Marketing Tips
6 Factors That Could Hurt Your Advertising Results
Throughout our years of experience working with hundreds of businesses in a variety of different of industries, we've found that some practices or businesses have a harder time attracting new customers or patients than others. As we're worked with different clients, we've seen a trend in some key factors that can hurt advertising results. But unfortunately, these factors are often overlooked. Being aware of these factors can help you better plan for and gauge your marketing success:
The Value of Auditing Media Invoices
Up to 25% of all media buys are not fulfilled correctly! Advertisers are leaving thousands on the table every year because they don’t understand how to audit their media invoices correctly.
We recognize that business owners oftentimes find themselves spread thin in the day-to-day practices of their business. This is very common. Auditing every invoice that comes through and checking that they are correct in every way is just something that most business owners claim they do not have the time to do.
10 Tips for Quality Video Production
Video is rapidly growing in its influence on website conversion. Video is a quick way to convey your message, make an emotional connection with your visitor, and distinguish yourself from your competition. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how much is a video worth? Any video is being immediately judged on content, style, production quality, and presentation. We live in a society of instant gratification, and your visitors will bounce off your video if it is poorly executed and produced. Most web videos see over 30% of traffic leave within the first 30 seconds.
Here are our top 10 rules for improved video production:
Are You Marketing to Your Current Customers?
When most people think of marketing, they probably envision the process of gaining new customers or clients that will contribute to the bottom line of their business. But in addition to adding new customers, it's also important to pay attention to the ones you already have. The cost of keeping a happy customer is fraction of what it costs in terms of marketing dollars to gain a new one. Customer retention is a key part of any marketing strategy and certainly something that should get a lot of thought, effort, and planning. Here are a few tips about different ways to make sure your current customers remain a part of your marketing strategy:
Should my Advertising Take a Holiday?
A common question we at Epic Marketing get as another holiday season approaches is, “Should I advertise around a holiday?” As with most questions we face, there are varied opinions in the market, and this may be due to the fact that many of the scattered voices come with their own angle and each industry is unique. If you are a Christmas tree lot, then you definitely should advertise. But what about a home improvement company? Or a law firm? Medical office? In most cases, the correct decision is far more vague. Most owners know their own industry, but look to others for marketing advice. How do you choose whom to listen to? What’s best for your business?
Investing In Your Receptionist
A good receptionist is one of the most vital components of marketing for your business. Receptionists are responsible for greeting customers, patients, clients, visitors and answering phone calls. They are also responsible for managing the affairs of the office and participating in many aspects of the business. The receptionist is usually the first point of contact for a customer and they leave the customer with a first impression of your business. They are key players in bringing new customers to your business, and such, it's important to hire qualified professionals to take on these responsibilities. Once you have hired your receptionists, the most important thing you can do is to invest in them and their future with your company.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
The right image in a marketing piece can help convey a deeper message than you may be able to communicate in copy alone. Finding and selecting the appropriate images for marketing materials, as always, is easier said than done.
You have a few options:
1. Take the photo yourself - good luck!
2. Hire a professional photographer - can be pricey. Hopefully they are better than the wedding portfolio they showed you.
What Surveys Can Do For Your Business
Surveys are often an overlooked solution to increasing revenue, patient retention and overall satisfaction. Whether done formally via phone, emails or in-office forms, or informally through verbal follow-up questions, surveys are important to creating a roadmap to success for any business. They help create an outside perspective of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your business, rather than just having to create that SWOT analysis based on internal assumptions. Here are a few key reasons why surveys of both current and potential customers are important to your business:
PR - The Public Perception of Your Business
A news group recently estimated that the value of a 2-minute FREE segment on a local evening newscast is equal in effect to buying dozens of 30-second commercials. Public Relations is the driving force behind this exposure. It goes hand in hand with marketing, although there are significant differences. With PR, you’re trying to sell your practice to the media so they can in turn sell it to your target customers.
The following is an example from one of Epic Marketing's clients:
Call tracking is a must have!
