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Marketing planning: How to streamline your marketing efforts
We always tell business owners that a good marketing plan is essential if you want to effectively target the market and consumers. These are the main factors that make up the reason for being and objectives of all companies. For this reason, we must know what it is, how it is made, and what is the importance of streamlining your marketing effort. Regardless of the nature and size of your business, if you want to be successful, you need a marketing plan. At Media Shield, we compare a marketing plan to a roadmap. It shows the path and destination where the business is headed and how it is going to get there. It is an action plan embodied in a written document. This identifies the different opportunities that the company has to penetrate a given market. It includes the characteristics and the position of the competition within its market as well as the techniques and strategies that will be used in order to position and stay within the market. So, what are the major marketing concepts that will streamline your marketing efforts? We believe that you should develop a complete picture of the market situation for your product. Analysis of the company’s marketing environment and functions is an important source of data for developing an effective marketing strategy. It is necessary to obtain data on the size of the company’s market, study the needs of buyers, their behavior, and the factors that influence their purchase decisions. As well as competitor data, in order to create a more complete picture of the market situation for your product. Research and understand the changes and trends in your industry. It is important that the company documents an overview of the competition in the market. This consists of knowing what they are doing, whether they are developing new products, hiring new employees, or preparing partnerships. Knowing the actions of competitors will allow the company to predict changes in the industry with a higher percentage of effectiveness. In this way, the plans and strategies that will be implemented in the future are adjusted. Don’t forget to minimize risks. In the world of marketing, as in any field in general, any action that is implemented without prior analysis and planning poses a risk of failure, it is a waste of resources. Creating a marketing plan aligned with the goals of the company will serve as a practical operations guide that will indicate to all employees and team members which way to go. In this way, the risks during the execution of the plan will be minimized. Overall, marketing, like any discipline, requires rigor and organization. From the moment the objectives are established, it is necessary to establish milestones and benchmarks with very specific steps to achieve it. Marketing is just as important as the product or service you offer. Without marketing, consumers and customers will not get to know your company, the services, and products you offer and the needs they can satisfy.
Reasons to use Media Shield customer relationship management (CRM) system
At Media Shield, the number one problem we solve for our clients in improving their customer relationship and their ability to manage their leads and sales. Our clients say they always find themselves researching customer relationship management systems, better known by its acronym, CRM. Do you know what we are talking about? Simply put, a CRM refers to software that tracks interactions with your current and potential customers. Did you know that by using the correct CRM you can boost your business as nothing else can? But, when we talk about the advantages of implementing a CRM, what do we mean? By properly implementing a CRM system, you will be able to store and manage current and potential customer data, track interactions, and help win more customers by increasing your ability and your sales team’s ability to close deals, as well as improving your services, your customer support team and automate marketing processes easily. But does your business need one? What are the benefits of a CRM? Now, let’s get into some reasons to use Media Shield’s CRM system. ✔️ You need management. Primarily management of the flow of leads so that no leads are forgotten. With the Media Shield CRM system when you add a new lead to your sales cycle, it will begin to build a timeline of your interactions with them, creating a complete history of your relationship. At the same time, with the Media Shield CRM system, you can set follow-up dates for each potential customer and can remind you when they are due. ✔️ Your potential customers have multiple points of contact If your current and potential customers are talking to multiple touchpoints in your organization, it can be easy to lose track of what has been communicated during the sales cycle period. The CRM features will provide a documented history of all your customer interactions, showing who said what and when. ✔️ Visibility of data is as important as collecting it. If you want to run sales forecasts, track your sales accordingly, improve your marketing strategy or other business activities, then a CRM system will give you what you need. ✔️ If you can’t remember what stage of the sale each potential customer is in and what happened on the last call, you need the benefits of CRM to easily extract customer history and pick up where they left off. Thus, the seller, whether he is the same one who started the conversation with the customer, or not, will be able to resume without missing any detail. ✔️ If you want to run simple or more sophisticated marketing campaigns, then you need a customer management system to contain the data and ideally to also send the emails. Then when you look at a potential customer in the CRM, you can see if and how they responded. Can you think of any other reason a business may need a CRM system? If so, we’d love to read you in the comments.
