The 5 Core Marketing Tools Every Business Needs

Two things a business never has enough of are time and money. That’s probably why they may cut corners in places where they shouldn’t.

Missing out on what you need is a quick way to shoot yourself in the foot. This is especially true in marketing. As much as a company needs cash in the bank, it needs new customers even more… otherwise, saving the cash will short circuit growing the business.

You don’t have to blow your budget to get powerful marketing tools. Here are five core tools every business needs:

1. Unique naming. If your name isn't interesting, catchy, and descriptive, you're going to have a hard time attracting attention from potential customers, much less have them remember you.

2. A distinctive logo. A lot of business owners don't realize the beneficial impact of a dynamic logo. From the concept and design to the overall look and feel, you have to make an immediate and favorable impression of your business.

3. Professional office stationery. Not everything can be done online. Sometimes printed materials are required. Having professionally printed business cards, letterhead, and envelopes are necessary in conducting everyday business.

4. A well-designed and written brochure. Your brochure is like a salesperson that hangs around long after you've left the meeting with a potential customer. It should remind them of the key benefits of your products and services while inciting them into action with your business.

5. The right website. These days, your company website could be your most important point of contact with new customers. Make sure its professional, easy to use, and packed with useful information.

Looking to get your 5 core marketing tools working for you? Call Bull’s-Eye today at 404.352.3006 for a free consultation or check out our website: www.bullseyecreativecommunications.com

OFS Corporate Capability Presentation

Less is more when it comes to the recently revised corporate foundation presentation for OFS. The company manufactures and markets leading-edge fusion splicers, optical fiber, optical cable, fiber to the home (FTTX), connectivity, optical components and specialty products.

The presentation is used by the OFS sales team at meetings with new or existing customers to overview the company and its services. The previous presentation was a mix and match collaboration of information, design, and imagery developed by various units of the company.

The client wanted the revised presentation to look fresh and modern, reflect current brand standards and be concise with a more graphical look. Bull’s-Eye refined and streamlined the presentation, incorporated a consistent brand look while making it more graphically engaging to the audience. http://ow.ly/AuV9v

Exedin's New Marketing Collateral Materials Really Add Up!

Bull’s-Eye was enlisted by Exedin, a software education and training center in Namibia, Africa to assist in the design and development of marketing collateral materials to promote its courses. The company is the premiere Windows platform software training center in the nations capital of Windhoek.

Bull’s-Eye developed a printed trifold brochure and course agenda for prospective students. These will be distributed on-site as well as at trade shows that Exedin attends. The customer was very pleased with Bull’s-Eye final product and stated: “SIMPLY AMAZING all around!!!, your team is very talented”.

5 Important Rules for Internet Marketing Success

The professionals in any industry who have seen it all, the ones who know that everything comes and goes in and out of style eventually, have a habit of saying that "the more things change, the more they stay the same." I certainly think there is some truth to that especially with online marketing. That's because, even though tactics, tools, and ideas shift from one year to the next, some are enduring.

To see what I mean, and learn how you can use it to grow your own business, here are five tried-and-true rules for Internet marketing success that still apply:

1. Your website is the starting point for everything. Without a great website, you really don't have a workable online marketing plan, just a set of things to try. That's because your site is the hub that supports everything else, including your search engine optimization and social media campaigns. Concentrate on building a great, useful, and informative site first, because everything else follows.

2. It's about your best customers, not the rest of your customers. Since more and more websites, blogs, and other Internet destinations are being launched all the time, it's important to your success that you be able to focus. For most small and medium-sized companies, the true market for their products isn't "everyone," but a handful of businesses or individuals. Know who your best potential customers are, and market directly to them.

3. Traffic, sales, and relationships are all different things. Far too many businesses get hung up on a single statistic or metric, missing the big picture in the process. Things like traffic, and traffic sources, matter a great deal. In the end, though, what matters most is your ability to turn those visitors into buyers, and eventually to build relationships with them. Don't lose sight of the results that are actually important.

4. You should never be reliant on any single marketing source. While some business owners or executives will swear by optimizing their sites for Google, and others may prefer social media sites like Facebook, or even pay-per-click advertising, the reality is that most companies should try everything and be reliant on nothing. You never want to be in a situation where a single competitor, policy change, or search algorithm shift could bring your pipeline for new business to a screeching halt.

5. Better products and sites always rise to the top. For all the attention paid to search, list-billing, etc., the fact of the matter is that the best companies tend to attract the most customers, online or off. So, if you have a reputation for great value and strong customer satisfaction, and can demonstrate that online, you'll almost always be moving in the right direction.

Patrick Carlson is Principal Partner of Bull’s-Eye Creative Communications, an Atlanta-based creative marketing communications company that assists businesses with increasing awareness and sales. He can be contacted at: 404.352.3006 or patrick@bullseyecreativecommunications.com

Is You're Marketing Strategy Reactive or Proactive?

A colleague once told me that her company relies exclusively on referrals for new business. I silently wondered how she passes the time while waiting for the phone to ring.

Customer referrals can’t be beat. They are a solid pipeline to new customers. However, relying on referrals is a reactionary marketing strategy. Great marketing is proactive. It is always in search of a new customer through action in the market. By having a proactive marketing strategy, you’re not relying on someone else to reach out to you; you’ve already reached out to them!

Proactive marketing generates top of mind awareness and puts you in front of an audience that might not know you exist. Use it to your advantage and you’ll never have to wait for the phone to ring.

Madison-Henry Firm Capabilities Brochure

The Madison-Henry Group, engaged Bull’s-Eye to design and develop their firms capabilities brochure. Madison-Henry is a global management and technology consulting firm that helps organizations apply Agile methods and practices and offers Scrum training and certification.

