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March 19, 2019
Why Going with a Marketing Company that Specializes in One Industry Could Be Bad for Business
A digital marketing campaign is among the best ways to promote your business. Thus, marketing campaigns should be taken care of by a professional. Marketing companies help in creating a marketing strategy that helps you to create marketing platforms like website, social media presence, content marketing, video, and photography. Their main goal is to guide you and give you tips on how to increase the traffic to your online store. The majority of people have access to the internet and are members of social media pages which makes it easy to implement a marketing strategy. Choosing between industry specific to a diversified marketing company is one of the most important decisions you can make. Marketing companies offering services to only one industry have shortcomings when it comes to creativity, informativeness, ability to serve the customers based on their specific needs. They have low creativity Companies dealing with a specific industry have low creativity in marketing strategies which can limit your successful branding. This is because they are used to dealing with just one industry, and they forget to offer creative suggestions to increase your competition. The fact that they are knowledgeable about a certain field might get you fooled. However, the specific industries don’t invest their time to come up with new ideas to boost your website. Some companies go to the extent of using similar marketing and campaign strategies on two websites. This causes less traffic on your website since it is similar to your competitor's website. The marketing industry requires one to come up with new ideas every day and be creative on how to improve and improve the site. However, with the specific industry, they use the same strategies over and over until they don’t generate any benefit to the website. Their creativity may not be challenged since they are used to seeing the same things, and they are not exposed to other industries. With a diverse marketing industry campaign, they get exposed to different things, and their creativity is challenged. This ensures that they do a great job with the site they are promoting. Take time to be innovative The specific marketing companies have a wait and see rule before launching any innovations. This makes them be the last to start any new projects which make the competitors be way ahead. The digital industry is always changing and requires the marketing companies to be on the lookout and move with the trend. The specific marketing industries have a difficult time adjusting with the trend since they are big and have more clients. While diverse companies deal with different types of industries and a fewer number and changing to a more productive innovation is easier for them. Also, they have many representatives who need permission before changing to any invention. This always ends up costing them as the other competitors take the opportunity of advertising their websites. Also, because the firm is big, it may be difficult for them to provide the required upgrade tools yet as compared to the diverse advertising companies. Their large size and the fact that they have to wait for approval before launching any initiatives may hinder your business development since the competitors will always be a step ahead. Access to successful marketing experiences from other industries The diversified marketing firms always compare their outcome with the various industries they are promoting. This makes them know where and when to improve their advertising strategies. This is not the case with the specific marketing companies as they deal with only one industry and have no way of comparing their promoting strategies. They end up not knowing where to improve and where to maintain the same pace. Some industries may be affected by the geographical location of a place this making them generate more traffic or not. If the company has more industries, they are promoting they might know that a specific location generates less or more traffic. If the company only promotes one industry, they may find it difficult to compare the outcomes. Comparing different industries give the company insight on how to improve your business. They can decide to use a different strategy that works for another product to generate more traffic and create awareness. They get to try new things since they have a wider scope of research on different industries. This allows your company to have an advantage over the competitors if you use diverse promoting companies. Access of the best minds The industry-specific advertising firms are very big, and their chain of command is long. This makes it very hard for a starting company to have access to the head or the founder of the companies. Whenever a new company is introduced with the prospect of getting promoted, the job is given to other staff members. It is hard to get access to the people behind the company, and the new advertising jobs are always given to marketing consultants. The team is sometimes lazy and instead of coming up with new ideas for every business they repurpose old ideas into a new website. This can be dangerous as you might find that two different businesses are using similar graphics to promote the same product. This increase competition and can lead to less traffic in one business. The head of the company is always hard to reach, and this means that the business may suffer losses if the marketing is taken up by a lazy, non-committed staff member. Your business is not always a priority Industry-Specific promoting companies take up many projects each day. This means that they might neglect the jobs given to them while they aim at finishing more jobs. The new business is not always the priority but a number to them. This can be heartbreaking especially if they end up doing a bad job or developing a website that looks the same as another firm. This might end up causing your website to have less traffic, and this might cost your business in the end. Any business strategy should reflect your business goals. Choosing a diverse marketing company like Simplemachine can be great as they are present in every step. The industry-specific marketing companies may want to specifically help you with the website and answer all the questions and give advice and insight. However, they always get swamped and overwhelmed by the number of potential clients wanting their attention. This can be bad if the website was the first one and the experience can be frustrating and heartbreaking. Additionally, since they deal with the same industries chances are the advice they give the business will be similar to all their clients so that they make sure that they serve everyone equally. Conclusion If you want to find a great company to create your website launch and implement your marketing campaigns, contact Simplemachine. This is a web design, content marketing and SEO company that deals with creating and designing websites. Also, they help in driving traffic to your company and help in marketing your products. The company ensures that your web page thrives and develops to increase your business productivity.
