Mid-Missouri Marketing Resource Blog

We love chocolate cake...any cake, really. As Chuck Mefford demonstrates, they aren't that hard to make! Gather a relatively short list of some of your favorite ingredients...dump them in a bowl, mix, bake and voila!

Some 313 million people or 95% of the population in the US spend time buying, researching and browsing online, and now that we are in a global pandemic that hinders many in person purchases, that number is likely even greater. Therefore, this is a huge demographic to reach if you are a business operating in today’s digital society. Thankfully, digital marketing allows you to get in front of these technologically minded customers who use the internet as a tool, reaching them at different stages of the buying cycle. Therefore, it’s vitally important to include digital marketing in your 2021 marketing budget. Read on to learn more:

Originally published 10-5-2015. Updated 10-19-2020.

As a business owner, you’re uniquely unqualified to look at your company or product objectively. You’ve poured your heart, soul, and probably life savings into this venture; it’s your baby. As they say, it’s hard to read the label when you’re inside the bottle. You’re on the inside, looking out, making it impossible to see what others see looking in. That's why in part 3 of our our 12-part series on reasons why your advertising isn’t working, we’re discussing the topic of “business owner knows best,” the subjective hurdle many stubborn business owners need to overcome in order to succeed.

The struggle is real. It’s been an “off” year for your business. You are optimistic, but honestly have no idea what the future holds. You knew when you started in business that risk was part of the lifestyle, that there would be good years and there would be bad years. 2020 has upset the apple cart without a clearly defined path back to normal. “Giving up” isn’t an option, but the fact is…your expenses currently outweigh your income. How do you decide what to do next…what to cut and what to keep?

As a locally-owned marketing company, we at Zimmer Communications have experienced all the ups and downs of a business’ life cycle. In the last  65 years, we’ve supported countless businesses through the ups and downs of a changing economy. We’ve learned a lot in that time. Let’s look at a few key considerations for business owners who are faced with needing to cut costs that have helped them withstand the downtimes and come out strong on the other side.

Get ready campers - BrandKamp is back! 

Originally published 9-28-2015. Updated 9-11-2020

Let’s see if this story sounds familiar… a local business owner spent months researching her marketing options. She knew she wanted to be on a few radio stations. Her competitors were on TV, so she was interested in options on a local channel, and of course she knew she needed to be online, though she wasn't sure exactly where or how. Her employees insisted she should put a coupon in direct mail, and a close friend swore she'd regret it if she didn’t do billboards.

According to Nielsen, 92% of Americans listen to radio every week. Compare that to the number who consume television on a weekly basis; surprisingly, just 87%. Podcasts bring up the distant rear with a mere 22%.

Across all demographics, radio is the most popular form of media in America. For adults ranging in age from 18 and up, radio reaches between 90 and 94% of them all. But why is radio king? How has it enjoyed such an enduring reign? Here are some likely reasons:

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:

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.