At Epic Marketing, we know that tracking your marketing is just as valuable as the marketing campaign itself. And the best way to track your marketing is to do it yourself—rather than relying on your customers or patients to tell you where they think they first saw your marketing message. While there are several different tools you can use to track your marketing efforts, one of the most effective is call tracking. We've written about why call tracking is important before, but how do you know if your call tracking company is giving you all the features you really need for effective data accumulation? Here are a few tips to help you know what qualities to look for in a good call tracking company:
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Services
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Online Marketing
Our team of online marketing professionals has years of experience in every aspect of online marketing. The bottom line is that there are people out there searching for what you have, and we can make sure they find you! |
Surveys
What do your customers really think of your product or service? Why not ask them? We can help see what you and your company are doing right as well as identify areas that need improvement through custom surveys. We will work with you on creating a list of very important questions that will help you improve the overall service and quality of your business. You will receive a detailed report complete with percentages, suggestions, and overall ratings. Most of our clients have been surprised at the results and have been able to adjust specific areas of their business that improve customer service. |
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Direct Mail
When done correctly, direct mail has the potential to generate a huge response. We have years of experience in developing targeted lists, message content, and creative designs for all types of direct mail campaigns. We never just throw something together and hope that it sticks. |
Television
Combine our creative team, script writers, and production capabilities and you'll have a TV spot that works! We pride ourselves on making your service/product stand out from the rest in a way that generates brand awareness and phone calls. We track the results so you are never guessing how effective your TV campaign is. Also, you will never have to deal with media invoices or TV sales reps again. |
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Pay Per Click
Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is one of the most effective ways to see immediate results online. With a well planned and managed PPC campaign, you can get a very low cost per lead for any budget. There are very few types of business that we wouldn't recommend at least a small portion of their marketing budget to be spent on this form of advertising. |
Creative
At Epic the creative process is always turning and producing amazing things. We have a team of a least 5 people a any given time that are working on the creative process for each and every one of our clients. Creativity is one of the many things that make us good at what we do. |
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Search Engine Optimization
If you are on Google or another search engine and looking for a product or service, you find yourself clicking on websites that appear in front of you. Ever wonder how these sites get this priority and what you can do to get your website ranking there too? Search engine optimization is the practice of making your website more appealing to search engines and telling them how and where to show your website as a result of a search. We can help you get on search result pages and bring more people to your website. |
Radio
Radio is a medium that can be difficult to figure out. With dozens of stations all claiming to have the audience you need, which one do you choose? What message will draw the best result? Don't chance it! We have proven methods to evaluate the options that will give you the most for your money. Add our script writing professionals to the mix and you have a recipe for success. |
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Messaging
Messaging is a critical part of what makes an ad effective. Think of the best sales person that you have have ever worked with. They weren't pushy, tacky or overbearing. They said just the right things to help you make the decision to buy from them. Just like that salesman, if the words are chosen carefully, you will be able to better persuade customers to buy from you. Expert marketers are also skilled salespeople that understand the psychology of connecting with people and helping them act on what they hear or read. |
Campaigns
Whether you are having a grand opening, new product launch, or just need generate more sales, we have just about done it all. A marketing campaign is an organized and coordinated effort to promote the sale of a certain products/service. We can give you the most for your marketing dollars as we leverage our marketing experience in your behalf. |
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Public Relations
The main purpose for public relations is to improve or enhance the public's perception of a company. Companies will often hire PR firms to develop a hard push on public relation efforts while others will incorporate good business practices on a smaller scale. Press releases, news stories, and strategic events are some of the ways that we can improve the public's perception of your company. |
Research
Before you make any important decisions about your marketing, you must combine experience and good solid research. Research could relate to demographics, area dynamics, media, competition or a combination of them all. Conducting the right amount of research will ensure that your business is on-track with making solid decisions about what to do next and will result in a lower cost per lead or impression. |
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Corporate Jingles
Jingles are a great way to differentiate your product from the rest of your competitors. They create a memorable impression in the customer's mind and will help improve top of mind awareness. We have a great team of artists and musicians that are very good at what they do. Next time you find yourself humming a tune in an ad, be thinking... what if that was your customer humming your jingle? Are they more likely to buy from you when they need your product/service? |
Social Media
Social media has the public hooked to their cell phones and computers. Advertising is about getting in front of people wherever they are, and social media provides a great opportunity to do that. With the ever increasing number of people using social media, we continue to see a large amount of success from this medium. |
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Graphic Design
First impressions are everything, right? How does your design reflect your corporate image? When you see your ads, collateral, or website, do you think high quality, professional, standout design? Graphic design is more than making things look pretty. Its about accurately representing your company's values, goals and overall quality. Whether it is your website, your business card, or something else, we are committed to making sure the design of your materials matches the high quality nature of your business. |
Campaign Tracking Tools
Coming soon. |
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Web Development
Epic Marketing builds high-impact, modern websites optimized for search engines and sales. Our unique blend of quality aesthetics, conversion optimization, and good old fashioned technical gee-whiz know-how make for a web experience like nothing you've ever seen before. You and your website visitors deserve the best. |
Script Writing
Script writing is a unique talent that, if done properly, will captivate listeners and quickly lead them to connect with your products/services. This gift combines effectively positioning products/services while gently tossing an emotional lasso around the neck of consumers without scaring them off. Script writing is most commonly used as a part of creating radio and television ads. |
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Media Placement
In every market there are thousands of different areas for you to spend your advertising budget. Each media rep claims to have just the right vehicle that hits your demographic at just the right cost. In reality, all they care about is getting some of your money and they hope that it works well enough for you to do it again next month. Effectively identifying and placing your media each month is a part what needs to be done in order for your business to get a good return on your investment. |
Print
Print ads continue to be a very relevant part of many businesses' marketing mix. Whether it's newspaper, brochures, direct mail, magazines, or newsletters, there are many to choose from and sift through. One or more of these print elements will likely continue to be a solid part of your advertising campaign. Our group can help take some of the guess work out of which is the best for helping you achieve your sales goals by conducting research, targeting demographics, negotiating rates and buying all forms of print advertising. |
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Billboards
Does anybody notice billboards? The answer is yes and no. It all depends on the location, product, content, design and what demographic you are trying to reach. Thousands of cars pass them every day and it may be a great way to reach your audience. We can help you determine if this the best place for you to spend your advertising budget. |
Brand Identity
Brand continuity is something that often gets overlooked when you have a business owner wearing many different hats or a marketing coordinator with too many responsibilities. Your business should have a familiar look and feel to consumers that are exposed to your marketing material, whether they happen to see your ad in a magazine, see your commercial on TV, or see your website online. Having brand continuity makes your business more credible, increases frequency, and gets them to notice you faster. |
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