Mid-Missouri Marketing Resource Blog

This is one of the main differences between business owners who experience success and those who are just trying to stay afloat. All successful businesses have a clear marketing strategy that makes everything they do more effective.

Many small business owners get overwhelmed with daily marketing tasks like sending emails, tweeting, advertising, blogging and so on, so they aren’t taking the time to work on the decisions that’ll improve the performance of their tactics.

Strategy is simply the decisions you need to make so your tactics work better. Your marketing strategy is the foundation for creating awareness, generating interest, closing new sales, and continuing customer engagement.

Your marketing strategy guides your company culture, your products and services, and your pricing.

Here are a few keys to consider when creating a strong marketing strategy:

We’re officially on the downhill slide of the 3rd quarter and gunning for the end of the year. For many salespeople, this last year may not have been one to write home about (something about a pandemic). It's important to realize that you have a blank slate awaiting you for the future. Now is your chance to capitalize on the lessons learned this year and get focused on what is possible for 2021. It's critical to make the most of goal-setting to help your salespeople recalibrate and plan for next year to be their best ever, especially in the shadow of a difficult season.

Of course we’re going to say “YES” – you knew we would. You also know a simple Google search will produce a myriad of articles explaining why radio advertising works. What you probably DIDN’T already know is that radio works so well, it can actually work against you. But that is entirely within your control – and that’s what this blog is about.

The formula for determining whether radio is going to work for or against you is startlingly simple;

Are you delivering on your promise to customers? YES = radio will accelerate your businesses’ growth. NO = radio will accelerate your businesses’ downfall.

Originally published 9-22-2015. Updated 8-14-2020

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: advertising is an investment, not an expense. In the first of our 12-part series on causes of advertising failure, we’ll delve into the marketers desire for instant gratification, and why it’s an unfortunate approach when it comes to your business.

We get it, advertising, especially as a small business can be a pill. You don’t have a large budget, and chances are you don’t have the time to really sit down, study your books and create a solid budget. We understand. Yet, regardless of these roadblocks, the bottom line is, that if you want your business to succeed, you’ll must allocate dollars to advertising. Viewing your advertising as a long-term investment will make an important difference in your advertising efforts. Advertising is not about instant gratification. If all you can see is the money, you’ll discover quickly that the amount you make probably isn’t worth the amount you’ve spent. However, if you can look past the advertising bill, to the much bigger picture: building the long-term future of your brand, as well as the short-term gain of sales, you’ll realize that advertising is worth every dime and minute spent.

The Mid-Mo Baby Expo is officially underway! This year we’ve decided to take it online due to COVID-19… Ensuring the safety of those who are pregnant and new mothers is extremely important to us, but we wanted to make sure we still could gift them with some swag bags. Why? Simply because mothers deserve it, especially during a pandemic!

So, you’ve put a logo together and slapped a few bullet points down on paper. Does that count as a brand strategy? Not really. Business owners should know why they choose certain strategies, and they should make a detailed outline of what their strategies will be.

The more detailed you are in your branding strategy, the easier it will be to succeed when you execute those strategies.

Here are three things every brand needs to define:

• What is your brand’s objective?
• Who are your customers?
• How does your brand define long-term success?

Knowing the answers to each question will help determine what your goals should be, how you should approach your customers, and how you’ll track results and ROI.

In addition to having a solid strategy, here are a few more steps you can take to help build your brand:

Chipotle started something. In 1993, the first Chipotle restaurant opened in Denver, CO and gave diners something new. It wasn’t quite fast food, but it was fast. It wasn't quite a buffet, but you got to choose what foods to put on your plate. It wasn’t quite a formal sit-down restaurant, but the food was higher quality than a #1 cheeseburger &  fries combo from a drive-thru. Chipotle launched a fast-casual restaurant concept around personalized dining. And patrons loved it. They gave diners a choice and allowed them to personalize their experience. Since then, that concept has revolutionized more than just the restaurant industry.

Marketing automation is a valuable asset to add to your overall marketing strategy. Using a marketing automation software platform, you are able to streamline your work processes, build strong customer leads, and become more efficient with your time spent on marketing overall. When you are working hard at nurturing leads and trying to increase revenue, it's important to consider the numerous benefits of marketing automation.

COVID-19 took the world of sales and turned it on it’s head. Salespeople stood in shock as they watched revenue, and therefore paychecks, dwindle. Many cringed every time their phone rang as they took cancellation after cancellation after cancellation. Forced to recalibrate their sales process to adapt to a different environment, they had to figure out how to make sales calls when they couldn’t meet face-to-face. For local and regional salespeople, this was a new and intimidating concept.

Millennials are the largest living generation that every brand wants to charm. It’s not an easy thing to gain their attention and keep it. In fact, studies show that millennials are less likely to respond to traditional advertising tactics which is one of many battles to overcome. 

Lucky for you, we have cracked the code on marketing to millennials. Here are some tips on how to market to those 35 and younger.