Responsive Web Design

Is your website mobile-friendly?

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Responsive Web Design

If not, it needs to be — by April 21st. Why?

Google will begin penalizing your mobile search rankings if your site isn’t mobile-friendly.

Why is being mobile-friendly so important?

Because 25% of all search queries are now on mobile devices, according to BIA/Kelsey, eMarketer estimates — in 2014 — 129.9 million US consumers used a mobile phone to search the internet at least once per month, and Google states 9 out of 10 mobile search users have ‘taken action’ as a result of a mobile search, with over half leading to a purchase.  Read more

Marketing is an investment in your company’s future success, but knowledge and closing the loop are needed to maximize its efficiency and effectiveness.

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future-success

Lately, we’ve received a lot of inquiries from trade publication writers asking for tips and tricks on how businesses can cut their marketing budgets and eliminate waste. While I applaud these writers in their quest to more efficiently and effectively utilize a business’ marketing expenditures, the premise of their articles assumes that marketing is a line item expense that can be cut like it were office supplies.

The reality is that marketing is an investment in the future success of your business, just like investing in the stock market — or investing in one’s education — goes towards the future success of an individual.

Is there waste in utilizing the marketing funds allocated?

Absolutely, but this is due to the fact that for most businesses’ marketing is an open-loop function.

An open loop is similar to driving your car to get from Point A to Point B at a specific time, but there are unknown elements like weather and traffic congestion that impact your ability to achieve your goal. While driving, you’re listening to the radio for traffic reports or using a smartphone app to spot problems and navigate around them. You’re occasionally glancing at the clock or your watch to check the time. And, you’re constantly glancing at the speedometer checking your speed, pressing or relaxing the accelerator based on the car’s current speed and your assumed time and distance from other vehicles.

Whew! Wiping my brow. Writing the last paragraph made me sweat. The same thing happens to businesses when using open-loop marketing.

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Industrial Marketing: Can Social Media Play a Role? Can Social Media Work?

Industrial Marketing: Can Social Media Play a Role? Can Social Media Work?

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Industrial Marketing: Can Social Media Play a Role? Can Social Media Work?

These and many similar questions  are being asked and debated across the industrial marketing spectrum.  And, there is no clear consensus.

The following is a look at why the answer might be maybe.

1.  Fear is holding back adoption.

In general engineers don’t have a lot of spare time on their hands.  Part of the reason for the lack of time on their hands to engage in social networking can be attributed to their inability to get to social media. The SAE International’s Do mobility engineers use social media? study surveyed nearly 1200 members and found only 55% said they use social media for work and only 52% of companies permit social media use during business hours.

Additionally, MarketingProfs What Works in 2011: B2B Marketing report finds that the number of companies restricting social media use is growing. Facebook, while the most popular of the social networking channels, is also the most blocked by companies.

Security and over exposure of information are the Top 2 fears of companies according to McAfee Inc.’s Web 2.0: A Complex Balancing Act – The First Global Study on Web 2.0 Usage, Risks and Best Practices Report. The study found over 60% of the respondents stated their company suffered losses averaging of $2 million related to security issues.

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Before You Leap Into Social Media and Networking Photo

Before Leaping Into Social Media and Networking

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Social Media & Networking Photo - Before Leaping

Six steps to your organization’s social media and networking success.

The Internet, more specifically social media and networking has changed the way people and organizations connect, create, stay in touch or seek help from others.

Citizen journalists are using social media tools like blogs, microblogs, and video sharing to inform the world of the events surrounding the 2009 Iranian election protests when traditional journalists were banned from the country. It helped to topple the Egyptian government and many other Middle Eastern governments in 2011.

Musicians utilize services like Myspace and YouTube to launch careers and connect with fans. Companies employ wikis to collaborate on product development,  manage projects and customer relations, and provide technical support. E-tailers and restaurants apply reviews and opinions to increase traffic and drive sales because while 14% of people trust ads, 76% trust consumer recommendations* for purchase decisions. Furthermore, companies use Facebook to encourage fans to refer their products or services since a Facebook friend referral makes two-thirds of US Facebook users more likely to purchase a product or visit a retailer¹.

However, many organizations are jumping head long into social networking before they know what it is, how to use it, what platforms their stakeholders may or may not use, what social technographics define their stakeholders and what costs —  direct and hidden — are involved for fear they are going to be left out.

Others leap in because it is going to be a ‘cheap’ way of marketing themselves without having goals, strategies and tactics established, knowing the human resource and time allocations needed to get results, defining a method for measuring results, and determining what message(s) they’re going broadcast. Read more

Without Knowledge Your Marketing Investment Is Worthless Photo

Without Knowledge Your Marketing Investment Is Worthless

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Without Knowledge Your Marketing Investment Is Worthless Photo

Business owners invest in their firms, not stocks is the headline AP Business Writer Joyce M. Rosenberg used for her article in Crain’s Detroit Business, June 24th Small Talk section. It discusses how business owners, like you, are intending to invest in their businesses instead of the stock market, since it’s such a risk.

If business owners are truly going to (re)invest in themselves as the article states, then they really have to understand that a marketing investment is something they cannot do without. It’s one of the investments that, if done right, has the largest return-on-investment and impacts the business the most.

But sadly, I have to say, many companies start without any research. Many fly along by the seat of their pants. Many don’t have a clue who their competitors are, what their business structure is and how they are positioning themselves in the marketplace. Many don’t have an inkling who their stakeholders are, their customers’ needs and wants are, or how and where their customers get their information. Many don’t know what makes their own business unique.

If your business wants to gain the greatest return-on-investment possible, have the best conceivable brand image and awareness and have the largest sales increases attainable, you must do your due diligence before you invest. Hopefully, that is what you did when you invested in the stock market. So, the same principles must apply to your company’s marketing investment because without knowledge the investment is worthless. Read more