Category Archives: Market Research

In Depth: New Brand from Scratch (Part 3 of 3)

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Biz Support, Brand Voice, Business Development, Content Voice, Market Research, Marketing Tips, Programs/Products, Targeting
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BrandIn this 3-Part series, we walk through building a brand from scratch. With all the pieces together and a real live business operation ready to sell, serve, and support customers. . . it’s time now to advertise and be ready to serve customers as the brand and by it’s standards. Part 3 walks us through the big follow-through. Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.

Marketing Plan

The brand marketing plan has been writing itself as you’ve walked through these steps. Now it’s time to nail it down. Decide on a budget and get the plan off to a solid start so it will manage you, rather than the reverse.

A good content and campaign calendar will span a year or more and take you from launch to sales goals to profitability. The plan may include promotions with respect to seasonality and annual trends specific to your industry. Decide up front who will be in charge of the PR, marketing plan, keeping track of the content calendar, social accounts, sponsored posts, ads, promo item inventory, trade shows, media buys, etc.  Continue reading →

In Depth: New Brand from Scratch (Part 2 of 3)

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Biz Support, Brand Voice, Business Development, Content Voice, Market Research, Marketing Tips, Programs/Products, Targeting
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BrandIn this 3-Part series, we walk through building a brand from scratch. In Part 2, armed with a good sense of identity after the intensive self-reflection exercises in Part 1, the brand is now ready to advance to the implementation stage and make some solid decisions.

Get Real

It’s time to level-set and refer to the business plan. Let’s align your brand vision with your revenue source. You need to be able to deliver on your brand promise, which you can achieve  by calibrating your tone and messaging to what you have the time, resources, and budget to actually accomplish within a reasonable time period.

Ask yourself what’s feasible, realistic, and affordable. What can the business afford? What can my team support? How much of an authority do we have to be on this subject? How deep a level of customer service do we need to provide? Continue reading →

In Depth: New Brand from Scratch (Part 1 of 3)

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Biz Support, Brand Voice, Business Development, Content Voice, Market Research, Marketing Tips, Programs/Products, Targeting
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BrandIn this 3-Part series, we walk through building a brand from scratch. Part 1 takes us though the planning and conceptual phases with the goal of spinning a compelling business case into an attractive and effective brand image.

To make your product or company really stand out in the marketplace and radiate with supreme power, you must first anoint it with the magic of Brand. Establishing an effective brand takes a coordinated blend of business and creative work-think. Let’s pull the team together and get a lot of input so we can realize the best identity for your business.

But first, congratulations are in order! Welcome to a rare, exciting, fun, creative, and collaborative experience. Building a brand means getting the chance to start something that could generate a ton of revenue and benefit many lives.

Whether you’re a first-timer, vet, or a company expanding into new areas, take this task seriously and consider it a great ground floor investment opportunity. Don’t be afraid to pour an abundance of time, energy, and heart into it up front. Continue reading →

What To Do With Info on Your Website’s Content Performance

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Blogging, Content, Content Marketing, Market Research, Marketing Tips, Search Results, SEO, Targeting
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content performanceAre you paying attention to your Google Analytics? If not, it’s time to start. And if you are paying attention to your Google Analytics, what are you doing with the information on your content performance?

Maybe you’re simply filing it under “good to know,” because you’re satisfied that people are actually visiting your website, reading your content, and your traffic is growing steadily. Perhaps you’re using what you find to learn more about your readers and potential customers. With a little digging, there’s a wealth of information at your fingertips.

But something that I’ve noticed small business owners often overlook is the opportunity to use content performance metrics as actionable feedback. How well your content performs or how poorly it performs can provide a roadmap for what direction to take next.

The following simple tips will help you use the information you discover about content performance in Google Analytics to your advantage: Continue reading →

7 Tips to Increase Content Sharing

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Content, Content Marketing, Content Voice, Customer Relationships, Market Research, Marketing Tips
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content sharingContent marketing and content sharing are some of the most effective strategies you can use in your small business to establish your authority, become a trusted resource, and build your brand.

Quality content is a powerful marketing asset for your business, well worth the investment of your time, effort, and budget. But when you commit to crafting top-notch content and it seems like nobody’s reading it, it’s easy to get discouraged.

For your content marketing efforts to benefit your company’s bottom line, you’ll need to increase your reach and expand your audience. Some growth will happen organically over time. However, intensifying your content sharing push is a critical key to your content marketing success.

Getting more of your content shared and endorsed by people who appreciate it can forge significant headway towards reaching your marketing goals.

Here are 7 tips to increase content sharing: Continue reading →

How to Set Smart Marketing Goals for Your Business This Year

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Biz Support, Brand Voice, Business Development, Client Relationships, Content Marketing, Customer Relationships, Market Research, Marketing Tips
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setting SMART goals concept on napkinWe’re excited to kick off our 2016 marketing goals with a bang. And if you’re anything like our small business clients, you have some fun and interesting projects in the works too.

Maybe you set a New Year’s resolution to go big in your business this year, or perhaps you’ve simply set the intention to pick up the pace, step up your game, and take some mighty leaps forward. You’re ready to drive your vision onward, and we’re happy to cheer you on, be your support team, and guide your steps along the way. But before you hit the ground running with your 2016 marketing plan in hand, here’s a quick high five for you — 5 tips to set smart marketing goals for your business this year.

Think through what you really want out of your marketing, business, and life this year. Go back over past years, carry on what worked, and toss aside what didn’t. Tap into your growing inner wisdom as a business owner, and make intelligent choices for your future.

And when you sit down to write (or re-write) your smart marketing goals for 2016, we encourage you to keep the process clean and simple, by using a tried and true framework — the good ol’ SMART goals acronym. Continue reading →

How do you know it’s time to tap into a new market?

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Content Marketing, Customer Relationships, Market Research, Marketing Tips, Targeting
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tap-84487_640When you have big goals for your business, you don’t want to stay in a small pond. Ambitious entrepreneurs are continuously on the search for deeper waters and vast oceans of opportunity. And when you start to reach the limits of the waters where you’re swimming, you may begin to feel tapped out. But one of the most exciting things about being an entrepreneur is that you can always find ways to tap in to new opportunities and venture into exciting new revenue streams.

But how do you know when the time is right to veer from the path you’re on — serving the customers you currently serve —  into the unknown territory of a new market?

In marketing, the term “market” refers to the group of customers or potential customers that may be interested in your product or service, that also have the means, ability and freedom to purchase what you are offering. Continue reading →