Have you ever sat at a restaurant table, opened the menu, and then saw that there was something approaching fifty options? If you’re like me, it probably took you ten minutes or longer just to make a choice: “Well, I haven’t had steak in a while… but the chicken looks delicious! Wait, but what about the smoked salmon…? Oh… I don’t know what to order!”
Read MoreIf you live in the Boston area, you have a chance to win a free Dunkin’ Donuts deli-sandwich each day this month – if you use your smartphone to take pictures or answer trivia questions through the company’s mobile applications. Orvis, an outdoor-apparel firm, is engaging loyal customers through smartphone apps designed for the upcoming holiday season. Frozen-yogurt franchise Yumilicious is sending tailored promotions and loyalty offers to customers’ mobile phones.
These are just a few examples of companies that recognize the forthcoming dominance of mobile-based marketing.
What is your marketing department doing?
Read MoreIf you owned a store and no one came to the store, you would worry. You wouldn’t say, “Well, I did my job. I opened up my store. There’s even merchandise here and a semi-functioning cash register. Someone who really wants to buy can.”
If that was the case, you would wonder what was wrong. Perhaps you would invest in a promotional campaign: maybe take out an advertisement, contact local media to try to get a story, give a sales discount, offer a Groupon or Living Social coupon, or pass out fliers in the parking lot.
Read More
By Josh Cline
You might already know that companies that blog generally have more-consistent sales. But did you know that start-ups that blog and use related public-relations effectively have a better chance of attracting angel investors as well?
In today’s financial climate, it can be extremely difficult to obtain seed investment – so every available and relevant resource needs to be directed, at least in part, towards that end. Inc.com writer Matthew DeLuca understands this point well:
Read MoreEdward Williams, partner at Brook Venture Partners, says that he looks at all the standard data when considering an investment, but treats blogs a little differently.
I’ve touched before on the importance of strategic planning before: decide what you want to do before you decide what services or tactics you want to implement.
The Cline Group’s CEO, Josh Cline, also wrote about the importance of planning on The Cline Group’s site. Josh wrote:
Read MoreSo, what is the big problem? Companies today are forgetting the traditional holistic approach to marketing strategy. They are forgetting or ignoring basic business and marketing fundamentals like messaging and positioning, branding and overall perceptions. Companies are missing the basic marketing principles, such as mapping the marketing plan to the company’s short-term and long- term goals and its business objectives.
In search-engine marketing (SEM) – the goal of which is to rank highly in Google search-results for chosen keywords – there are two general strategies: search-engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, so it is important to know when to use each one (or even both).
Before you make this marketing decision, you first need to determine and understand your overall business goals. As we at The Cline Group have always maintained, one’s marketing goal needs to be in line with one’s business goal before it can be integrated and executed successfully.
Read More
