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Does any of this sound familiar? You gotta have a blog!
You mean you aren’t on Facebook yet?
How come you don’t use Twitter as much as I do?
Printed brochure - why? That’s what the Internet is for! HOLD IT! Stop the music and everybody back up two steps and take a deep breath! In case you didn’t get the "memo," here is what today’s marketing communications really looks like - Despite proponents to the contrary, a website is still the communications hub for advertising (at least, it should be). Common sense suggests that for every type of possible advertising - there has to be some "commonality," otherwise all the efforts get fragmented (and - the more fragmented they become, the less effective they are...).
The truth behind effective communications will flabbergast most people. The first three items under Conventional are still the most effective forms of marketing communications. Everything under Electronics just adds a small measure of "gravy" to the results. Obviously, some other agencies will tell you that "electronic communications" are the only way to go these days, but that’s not 100% true. Here’s why: People are more likely to do business with you as the result of a one-on-one meeting face-to-face. All forms of electronic communications typically fall into the "follow up" category of communications; not primary client recruitment. Need proof? No problem! Got business cards? If not - why not? This is one of the oldest, cheapest and most reliabile means of communicating your business to others. In fact we recommend to our Realtor clients that they carry a 500 card box of business cards in their car - all the time. And the fact that the illustration above implies that all forms of marketing communications "feed into" a website -- is intentional. That’s the way it works. The reasons is simple: A well-crafted website will do a significant portion of the follow up for you... (More...)
Still, if you are just starting out, how to effectively communicate the nature of your business is a daunting challenge. For the "old hand," the question doesn’t get any easier: Just how do you effectively communicate the nature of your business? Everybody and their dog is looking for the "magic bullet" that will make either their website, business or both stellar performers. * Like it or not, the Internet is only one facet of communications: and marketing, for that matter. In fact, depending on your target audience, the Internet may or may not be the most effective way to communicate a business’ products and service. You only have so many hours in the day to communicate effectively with a target audience. With a combined 40 years experience, it is not surprising to here our clients telll us frequently: I never thought of that... Think about this: how effective are your communications - if no one pays attention? Worse, how effective are your communications - if you can’t keep track of them?
* After 20-odd years, yes, we actually found the "magic bullet" and provide it to all our clients. (No joke; it’s real...) What we find fascinating is those of our clients that load ’er up and pull the trigger - run circles around even who think it can’t be that simple! (It is...) What is it? Well, that’s not the point here.
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