7 Tips From a Rogue Marketing Consultant

7 Tips From a Rogue Marketing Consultant
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Marketing has become more complicated than ever, and reaching consumers sometimes feels like an uphill battle. If you could sit down and have a chat with a marketing consultant, what would they say? Here are seven tips to help you get on the right track:

#1: Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Blog

Blogs are still the most powerful way to get your company's message into the minds of your target audience. Because of their informative nature, blog posts are seen as helpful and also sets you up as being the expert in your field.

Once you've established trust with your audience it is easy to keep them as long-term fans of your site. One successful marketing strategy is to provide a ton of free information that establishes you as the go-to source of knowledge for your industry. When it is time for them to buy, they will think of you instead of someone else.

#2: Every Business Needs At Least One Video

Video is just too powerful to overlook in your marketing efforts. No matter what your company does or what it sells you need a video to reach people these days. You can use a video to introduce yourself, or show off your product or service but either way it’s indispensable.

Idea Rocket Animation can make you an explainer video that does the job of introducing your company and explaining what it does all at once. It does so in a non-salesy approach that people really connect with.

#3: Act Globally, Think Locally

We all want to take over the world, but sometimes it starts with efforts on the ground in your hometown. If your business can benefit from local sales, it is in your best interest to spend time and resources on local SEO.

It can often be easier to get traffic from local search terms than from a nationwide strategy. If you have found that you're struggling to compete against the big dogs on a national scale, try going local and see if you can use that to your advantage.

#4: Begin With The End In Mind

In the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, they say you should begin with the end in mind. In terms of marketing, you should reverse engineer your business model based on where you want your customers to end up, and then work backwards from there.

So basically you are starting with the end result you want, whether that’s sales, leads, or newsletter sign-ups. What does your customer want to see after they have agreed to buy your product or signed up for your service? Then go to a stop right before that, figuring out what made them want to get to that point.

Keep taking steps back and asking what got them to the next step and you'll end up at the beginning.

#5: Test, Test, Test

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey is always telling his apprentice chefs to “Taste, taste, taste!”. He’s encouraging them to taste the foods they’re using to make sure they’re high quality, and providing the flavor they’re imagining. In marketing this same advice would be to test what you’re doing to see if it’s having the effect you want.

Test like crazy! Test on a macro level by comparing two different strategies to see how well your visitors respond to each. Test on a micro level by rearranging words in your copy to see what makes the most impact. Never stop testing!

#6: Squeeze the Most Out of Squeeze Pages

Most customers are used to squeeze pages because that has become a common method for starting the sales process. You want to make sure your squeeze page is doing its job and converting visitors into leads.

Your job is to make sure that you're always testing and adjusting your squeeze page as needed. Experiment with different offers, videos, and thank you pages until you are getting the kind of numbers you want to see. Never settle for an underperforming squeeze page.

#7: Don’t Be Afraid of The Drawing Board

To find success in marketing you always have to be willing to scrap everything you've done and start from scratch. Doing so without losing any enthusiasm is the real trick. You don't want to get downtrodden because your latest brainstorm came up with an ineffective idea.

Don't throw good money after a bad idea. Consider it a sunk cost and move on. Invest your energy into a new strategy and pursue that until the feedback suggests it's either a hit or a miss.

To wrap things up, don’t trust anyone that says they have “The Answer” when it comes to marketing. Successful marketers know that it’s all about one hand trying new things while the other sticks with the tried and true. Innovate for future success while addressing current needs with old standby tactics that are proven to work.

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