Media Shield brings all your conversations to one inbox
Are you old enough to remember when marketers used landlines as their exclusive channel to achieve their goals? Back then, the all-in-one inbox wasn’t even a latent idea. Well, it is clear that today, as new communications channels and methods continue to appear, businesses enter a completely different path. And this demands new solutions from digital marketing agencies. At Media Shield we don’t only think in terms of the mobile experience, the computer experience, on the tablet experience, or on those cool watch experience; we know and understand that the approach to customer relationship must be holistic —that is, employing an all-in-one inbox, contemplating all possible channels where you will communicate with your customers and your team. In the last year we designed a single communication channel that have become enormously diversified and our clients today have many possibilities to manage their relationships with their customers and also effectively communicate with their team members. We bring all your conversations in one inbox. Yes! One INBOX. Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, email, calls, text, and much more. Now you can finally sync all your inboxes with Media Shield and control all your business communications in one inbox, where you can quickly reply, accept payments, schedule and confirm appointments and do much more with a couple of clicks or on your Media Shield mobile app. Book a Demo Call now and learn more about our all-in-one inbox with one of our experts.
Start the Year off right by Properly Managing your Online Reputation
Business owners understand that keeping a positive online reputation is key to running a successful business. At Media Shield, we stress that you, as a business owner, marketer, blogger, social media manager, etc. should ALWAYS monitor and manage your business online presence because it could either make or break your company. There are many different ways that your company can be negatively impacted by having an unfavorable reputation on any internet platform. This is the reason why Media Shield offers an effective online reputation management solution that is integrated into our Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms. Let’s discuss some of the reasons why you need to keep an eye on your online presence at all times. Your business online presence is one of the first things your customers consider before making a purchase. Have you ever looked up a restaurant and quickly glanced at the reviews? Yup! Consumers are increasingly doing their own research before buying anything. With a few tabs or click they can research products and services online, compare prices, and read reviews from other shoppers who have used the product or service, giving them an idea of what to expect when buying it. Your business online presence speaks loudly to your potential business partners. Looking to expand with a partner or franchise your business? How does your business look online? Business analysts and potential partners will probably look up your brand on their favorite search engine and whatever they find there might be what will seal or break interest with them! Remember, your online presence first impression sets everything into place from thereon. Your business online presence will be appealing to bloggers, local brand ambassadors, your local media, etc. Throughout the year we have learned at Media Shield that the power of having influential writers talk about the products/services offered by businesses is undeniable; these people can help you create awareness on what you offer and also shape public opinion which means positive reviews will outnumber negative ones greatly over time – giving you an even greater advantage when promoting their own brand alongside yours if done correctly. So, for your business, this could drive traffic to your site, increase credibility for clients or partners in more ways than one, and provide that free advertising that works like charm! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Media Shield ®️ (@mediashield) Your business online presence can attract qualified and best employees. Want top talents who will be committed to your brand and passion? Well, your positive online reputation is the best way to attract top talents. When you hire someone, it isn’t just a matter of who gets the job; both parties are choosing each other, and this can have a significant impact on potential candidates’ willingness to join your team. Just remember that negative reviews posted online may dampen the enthusiasm of high-quality job seekers! To wrap it up, Angy at Media Shield says that a strong online presence is a necessity for any business that hopes to succeed in the modern digital world. With so many businesses vying for customers’ attention on social media and many other platforms, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd and attract new business. To help you get started on improving your online reputation with targeted search engine optimization or better branding choices, contact our experts today! Media Shield has been helping companies build their brands for years and will gladly offer you a free consultation if you need some more guidance on how to improve your marketing efforts. Book a Demo Call now and learn how to manage your online presence and reputation with one of our experts.
