Remember the movie Scared Straight? Well, as things seem to be loosening up economically, I hope that we can institute a marketing version of that while the sting of the last year is still fresh in our minds.
As I mentioned in several past blogs, this is the time of year where I work with a lot of my coaching clients on re-setting their plans. It is also a time when I get calls out of the blue from those who have been planning otherwise and need something from Dog Star Media. Either way, annual plans are underway. Usually, it is a time when I repeat the same advice over and over about spending plans that can only be described as pell mell or willy nilly. I try to be the voice of reason about small businesses spending on mass media, understanding how it works and why it should be measured for effectiveness. This year, the questions are all different.
I am being asked repeatedly what I would do. This is opposed to being asked if an idea is any good. This opportunity has resulted in a lot of people switching tactics to measurable strategies, which is what I recommend. And, in a year, I think everyone doing this will appreciate how much more information they have. Pay Per Click as a strong addition to steady SEO, tracking phone numbers on all major investments, email marketing to patient databases using blogs as target links. All of these boilerplate DSM strategies have one thing in common. We get EXACT measurments and results. All are technology-based and tell us much more than anecdotal evidence.
Plus all of these strategies are high value propositions. With Pay Per Click, you get what you pay for in clicks. And, the tracking numbers and email/blog strategies are so inexpensive they barely register. Combine those with free stats from you web site from Stat Counter and you have a great measurement infrastructure.
Or you can spend willy nilly or pell mell. However, if you are among those who have been scared straight over the last year, why not join in and break the cycle? Want help with tracking numbers, email/blog strategies or SEO/Pay Per Click, just email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com. I am happy to help.
