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SWOT Analysis: Marketing Opportunities And Threats
The National Retail Federation found that 83 percent of shoppers say that convenience is a bigger priority now than it was five years ago, with online shoppers feeling even more strongly. They have a price they are willing to pay for features they deem to be most convenient, whether that be speedy delivery, a short […]