Holiday Marketing Tips: 4 Strategies to Increase Sales
2021 is flying by and, almost without realizing it, we are in the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year. As usual, the need arises in businesses to implement Christmas marketing actions to take advantage of this time of year. Angy, Media Shield Operations Manager says that we must bear in mind that the holidays are very important dates for people. It is not only a way to close the year and move to a new stage, but also a moment to share with loved ones. For this reason, gifts become the protagonists of the time. No custom is more important than looking for gifts at the foot of the Christmas tree. This is how Christmas marketing becomes relevant for companies. Precisely for this reason, today we want to talk to you about how to reach your customers and potentials through Christmas and New Years marketing actions. For that we will share 4 tips to sell more during the holidays. Tip # 1. Prepare your online store 2020 was a before and after in the lives of people around the world. Something characteristic of this great change was the transformation of consumer habits. Electronic commerce around the world grew according to an analysis by Media Shield. The U.S. was the region that grew the most in online shopping. It also confirms a trend that is even more established today: the buyer’s journey inevitably begins through the Internet. For this reason, within the Christmas marketing actions, it is very important that your company or business has its landing page ready to receive visitors. Your customers expect to have a good user experience and that is why it is key that: Your catalogs are up to date. The information on your website is accurate. Your business receives visitors correctly. Provide fast and personalized attention with tools such as the Media Shield chatbot. Tip # 2. Social media yes, but searches too! A blog is a content marketing strategy that should certainly exceed the holiday season. Having content on a blog is always good to amplify visits to your website, achieve good SEO positioning and be as high as possible in searches. In turn, this is key because organic traffic has the capacity to generate a good percentage of sales. Of course, the number of queries that Google receives daily amounts to 80,000 requests per second (6,900 million per day), according to Google. Consequently, and as it is a fundamental strategy, it should not be missing among the marketing actions this Christmas either. Make sure to prepare enough content to have a steady stream during the weeks leading up to and during the holidays. You can recycle old posts and prepare new ones. Also, try to use some keywords that are specific to the season and that if you work them well they can help you get more traffic. And if you don’t have a blog yet, maybe it’s the perfect time to start one. Ask our Media Experts for advice 🙂 Tip #3. Prepare content for all your social media networks Another idea to sell during Christmas is to prepare extra content for all of your business social media networks. Today, these platforms have become a massive communication channel with customers and potentials. Because these sites have an enormous capacity to expose brands and show them to the world with interactive content such as video, for example. Without going any further, Instagram has over 1 billion users. In addition, according to the internal data of Instagram, 90% of the users on the platform follow a brand. While 2 out of 3 people surveyed say they interact with businesses on the social network. Therefore, interacting with followers and potential clients on the networks is a more than profitable opportunity. 🤩 Preparing a content calendar through Media Shield can help you organize the Christmas promotions and products you want to launch this holiday season. You can take surveys using Media Shield survey forms to find out what your followers want the most and offer tempting purchase opportunities that meet their expectations. Do not forget! Take advantage of the potential of video, create quality content and voila! You have a recipe for success. Tip # 4. Email Marketing through Personalization Email marketing is another essential part of your Christmas marketing actions. However, the inbox filter is one of the great challenges of email marketing. Personalization is presented as one of the most powerful strategies to deal with this difficulty. For this idea to sell during Christmas to work, it is important that what reaches your customers boxes is relevant information. That is, useful content related to the needs of your audience. At Media Shield, we believe you should not include every contact in an ideal consumer. Rather, think of diversity as a Christmas marketing strategy. Tim, Media Shield CEO says that you should take advantage of sending suggestions based on previous purchases or based on the interests of consumers. And fundamental! Do not forget to write each email carefully, aiming to initiate conversations with consumers. After all, email marketing gives you the opportunity to segment customers, personalize content, build loyalty through relationship building and measure results. In fact, it is a consolidated technique, with a very high return on investment of at least 50 to 1 according to data collected by Media Shield experts. Therefore, you cannot miss it in the middle of the Holidays season. Can you think of any other tips to sell more during this holiday season and Christmas? If so, we’d love to read you in the comments.
Team Management at Your Fingertips!
Let’s face it. You probably stumbled upon this article because you have trouble managing your team. This issue can truly hurt your company’s bottom line. But, there is a way to manage your team easily and improve collaboration internally. No matter how big or small your company, Team Management will take your business marketing and operations management to the next level. Media Shield makes it easy for you to work more efficiently while keeping track of all your project and tasks with one platform, the Media Shield App. Let’s face it. You probably stumbled upon this article because you have trouble managing your team. This issue can truly hurt your company’s bottom line. But, there is a way to manage your team easily and improve collaboration internally. No matter how big or small your company, Team Management will take your business marketing and operations management to the next level. Media Shield makes it easy for you to work more efficiently while keeping track of all your project and tasks with one platform, the Media Shield App.
