INBOUND MARKETING AGENCY BLOG

Quick!

What are the things you think are most amazing about the great state of Michigan? It's hard to narrow down, right?

Michigan is a state full of interesting contrasts and amazing things. Here's a list of the top seven things to love about it:

Growth-driven design (GDD) is a method of website development similar to agile development. It is a method of redesigning the website using the website's own metrics indicating what is and isn't working on the site.

GDD takes an incremental approach to website design. Instead of spending months developing a perfect product, it approaches design in sprints toward improvements and optimization.

How do you measure the success of your marketing campaigns? The answer may vary depending on the goals of your marketing department, your organization, and/or your industry.

One thing is certain, however. A quantifiable metric of success upon which everyone in an organization can agree is revenue generation.

As one observer put it, "Response rates are great, but if they don't generate revenue, it's a reflection on the campaign. The only thing that matters is whether or not marketing efforts are driving revenue."

Does customer nurturing matter? In today's hypercompetitive, hyperconnective world, the answer is an emphatic:

YES!

Engaging customers after purchases should be viewed
as engaging customers BETWEEN purchases.  

For businesses large and small, continuing to engage customers after purchases should be viewed as engaging them between purchases. It's relationship building.

Effective customer nurturing programs ensure that there is more repeat business and a deeper connection with buyers. And just as importantly, customer nurturing offers invaluable insights as to customer behavior, needs, and preferences.

If you've read about digital marketing or partnered with a digital marketing agency, you've likely come across the concept of buyer personas.

As explained in one of our earlier posts, personas provide a solid foundation for more effective marketing and advertising efforts that attract visitors, convert them into leads, and finally close them into customers.

Remember the good old days of Internet commerce?

If you owned a website for your business, you automatically found yourself ahead of the curve. People discovered your website easily because it had so little competition online.

That meant rapidly climbing profits with minimal effort on your marketing team's part.

Digital marketers use a huge variety of marketing tools to ensure the effectiveness of their campaigns. One of the more powerful of these tools is the landing page.

Socrates is quoted as saying: "Know thyself."

However, for digital marketing purposes, an equally important goal is to know your customers. And when planning to market to Michiganders, there are definitely some things you should be aware of!

When planning your marketing strategy, know the
difference between your "is's and ought's" 

A wise old man once said that we need to know the difference between our "is's and ought's." It's true for a lot of things, and it's definitely true for marketing strategy.

Strategic planning of your marketing campaigns begins by comparing "where you currently are" to "where you ought to be."

Some call it gap analysis. Others call it needs assessment. What you call it is not important.

Until you understand where you are compared to where you ought or want to be, you cannot determine what resources you need and what actions must be taken to bridge the gap.

Modern web design has become stale.

You've probably already noticed. Hundreds, if not thousands, of sites across the Internet give off a cookie-cutter appearance. How did we get into this situation?

One reason is ready-made templates. Sure, they're helpful. But every startup on earth — from San Francisco to Shanghai — turns to the same free web "design" and hosting companies.

These companies (you know the ones) offer the same templates to build a basic website. And when everyone uses the same basic design, of course they're all going to turn out just alike.