Given the many complexities and challenges organizations of all types and sizes are facing in a pandemic economy, it is more important than ever that your business puts its best marketing foot forward. To compete effectively in this new Covid-19 environment, all aspects of your marketing need to be current and optimized to drive the business results you need to achieve this year and beyond.
Not sure if your marketing needs a reboot for 2021? Take the time to answer these questions honestly and if you are concerned by your responses, contact us today to learn how we can help.
Does your brand message reflect the value that your business delivers today?
Take a look at the way you talk about your business on your website and on your collateral. Firstly, is it current? Does it reflect how you are serving your customers today? Secondly, does it communicate the unique “value” of what you are delivering to customers? At its core, your brand messaging allows you to answer the question why? Why should your audience care about your offering? What transformation are you enabling for them? It also allows you to explain briefly how you are delivering value and what tangible results your audience can expect. It allows you to shift the focus from the features you are delivering to the positive impact you deliver for your audience. Finally, it also allows you to differentiate from your competitors.
It is pointless to invest in brand messaging unless you include it in every customer communication – from your website to emails and newsletters to content marketing and collateral.
Did you know: 77 percent of consumers buy from brands who share the same values as they do
Work with us to explore and define your organization’s unique value proposition so that we can create a clear and distinct brand message that represents your unique brand promise.
Is your website up-to-date, modern and optimized for user engagement?
You may be one of the many businesses that invested in a website back in the day when you hired a developer to hand-code it or a firm to set up a template that your team now struggles to update. And, compared to today’s modern websites, it may look a bit like a ransom letter. The question is, does it matter? Can your business continue to make do with an outdated, hard to manage website?
In any business environment, the answer is yes! Every business needs a professionally designed, lead magnet, sales booster, brand-differentiating website. The truth is a business’s online presence, regardless of industry, can have a massive impact on its success. Showcasing your brand to your prospective customers is one of the most important things that you can do and your website is one of the most powerful tools you have to do so.
Whether your website serves to establish your credibility in the market or needs to generate leads, a modern, well thought out website that meets the needs of your key audiences is critical. The good news is that there is no need to invest 10s of thousands of dollars in a custom website that you can’t manage yourself.
We develop custom websites on the Wix platform. We love this platform because it eliminates much of the complexities usually associated with building and managing websites over time. The Wix website builder is a self-hosted platform. This means there is no need for you to buy hosting services from a 3rd party. There is also no need to buy a separate website builder (like Divi from Elegant Themes), download and install WordPress, for example, into the hosting environment. The process of setting WordPress up and adding and managing a wide range of plug-ins is complex. Wix automatically adds an SSL certificate which also simplifies the setup and ongoing maintenance process.
Did you know: It takes about 50 milliseconds (that’s 0.05 seconds) for users to form an opinion about your website that determines whether they like your site or not, whether they’ll stay or leave. 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout are unattractive.
Are you communicating with your prospects and customers throughout the year?
Publishing a newsletter to keep in touch with your customers, partners and other contacts is a best practice for many businesses. A newsletter opens the door to delivering a better understanding and knowledge of your brand and the particular products and services you offer.
It's a cost-effective medium for boosting business. However, it requires a commitment and an editorial calendar whether you plan to publish weekly, monthly or quarterly.
We can implement a newsletter subscription form on your Wix website and create a newsletter template in Wix (or an email service like MailChimp or Constant Contact). We work with your team to create a content strategy that is easy to implement.
Did you know: 49% of consumers said that they would like to receive promotional emails from their favorite brands on a weekly basis.
Does your social media strategy make sense?
At Sugarbird Marketing, we believe that you should only do what is necessary and what works. That means, we don’t take a knee-jerk attitude to social media. Instead, we assess which social media platforms are a good fit for your business and then create a sustainable social media plan that your business can implement over time. We create sample posts to show you how you can use this powerful medium to connect with your audiences.
Did you know: After following a brand on social media, consumers continue to engage in various ways. Ninety-one percent visit the brand’s website or app, 89% will buy from the brand and 85% will recommend the brand to a family or friend.
Are you taking full advantage of customer reviews, case studies and testimonials?
Customer testimonials and case studies are considered one of the most effective content marketing tactics. Product reviews are 12x more trusted than product descriptions and sales copy written by manufacturers. These are some of the reasons to invest time in securing reviews for your business on Facebook, Google Business, Yelp and other specialized review sites. Make sure to implement these reviews on your website. This may require creating an email campaign to encourage customers to provide reviews and testimonials and participate in case studies.
Did you know: When a product gets five reviews, the likelihood of it being purchased increases by 270%.
BONUS POINTS
Are you taking advantage of email marketing to drive new business?
According to HubSpot, about 80% of marketers report that they’ve seen an increase in email engagement in the past year. That’s why email marketing remains one of the most popular and effective marketing tools we have in our toolboxes. Whether you already have a list of prospects or purchase them, setting up an email campaign consistently delivers a high ROI for B2B marketers.
Did you know: Email marketing generates $38 for every $1 spent, which is an astounding 3,800% ROI, making it one of the most effective options available.
Are you delivering high-value content to your customers and prospects?
We believe there are two reasons to invest in blog content or content marketing on your website: firstly, to establish your business as a subject matter expert that delivers helpful knowledge as a value-add and; secondly, to attract leads to your website via organic search. However, creating high quality content that delivers on both reasons can be a heavy lift for many businesses. For content to be effective for SEO purposes, for example, it needs to be between 700 and 2,000 words long. This kind of long-form content requires critical thinking. It is intended to be read (as opposed to skimmed). It is well-researched and contextual.
Sometimes long-form content is gated, meaning that the audience must submit personal information before being able to access it. Forms include articles, white papers, downloadable e-books, guides, or reports, to name a few.
Did you know: 72% of online marketers describe content creation as their most effective SEO tactic.
Let's work together
Our goal is to work with you to create a custom marketing modernization plan that perfectly aligns with your business goals in 2021 and beyond. Contact us for a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your specific needs.