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March 14, 2019
4 Keys to Successful Branding | Simplemachine Designs
A brand is no longer considered what companies tell a consumer it is. Instead, a brand is what consumers communicate with each other. Companies can no longer create a branding concept and blindly implement it without considering several external factors including beliefs, competitors’ efforts, customers’ associations and emotions. Developing a successful brand is a major undertaking that includes a variety of tasks and elements that must be completed in order to click with consumers. Although there is no magic recipe that will turn your business into a brand, following these four key points can help with successful branding. #1 Key - Brand Positioning To be successful, a brand must be clearly positioned within the consumer’s mind. Positioning can occur with product attributes, benefits or beliefs, and values. The easiest is through product attributes such as focusing on a large engine or fancy colors on a car brand. Unfortunately, attributes are the least desirable level of the three positioning options because competitors can copy them and customers are not really interested in attributes, only benefits. A better positioning option is to focus on the benefit of the product or brand. For instance, a car brand should highlight the technical product attributes less and promote the benefits to the consumer: fuel efficiency, lifestyle choice, fast transportation, etc. The most successful brands surpass attributes and benefits and focus on beliefs and values to target an emotional level. Brands like Mini and Aston Martin do not focus on tangible attribute but on the excitement surrounding the brand, thus making them “cool.” Brand positioning is the foundation of the three other decisions. Therefore, the process should also include creating a brand mission statement and vision of the brand’s purpose. The promise of the brand to the consumer must be easy and honest to build credibility and authority on the subject. Consumers do not want to feel like they are being ripped off. #2 Key - Brand Name Selection The most obvious key to successful branding is the brand name and this is a difficult task. The process begins with reviewing the benefits of the product, proposed marketing strategy and the target demographic. The brand name must align with these three details so that it appeals to the consumer. Brand naming is part instinct, part science, and part art; all of which improve with experience. Luckily, there are a few guidelines to help with brand naming including: • Alignment with the product’s benefits and qualities • Easy to remember • Distinctive so that it differentiates from other brands • Extendable so it can expand into other product categories • Translatable into foreign languages • Legal protection and capable of registration to protect the company Although these guidelines have held fast over the years, preferences change constantly. The decade of quirky names like Google and Yahoo! is over. The modern style is creating brand names that have meaning, making it difficult to create new names. In addition to selecting a brand name, it must be protected and identified with a specific product category like Kleenex, Q-Tip or Jeep. Companies must be careful because once a trademarked name becomes part of the regular language (genericization), it will no longer be protected. #3 Key - Brand Sponsorship Branding decisions transcend deciding on just brand positioning and name as brand sponsorship is also critical. There are four brand sponsorship options available: Manufacturer’s Brand. A manufacturer’s brand is a product or collection produced by the company and sold under the company name. For instance, The Estee Lauder Companies selling Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair or Estee Lauder Nutritious Radiant Energy Night Mask. Private Brand. Another option is the manufacturer could sell to resellers under their own name. This is commonly referred to as a store brand, which becomes more popular during recent economic difficulties. Store brands are found at grocery stores across the world and target the less brand-conscious consumer. Licensed Brand. A licensed brand licenses names, symbols, celebrity figures or characters to sell the product. For example, children’s products seller uses licensed character names from Star Wars, Disney and Hello Kitty on clothing, toys, and other products. Co-Brand. The final sponsorship option is for two companies to join forces and create a co-branded product. Essentially, the two companies are utilizing their established brand names on the same product or set. This provides many advantages including, appealing to a broader consumer base and practically doubling brand equity. #4 Key - Brand Development The final element in successful branding is development. For brands that are developing, a company has four options: Brand Extensions. A brand extension utilizes an existing name but combines it with a new category. The existing brand name gives the product fast recognition and acceptance by the consumer and saves your company on the advertising costs behind creating a new brand. Of course, you run the risk of confusing the consumer since the image of the main brand is still being used. The other challenge is if the extension fails, the consumer attitude toward other products with the same brand name could be harmed. Line Extensions. Line extensions are extending an existing brand name into different colors, sizes, forms, flavors or ingredients. This is a cost-effective method of introducing new products into the lineup. However, line extensions could cause consumer confusion and the brand name could be overextended thus losing its meaning. Multi-Brands. Within larger organizations, multi-brands are common and involve marketing a variety of brands within a specific category. The Estee Lauder Companies market several fragrance brands to establish specific formulas and features that appeal to a vast consumer segment. This allows the company to capture a larger market share. New Brands. In many instances, new brands are required when the appeal of existing brands fades. In this instance, a new brand name is required along with advertising, packaging and any other feature that differentiates from the competition and other brands within the company portfolio. These four branding decisions are related in order to create a powerful brand. Positioning, naming, sponsorship, and development must be in line with one another for the entire strategy to click. For more information on building your brand, contact Simplemachine today!
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March 7, 2019
Digital Advertising vs. Traditional Marketing | Simplemachine
