When I look at the successes and failures in business, I think I have found consistency between them.
The successful businesses remember their primary objective and the businesses that fail have forgotten what they are working for. Their efforts are misplaced because they forgot the reasoning and goals behind their efforts.
Let's put a practical example with this concept.
There is no single business that doesn't require a bit of understanding of technology in this day and age. Even the least technical professionals are sporting smartphones or alternate mobile devices to check email, talk to staff and connect with clients.
The challenge is that technology can be a bit unnerving for some business owners. It’s not unnerving because it’s technology, per se. It’s unnerving because of the need to understand, yet again, something new.
When there is so much technology to keep up with, how do we keep it all straight?
Think of it this way- Technology helps us solve problems and improve our processes the same way any other tool would. Until we understand that the technology we use is meant to solve problems, we’ll continue to focus on how hard it is to integrate technology into our business and marketing efforts.
A trending term right now in the business world is "martech." Maybe you've heard of it, but for the sake of those who haven't, martech is the blending of marketing and technology. Every company has at least a smidge of this happening within their walls, whether they realize it or not. It's a thing of beauty. Let's explore a few examples of martech to give you a clearer idea of it in action.
We get questions from people all of the time looking for the best way to market themselves. They want to know the right strategy and tactics to developing great sales and marketing funnels, going viral, getting a higher ROI... the list goes on. Well, there is, in fact, a root ideology that we believe strongly impacts all of these things:
Be uniquely YOU and the rest will follow.
Client: "I want to rank for the keywords X, Y and Z."
You know how great your business is. You probably think you cannot say enough good things about what you do. But you can.
Of course, the answer is “it depends.” You'll need to evaluate your goals, budget, timeline, and a few other factors to ultimately decide. Think of it as trying to choose what type of car to buy. You have to take into consideration what kind of commuting you will be doing, how many people will be riding in your car, and of course, your budget. You certainly wouldn't buy a Toyota Prius if you're going to be driving on snow-covered, unpaved roads during winter hunting trips, or if you have more than three kids you need to drive around. The better bet would be to look at crossovers and SUVs.
As you take into consideration what your advertising needs, before making a decision, let’s quickly review what each paid advertising method allows you to do.
Mobile commerce is an important aspect of sales, and consumers utilize it constantly (peep the rise of Amazon and other big online retailers).
Display Advertising can be a powerful tactic to drive brand awareness for your company. With its ability to re-engage past customers and launch new products and services, it’s certainly come a long way. Out with those old neon signs, and in with the new digital ads.
Poole Family Farms is a small, four-generation family farm, joyfully bringing locally grown produce to communities in the Pacific Northwest. They provide high-quality produce, direct from the farm, at bulk rate pricing.
The Poole family offers an opportunity for “You-Pick Cherries” right from the Poole Family Farm property in Hood River, Oregon, as well as deliveries of a variety of fresh produce from their farm and from other Oregon family farms, to Portland, Newport, Corvallis, and beyond (12+ locations).
Google Shopping debuted as Froogle, in 2002, as a product price comparison site that used the Google search algorithm and indexing to differentiate itself from other sites that offered the same service. In 2007, Froogle became Google Product Search and then it changed names again in 2012 to finally became Google Shopping. Today, it is one of the favored features Google has to offer users, as it generates 85% of all clicks on Google Ads.
