“Across professional services industries, only a slight majority (54 percent) said marketing and business development activities were strongly coordinated. However, a lack of integration between the two can result in wasted efforts and lost opportunities.”*[1]
Business Development focuses on forming partnerships and contacts, with the goal of sales, whereas marketing focuses on creating messaging that will resonate with clients. These two elements need to work cohesively together, to help increase market exposure. DRMG recommends, in all your print and digital marketing tactics, to utilize these 3 key elements:
Two-way Communication
Updated & Current Content
Tracking & Measuring Feedback/Results
Two-way Communication
Successful marketing depends heavily on two-way communication. You want to engage your online audience as much as possible to help increase: engagement, organic search results, and
ultimately subscribers. For print marketing, you want to ensure your messaging is intriguing and has a strong call to action. You only have one shot,with a print piece, to catch the attention of potential clientele and drive them to seek out more information. Communicating in a manner that allows for both parties (your business and customers) to exchange information will help build your brand reputation.
Updated & Current Content
Both print and digital marketing campaigns are tools to help your business reach, communicate, and ultimately sell to potential clientele. With multiple factors impacting customers spending habits, it is important that your messaging is current and impactful. For print, you need to make sure your content and design is up-to-date and creative to help your business stand out. When a customer searches your business online, it is important that your website appear on the first page, and the page itself contain updated content; most people searching won’t go past the first or second page of results.
Tracking & Measuring Feedback/Results
Devoting time and money to a marketing campaign is an important investment, and it is equally imperative to measure the performance of each campaign. For both print and digital tactics, tracking feedback gives you a direct insight to how customers respond, not only to your services, but the image your business is communicating. If your results aren’t meeting your expectations, tracking can help you determine what elements need to change. For performance measurement, an extremely easy method for print is tracking coupons. DRMG recommends that you run your ad more than once to see how effective the ad, and offer, is and then measure and make necessary adjustments.
Patience is not only a virtue, but a key element.
Remember: the way you interact and connect with people, through both print and online marketing, can help expand your market exposure and aid in the growth of followers, leads and customers.
Authored by: Robyn Masse (Marketing Services Representative)
Edited by: Shelby Roloson (Marketing Services Representative)
*[1]- https://hingemarketing.com/blog/story/driving-business-when-business-development-and-marketing-are-in-sync