Digital Advertising vs. Traditional Marketing Per eMarketer, for the first time in history, in 2019, digital ad spending in the United States will surpass traditional marketing spending. Only two years ago, U.S. digital ad spending jumped past TV ad spending, and since digital has been exploding with growth, it has added the traditional channels to the hit list. eMarketer has predicted that companies will spend almost $130 billion on digital ads in 2019, almost $20 billion more than traditional ads. By 2023, digital ads are expected to capture over two-thirds of all ad spending. Credit: Axios Traditional Marketing Methods The earliest forms of advertising were based on and priced by volume. For example, a newspaper’s readership, the number of listeners on a radio station and the number of viewers for a television station. As a result, companies purchased advertisements based on the number of potential consumers they could reach, not targeting a specific group or demographic. To be successful, companies had to determine how, when and where to communicate their message then purchase an ad within that medium that matched their consumer estimates. Digital Marketing Methods With most of the traditional media moving to digital marketing mediums, the previous numbers game has changed considerably. Today, targeting with digital advertising removes the generic message to a vast number of potential consumers and allows you to tailor your message to the specific audience in which you are attempting to sell your products. Once you have their information, you can use geo-targeting, re-targeting and a variety of other tools to gather information about their purchasing habits, search history, preferences, etc. Paring the Two Types While statistics show that U.S. digital ad spend has surpassed that of traditional methods, the two can coexist without disruption. However, using both types of advertising can have the most powerful effect compared to only relying on one or the other. Printing and Display If running an aggressive advertising campaign in a local publication, the distribution should be mirrored using digital formats. This allows you to reach print and online readers while they browse other websites. The ad saturation will then hit the same market several times. Transit and Mobile While train and bus advertisements are regularly overlooked, they offer a tremendous opportunity for saturating a localized market. When commuters are riding mass transit, they are accessing digital devices to pass the time. Therefore, using geo-targeting, you can reach riders digitally with relevant messages. To deliver a strong one-two punch, pair digital and transit advertisements to target specific commuters to and from a city. Television and Programming The same idea can be applied to purchasing strategies on television spots. For instance, run a television ad and a condensed version on related websites. This is another effective duo that targets the digital and traditional consumer while maximizing your creative budget. Billboards and Banners Essentially, a banner ad is the billboard of the Internet; allowing you to advertise in the physical and digital space. The strategy behind both opportunities is to grab viewers’ attention using an eye-catching graphic with several chosen words. With regards to billboard advertising, consumers are driving quickly so only have a few seconds to read the billboard. Ironically, with digital advertising, consumers are also scanning webpages within seconds. Therefore, with both mediums, the messages must be memorable and clearly-stated to leave a lasting impression. Digital Advertising Benefits While finding a combination of both options is the ideal situation, many companies are still hesitant to dedicate some of their budget to digital advertising. Therefore, it is important to note the many benefits of utilizing this medium, such as: Brand Development When maintaining your website and social media posting with high-quality content, you are adding value to the audience which helps you gain credibility and build the brand. This results in improved lead generation with an improved awareness for your business. Such success can even lead to a reduction in marketing efforts in the future. Cost By utilizing social media and search engines, you can get started with digital advertising using only a few hundred dollars while receiving thousands of dollars in sales. For instance, running a local television ad will cost tens of thousands of dollars or more for the best placement. However, the same ad can be uploaded to YouTube at a fraction of the cost. Social media and search engine ads only charge when a visitor clicks on your ad thus transferring them to your website. Therefore, reaching a targeted consumer can cost considerably less. Even Playing Field When competing in a cutthroat industry with numerous nationwide chains, it can be difficult to develop a competitive advantage using tradition advertising methods. In addition to costs are the human resources necessary to create commercials, radio ads and mailing campaigns. However, by using digital advertising, competing with the big boys is much easier. Share-ability When sending out a flyer, what are the odds the potential consumer will immediately share it with friends and family? The answer is slim-to-none. Digital advertising allows you to share the advertisement with thousands of others who are only one-click away. If your ad is engaging enough, the number of potential consumers sharing it will rise dramatically. Tracking Success When running a social media or Google campaign, it is simple to see how well each ad is performing in real-time. Tools like social media analytics or Google Analytics allow you to determine the best- and worst-performing campaigns to adjust as necessary. Also, it is easy to control your budget while targeting ads towards a specific demographic of potential consumers. Importance With digital ad spending surpassing television ad spend in the U.S., digital is growing so fast, it will continue to outpace traditional advertising and eventually pass all of the mediums used for decades. This does not come as a surprise considering out-of-home ads are the only traditional advertisements that have shown growth over the past several years. Also, many of the original mediums are becoming digital since that is where the ads are the most impactful and can reach the largest audience. To learn more about how to create and implement a digital advertising strategy within your budget, contact Simplemachine today! .

The Local
Marketing Company

The Local
Marketing Company

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It’s Simple,
We want your business to grow!

Client Testimonials

The Local Marketing Company

The Local Marketing Company

Blog Updates

Contact Simplemachine Today!

It’s Simple, We want your business to grow!

Client Testimonials

The Local
Marketing Company

The Local
Marketing Company

It’s Simple,
We want your business to grow!