Inbound Marketing Blog

If you’re a data nerd like me, then you know that one of the most frustrating things in marketing is to *not know information about the users browsing your site content.* Sure, you could sift through all the information that Google Analytics provide, but there’s got to be an easier way to get some quick insights about leads and users…

Cue Lionel Richie singing “Hello, is it me you’re looking for?” as a Hubspot Free Marketing Software banner pops up on your screen.

What’s this? Hubspot has software that does this? And it’s FREE?

For as long as business owners have had a location to hang their sign, they have tried to find more and more ways to get more and more people to buy from them.

What usually happens is that businesses (even experienced marketers) will simply create a punchlist of tactics that they think are important to do — if they do they’ll get sales.

What is marketing myopia? Simply put: it's tunnel vision. More specifically, it's what occurs when a business becomes complacent in its marketing efforts, and either focuses too much on the products they sell and not enough on the benefits it provides the user, or focuses far too much on one marketing channel and ignores others.

Marketing has always had concepts that remain relevant throughout the years, but it also is constantly changing. As trends, the economy, consumer preferences, and other factors change, marketers have to consistently take a proactive approach if they want to succeed. 

Years ago, in a different life, I was a sales manager in a different industry. I had ten sales associates working for me in outside sales. We won some and we lost some.

Whether we won a deal or lost a deal, I would ask my sales rep to debrief. I wanted to know how it all worked out. I was always much more interested in the reasons we lost deals than the reasons we won deals.

In that highly commoditized industry, more often than not, the reason for losing a deal came back as, "We were too expensive."

That always frustrated me; not because we were over-priced but because the sales rep didn't understand that price is only one part of the buying decision. It's usually not even the most important part.

Sending an email to the wrong person, stumbling or fumbling your words during a sales pitch--these are all things that can send your business to an early grave. Kidding! We are all only human, after all. The mistakes addressed here are even more dangerous because you may not be aware you're committing them.

When you walk into a store or a company, you immediately catch a vibe. You get a sense of who they are, what expectations they may have, how they can cater to your needs, etc. This is the same with digital platforms, minus a lot of the tactile elements that can be found in a physical place. When you look at a website, you immediately get an impression of who they are and what they represent. This is why branding and website design are so critical to your company's success. People are immediately drawn to or discouraged by the impression they are given. One thing that multiple companies are starting to implement to encourage positive impressions is the idea of incorporating tactile marketing.

In the business world, it used to be enough to sell a product. Talk about what it does, how it will help you, and it is bought. Now, a product needs a story. An idea. There are hundreds of others offering what you do; what makes yours different?

You may be doing better on followers, but is the only sound on your Facebook... Crickets? You're posting regularly, (we hope) but no one responds. We've found some pretty nifty tips for increasing Facebook engagement, which we've used ourselves, and thought we'd share:

Let's Play a Game

Yes, games work! They're fun, they show your personality, and people like to play. The key is not making them about you or your business, but about your audience. Be sure to check out Facebook's guidelines first, then go wild!

Here are some games you might try out!

Best Guess

Run a "Take Your Best Guess" competition! 

Business owners use several marketing strategies to entice customers and increase profits. Some strategies succeed and reinforce sales, whereas other methods exhibit insignificant results. Market and data research is vital in determining the best marketing or advertising strategy. Data-driven market research is perhaps the most important tool for business owners when evaluating the market they are interested in engaging with.