What is Digital Marketing?
Today, the internet is nested into our lives in such a way that it is almost impossible to do anything without it. Everyone is connected on their mobile devices, since they all have the internet at their fingertips. And if our life is no longer the same with the internet, the same can be said about the purchase process. Today it is very common for us to look for products or services that we want on the internet, either to look for the best prices (when we already know what we want), to look for information about a certain product or service (when we are still studying the possibility of purchase) or even to discover more about a problem we have (when we still don’t know which solution will help us). At Media Shield, our experts know and understand that Digital Marketing is a very extensive subject with a huge diversity of disciplines, strategies and specific techniques. But, despite the large number of possibilities for Digital Marketing applications, there are those strategies and techniques that stand out for being used by the vast majority and that normally bring positive results. They are: Content Marketing; Email Marketing; Social Networks; Conversion Rate Optimization – CRO; Search Engine Marketing – SEM. Are you applying any Digital Marketing strategies to gain a competitive edge with the best marketing strategies for your business? Comment below and let us!
DM2OE: Digital Marketing Measure of Effectiveness
As marketing professionals at Media Shield, we are constantly working to grow the ratios of an exceptionally long list of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) or what we call it, the DM2OE (Digital Marketing Measure of Effectiveness). The key is to consider measurement strategies before executing the marketing plan. This will allow knowing what to maintain, change, or improve in the established campaigns or actions. When talking about marketing metrics, we must mention the measurements that impact not only this area but the company in general, especially its directors, who must be targeted directly for their credibility. You need the metrics that help you show your results by speaking clearly about the total cost of marketing: salaries, campaign costs, benefits, and, of course, customer acquisition (conversion). It is the best way to understand the effectiveness of your actions. With the help of these metrics, you will be able to know how adequate the effectiveness of your area is in terms of customer acquisition and the effort it represents. Many marketing leaders use these metrics, such as the customer life cycle, as part of their strategy. Below, we share some of the most common types of metrics in marketing we use. General or area metrics: they are focused on the relationship between organizational effort and investment, with respect to customer acquisition or conversion. Campaign metrics: measure the behavior of the target audience with respect to a particular campaign, both in the acquisition of leads and ineffective sales. Product metrics: they indicate the level of popularity of a certain product and its characteristics compared to the competition. Digital metrics: with respect to the presence on the Internet, they measure the acquisition of followers, the times they search for your company, in addition to the level of interactions and conversion, for example. Often, each metric you develop belongs to two or more of these types, according to the specific objectives you have and the most widely used communication channels within your company.
COVID-19: Adapting your digital footprint to the new normal
The health crisis we are experiencing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has made us all realize the importance of technology when it comes to advancing, which has a direct impact on companies and their business models. Everything has changed, the way we work, the way we sell, the way we communicate, the way we shop, etc. The new situation requires a deep and serene analysis of renovating approaches that allow our businesses to continue growing. The pandemic has opened the door to a new business paradigm, in which companies (small, medium and large) have adapted quickly, innovating in services and protocols, and adapted procedure manuals, re-evaluating each area in real-time and implementing new approaches to problems to be solved, looking for flexible alternatives and maintaining a positive for employees and customers. When developing new approaches, think about the following: Find new digital solutions to meet business goals. Avoid falling into marketing denial. Digitally communicate directly with your audience. Avoid marketing tactics that exploit the emotional state of your audience. Reinforce the core values of teleworking. Focus on collaboration between virtual teams. Analyze and adjust your advertising spending. Keep your SEO strategies and research competitive. Supplement your customer service taking advantage of social media networks and alternative technologies. Consider using new digital platforms to expand your reach. Open Google trends and look for the trend of some important words for your business. Find ways to find out what your audience’s top questions are through questionnaires, question-and-answer webinars, phone interviews, etc. Look for ways to find out what your audience’s main doubts/pains are by compiling team reports, interviews, surveys, etc. Compile the main objections and descriptions of missed opportunities after closing for the day We recommend you adjust your strategies in digital marketing. Get to know your audience where they are now (and that is mostly at home and online). Find a way to pivot and give your business the best chance to stay afloat by making your digital footprint easily accessible online through expanded strategies.
