5 Integrated Marketing Improvements To Start Today

I’ve heard it over and over again. “My Marketing Team doesn’t do anything like this. Marketing basically tweaks our website, makes our brochures, and things like that.” A good integrated marketing program is far more than “collateral marketing” and “making changes on our website." My advice is to sit down with your marketing team or marketing agency service and see how many of these 5 Integrated Marketing Improvements you have working for you.

‍1. Understand what your Prospects and Clients want to know.

‍Are you creating all of your marketing from inside your company’s walls? Look at your competitors; listen in on the social conversations of your clients and prospects. Talk to your stakeholders inside and outside your company. Marketing decisions need the support of research in order to be viewed favorably by customers and to stand up to competition and other external pressures. Consequently, all areas of marketing and all marketing decisions should be supported with some level of research.While research is key to marketing decision making, it does not always need to be elaborate to be effective. Sometimes small efforts, such as doing a quick search and/or survey on the Internet, will provide the needed information.Start now by joining the social networks of your clients and prospects and monitoring the conversations as they relate to your company or products. Many apps are available to assist you with this marketing integration tool.

‍2. Plan on Giving before you Get.

‍It’s nice when prospects finally come over to listen. It’s nicer when they leave as a client, but between those events, You’ve got to give, and give, and give! So create an offer: Something of value, (remember to research). Make it easy for your prospect to get it .What might you offer?

• A research or white paper
• Access to a video
• Inclusion on a premium list, perhaps a “First-To-Know” whenever you introduce a new product or service
• Industry specific intelligence

The offer doesn’t have to be “big.” But it does need to provide real and immediate benefits. Make it valuable and, yes, your prospects will “pay for it” with contact information and participation. Maybe agree to “sit” on a review panel for you and help create brand loyalty.3. Test, Test and Test the messaging and offers.Not sure which marketing generates the most inquiries….. Test it.Analytics allows you to A/B split – that is, you can measure the effectiveness of one marketing piece or message to another. Your call to action should never be the same for all clients or prospects. Do not forget to database the intelligence you receive from this testing for your next marketing outreach.

• 25% of the time, ask them to visit a designated page on your website.
• 25% of the time ask for email.
• 25% of the time ask for email, name, and company.
• 25% of the time sign up for your e-newsletter.

Remember what gets measured, gets managed.4. Make Google, Bing and Yahoo Choose You!Search engines have a job to do: Serve the most relevant Web destinations, in order, for each conducted search. Why should these search engines choose your website as its first choice? Because you let them “know” that this page is very relevant for the key search terms.  Is your social media optimized, how about all of your marketing that drives lead generation and sales. Make sure you “search engine optimize” (SEO) all of your marketing to provide the “lift” that increases the ROI and is needed to really attract the search engine’s attention. This attention to making your marketing integrated includes images, videos, blogs, micro sites and all your social media outlets.5. Measure, Analyze, ImproveDoes most of your marketing get measured and analyzed? If you’re not sure, go to your analytics software or Google account and see how many of your online and offline campaigns have measureable goals attached by segment.Like  I said earlier, what gets measured gets managed.With Marketing Analytics, you can learn:

• Which of your online, offline campaigns are bringing in visitors!
• Number of visits, page views, and time spent on site.
• Which are your popular pages?
• Which searched keywords bring traffic to your site?
• What part of your marketing mix is creating the most “lift”?
• And much more..

Get started today improving the ROI on your existing marketing communication activities, follow these 5 easy steps and enjoy the outcome. Don’t forget to get in touch with me and report back on your success or improvements to these integrated marketing campaign tips.ParkerWhite Brand Interactive is a creative agency in San Diego that specializes in brand communications, strategy, web development, and social media.