Competitive Dominance

There are plenty of skeptical business owners out there that don’t truly understand the benefits of Social Media and yet feel left out of this growing marketing phenomenon. While its being used by big brands, it is especially more beneficial for almost every type of smaller businesses. Whether you have a restaurant, retail outlet or provide professional services, social media enables you to build a bigger audience, increase trust and generate more business.Social Media has been known to spark the transformation of brilliant ideas into global companies.

The need for an online presence has never been stronger, while the competitive landscape continues to surge in population. The traditional approaches to Search Engine Marketing and Optimization, haven’t realized impressive ROI’s. The need to use SEO/SEM and its impact on your company’s bottom-line is greater than ever. SEO practitioners to step up and outside the “default” practices of the past – they don’t work. Content Strategies, Organic Search and Social Media can also play a key role in driving traffic to your website and improving your ranking by becoming the Internet’s COMPETITIVE AUTHORITY.

In 2014, there will be more mobile devices on the planet than people. So, if you haven’t developed a mobile marketing strategy for your business or have the tools to use, it’s time you do! Mobile access to the internet use will take over desktop internet use this year. Customers are already viewing your website and searching for your business on their mobile devices. Mobile users are always online, which multiplies opportunities for mobile-ready companies over competitors who aren’t there yet.

Like Telemarketing, most people detest unsolicited emails that occupy their inbox with an array of unsavory ads and irrelevant messages. However, when done right, it is a very powerful strategy and a very inexpensive tool to use. Email marketing takes advantage of a customer’s most frequent connection with the Internet – their inbox. Many of the principles covered in this module can be applied to any type of permission marketing – especially SMS communication via mobile phones. Email marketing is a tool for building relationships with both existing and potential customers. It can maximize the retention and value of these customers, which ultimately lead to greater profitability.

Attracting and capturing information about prospects can only happen when you offer something of great value in exchange for their vital information. Understanding the path and decisions made by a prospect in reaching you is very essential for an inbound campaign. How much of those leads turn into buyers are dependent upon how well you systematically track, organize and engage with your contacts. While a CRM is an excellent tool, you will need to perform other activities that are naturally social, more human. By integrating social media with your CRM software you’ll be able to develop long-lasting, profitable relationships so existing customers keep coming back and new customer referrals keep coming in.

Applying old rules of measurement to the new online world of spreading ideas is an epic fail. No longer can you rely on those ROI calculators or sales projections. The truth is, they were never accurate. Today in a socially connected world, the best way to determine the likelihood of someone buying from you is to listen to their conversations, track who’s their trusted influences and why. As you address their hot buttons, you can begin to gauge tendencies by observing their interactions with your brand. This type of decision-making matrix will help you develop influential marketing messages to trigger more sales across social channels and marketing medium. After all, the best way to measure “Marketing ROI” is how much you have sold.