The client was looking to create an informational piece to reach prospects and decision makers and inform them about their Agile: Readiness, Training, and Consulting, and recruiting and staffing services. An Agility Framework graphic was also developed to educate and guide them through the steps of successful deployment.

The solution that Bull’s-Eye designed is a clean, modern aesthetic that speaks to their target market. A relay race theme was utilized to emphasis the collaborative core of successful software development. The brochure has detailed information on the framework as well as reinforces the Madison-Henry brand as best-in-class for Agile and Scrum training. www.madisonhenry.com

The Secret to Marketing Success

Weight, money, relationships—seems like everyone is looking for the secret to success in all of these aspects of our lives. But what about marketing? What is the secret to marketing success?

With marketing there is no “one” secret. There are many different paths to success. Just like there’s no one diet that works for everyone, one size in marketing does not fit all. Instead, it’s a good targeted marketing mix that creates success for a product or service.

There really is no secret. When it comes to marketing, a custom, tailored marketing program is the answer you’ve been looking for.

Marketing New Year's Resolutions

It’s a new year. Time to list out those New Year’s resolutions. Sure, you’ve thought about the personal goals you’d like to achieve, but how about the professional ones?

The first of the year is a great time to dust off those marketing projects that have been sitting idly on the shelf. Start by listing the top 5 goals you can realistically accomplish within the year. Then prioritize them based on importance and their potential to impact the bottom line. Finally, if your internal resources are overextended, seek external service providers to complete the tasks.

Before long you’ll find those marketing New Year’s resolutions over and done and you can move on to more important things, like making it to the gym.

Crossroads Services Brochure

Crossroads Brochure Back

Crossroads Brochure Inside

New client Crossroads Community Ministries engaged Bull’s-Eye to assist with the design and development of an updated services brochure. Crossroads is a nonprofit that assists and aids Atlanta's homeless men, women and children in getting back to work and transitioning their lives.

The client was looking to directly reach volunteers and benefactors and inform them of the many valuable services they offer to the community. Crossroads offers meals, mail box, housing referral, disability assistance and identification support. The solution that Bull’s-Eye designed is a clean, bright and modern design. The new brochure has detailed information on the services offered and reinforces the value in assisting this segment of our community.

Stan Dawson, Director of Crossroads states: "What a pleasure working with Bull’s-Eye. Your talents were a real gift to Crossroads. It is easy to see why we were recommended to Bull’s-Eye. I will certainly recommend you to others I interact with."http://bit.ly/1fSPiEWwww.crossroadsatlanta.org

12 Internet Marketing Details That Get You Off the Sofa and In the Game

ball in office

When it comes to Internet marketing, most business owners and executives are like casual sports fans: They understand key concepts, and even most of the important rules, but care little for the day-to-day details that actually mean the difference between success and victory. Instead of dealing with endless stats and analysis, they just want to sit back and enjoy the show.

That's understandable, given that most business people have other things to devote their attention to, and it's the ultimate success or failure (measured by profitability) of campaigns that actually matters. Still, you don't want to focus so much on the "big picture" that you lose sight of the things that actually matter most to customers.

Here are a dozen Internet marketing details you can't afford to overlook:

1. The layout and color scheme on your business website. Our first impressions of a website are always visual, and it's important that the look and feel of your site reflect your company's branding and identity.

2. Your website’s navigation structure. The more confusing your site structure is, the more likely customers are to click over to a competitor’s pages to find information or products they're looking for.

3. Your "best customer" profile. You can't put together a strong Internet marketing plan until you know who your best customers are. You know your industry better than your design team does, so make sure they get this information right.

4. Your own marketing personality. This comes back to branding again. You want to be sure you have a clear picture of who you really are as a company and can communicate that to customers online.

5. The core offer you're making to customers. Don't leave it to your creative team to determine where your competitive differentiators lie, because this will make or break your online marketing plan.

6. The frequency with which you're reaching out to buyers. If you get the sense that customers are hearing from you too often, or not often enough, you'll have to make changes to ensure that you aren't annoying buyers or losing their interest.

7. Click-through and conversion rates for your most important promotions. If people aren't clicking through from your online ads, email newsletters, and other promotions, you'll never generate any bottom-line momentum.

8. Bounce rates from your landing pages. Likewise, leaky landing pages could signify a number of different problems, but they all really amount to decreased profitability.

9. Your search engine positioning. Although Google shouldn't be your sole source of business online, it is an important resource for letting your customers find you. Make sure your site ranks well for important keywords.

10. Social engagement levels. If people aren't commenting on your posts and updates, or your list of fans and followers isn’t growing, it's probably a sign that your social media marketing is bland.

11. Your company's online reputation. You have to know whether colleagues and customers are saying good or bad things about you online, because the difference will have a significant effect on your future sales.

12. The ROI from your Internet marketing plan. All the details and indicators in the world don't mean much if your online marketing is costing you more than it's making over the long run.

Are you likely to have the time, energy, and inclination to keep up with all of these details yourself? Probably not, but it's important for you to be aware of them, occasionally look out for them, and make them a priority with your creative team. By doing so, you can ensure that your Internet marketing plan accurately reflects your company's goals and priorities, and isn’t just a "big picture" that's never going to come into focus.

Looking for a trusted online marketing partner to help you with things like search engine optimization and social media? Call or email our team today for a free consultation. 404.352.3006

Patrick Carlson is Principal Partner of Bull’s-Eye Creative Communications, an Atlanta-based creative marketing communications company that assists businesses with increasing awareness and sales. www.bullseyecreativecommunications.com