Can you believe it? Q4 is here. The busyness of the holiday season is just around the corner and now is the perfect opportunity to checkpoint your 2019 goals to ensure you stay on track through the upcoming season.

Tip 1: Go Back to the Basics

You can have an amazing marketing strategy, but if it’s paired with a weak foundation, it won’t be nearly as successful as you would hope. We’ve all heard the saying “You’re only as strong as your weakest link”, and this is true in business and marketing.  This time of year is the perfect opportunity to evaluate your systems and processes to ensure you’re ready to capture new leads and close new deals effectively through the upcoming season. Revisit your internal processes. Ask leaders and team members within you organization for insights and areas they see opportunities for improvement.

Tip 2: Do Your Research

Research and discovery is vital to any successful marketing strategy.  As you approach the end of the year, you may be thinking of kicking off holiday campaigns, or even planning for next year’s new year campaigns.  Research what’s trending in your industry. Continue to innovate to stay ahead of the curve. Revisit who your target audience is and what they want so you can effectively communicate your message to them.

Tip 3: Take a Multi-Channel Approach

This is what we’re all about here at Raine Digital.  With all the noise via social media and online advertising consumers are constantly on information overload, which makes it continually harder for brands to capture consumer attention. By taking a multi-channel approach to your overall strategy, you create the opportunity for multiple touchpoints with consumers and prospects. Develop customized content for each channel, but keep your messaging and image consistent.  This will increase brand awareness and overall customer loyalty. Staying in front of your audience will keep you top of mind when they begin to make purchasing decisions.r

Tip 4: Make It Personal

The world of digital marketing has made it easier than ever to personalize messaging to the masses.  This is important because the digital landscape has also made it easier for competitors to copy your unique value proposition, values, etc.  So, what can’t your competitors do? They can’t be you. Leverage that by building relationships, both online and off. Maintaining a quality relationship with your customers builds a level of customer loyalty that price-cutting competitors can’t consistently beat you with.

Tip 5: Leave Margin for Errors, Changes and Emergencies

Digital marketing is fast paced.  Mistakes happen. Sometimes what’s meant to come across one way is perceived and hijacked by “internet trolls”.  On top of that, there are constant algorithm changes to search engines, social platforms, etc. Staying up to date on these things and leaving room for change in your strategy is vital for staying ahead of the curve.  Lastly, digital emergencies happen sometimes. Whether it’s your website going offline due to a server failure, or your CMS isn’t functioning, having both proactive and reactive strategies in place to handle such events will make the journey through a bit smoother.

Tip 6: Embrace Paid Advertising

We still run across so many brands who are trying to build momentum organically- meaning, without an ad budget.  As I mentioned earlier, the digital landscape is fast-paced and constantly changing. One of the easiest ways to increase your reach, maximize touchpoints, and get found when potential customers are looking for you is to embrace paid ads.  Too many business owners still take the approach of “If I build it, they will come”. However, internet marketing is a crowded place, making it harder and harder for consumers to find new brands. Running ads helps you rise above the noise and better position yourself for growth.

Tip 7: Manage Your Reputation

This is another area that gets overlooked all too often.  One of the first things we do when a potential client reaches out to us for marketing help is evaluate their online presence and online reputation.  Often, we find negative reviews and poor performance of their website. It’s important to check review websites like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook Reviews, etc., to reply to both positive and negative reviews in a meaningful way, and even be strategic in asking for reviews from loyal customers.

Tip 8: Fortune is in the Follow Up

Remember it takes 7-12 impressions or touchpoints to make a sale.  If you try something and it doesn’t work, before you give up on it, ask yourself even you have even tried enough time.  The average open rate for an email is 5%, so it might take 20 emails before a clients even opens one. Keep following up, be assertive with them, without being aggressive.

Tip 9: Clear Is Better Catchy

Many times people are in love with their slogan. They get it, their family gets it, and their friends get it. But does the potential prospect who has never interacted with you or your brand get it – without a lengthy explanation? Anytime you are marketing your brand, you want you want to say exactly what you do as clearly and concisely as possible. A catchy line or slogan is only beneficial if people also clearly understand the brand and what it does.

Tip 10: Let the Value You Bring Shine

There is a lot of marketing that does not say anything. How often do you see an advertisement and wonder what they were expected to do? People want to know how you are going to make their lives better or solve a problem the have (or didn’t know they had). This is the value you bring. You are relieving a pain point for them in a way that is convenient and easily explainable. Keep in mind, nobody buys a mop for the love of mops. They buy mops because they love a clean floor.