Category

Digital Marketing

Jan 11
0

5 questions to answer before you outsource your social media in 2016

By | Digital Marketing | No Comments

thumb_p205661.tf_5D45529F-0C89-EBC6-A0198A303EC53AC9.SG_-_social_media_blog_picSocial media isn’t everyone’s forte. And maintaining a successful social media presence takes a real investment of time and effort. As you look toward 2016 with the goal of maximizing your marketing efforts, you may realize you don’t have the necessary time, resources, or capacity to handle your social media accounts in-house.

So how do you find the perfect balance between keeping consistency in your brand through in-house talent and utilizing outside help to amplify your social media efforts?

As a marketing & sales agency, we understand your concerns about handing over the social media reins to a third party. That’s why it’s all the more important to ask the right questions when considering a social media partnership with an outside firm or contractor.

Here are our top five questions to answer:

Will they create a personalized strategy for you?

Does the agency create a social media strategy that is personalized to your company and/or brand that keeps your larger content marketing and sales goals in mind? Is it tailored to your unique value proposition (UVP) and target audience(s)?

Do they understand your brand and brand voice?

Does the marketing agency take the time to understand your brand, your target audience and your voice? Will they conduct social media research with the goal of understanding your industry and familiarizing themselves with current content and influencers in your field? Ask to see work they’ve done for other clients and examples of how they’ve approached learning the ins-and-outs of a brand and its leadership.

Do they have a social media philosophy?

When you are first interviewing a potential marketing agency, ask them about their social media philosophy. The goal is to understand how they view social media and make sure that it aligns with your strategy, budget and needs.

Do they have a content development process?

Managing social media is more than just posting pictures and sharing interesting articles. To make the most of your social media channels, you’ll need unique and relevant content to share with your audience. So make sure the agency you’re considering has the talent – and a clear process – for developing the kind of content you need. Ask them to articulate their process and platforms so you can see if it fits well with your needs and other digital platforms.

How do they measure success?

Does the agency help you establish social media goals? How do they measure the success or failure of those goals and tie it back to sales? What is their reporting process back to you so you can clearly understand what is and isn’t working?

The ideal social media partner is one you can trust to create a clear strategy and voice based on measurable business and marketing goals and to provide a talented team for generating and sharing unique content that gets your business the attention it deserves. So as you look into 2016, keep these five questions in mind as you consider your social media marketing needs.

If you’d like more info about how social media can increase sales and expand your community of brand warriors, contact Sinclair Group today for a consultation.

Aug 26
0

Can CRM benefit your business?

By | Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Marketing Strategy | No Comments

CRM. Customer relationship marketing concept.Whether you’re a small business owner looking to become more efficient, or a large business needing to track the nitty gritty of data and sales, a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is worth considering. CRM tools are specifically designed to help businesses organize, manage and improve their customer/client relationships.

If used correctly, a CRM system can be a game changing resource when it comes to understanding and engaging with your customers on a deeper level. It allows you to:

  • store and update customer data
  • track their response(s) to marketing and sales techniques
  • store all your business details in a single cloud-based system

This means access to vital information anywhere, anytime.

There are many reasons a CRM system offers businesses like yours an advantage. Here is a list of our top five:

  1. Increase efficiency – A CRM system works to keep your business running smoothly. With all of your data, contact information and accounts in one place, it makes it easier for you to monitor what’s happening with customers.

Because everything is stored together, you can cross-reference past data input to track sales and forecast information, making sure you don’t waste time on strategies that don’t work.

  1. Improve organization – With a CRM system in place, gone are the days of multiple email accounts, hand-written calendar dates, and drawers of old receipts. Because the system is all-inclusive (and cloud-based), all the data and contact information necessary to improve sales and build revenue is right at your fingertips. With this overarching view, you won’t have to play guessing games when it comes to your business’ future.
  1. Build relationships – Now that everything’s stored in one spot, building relationships with your current and potential customers is simplified. Since you’ve already stored their vital data in the CRM system, you can more easily evaluate it to understand their buying tendencies and preferences. This will enable you to target each individual customer or client in a personal and relational way. You can focus more on meeting their needs, while still building up new clientele.
  1. Refine strategy – So, your business is running smoothly. You’ve got the organization. You’ve built solid The next step? Strategy. With a CRM system, you can effectively monitor past customer trends, and then plan accordingly. This means no more wasted time and money on dead-end marketing tactics. Now you have the tools to implement a strategy that not only generates useful feedback, but also drives leads and sales.

The important thing to remember is that when you find a strategy that receives a positive response, stick to it; your CRM system will help you store, organize and manage the data for later analysis. And all that data means you can track target customers so you can pinpoint future clients.

  1. Stay connected – When you have all your key customer information in one place, current or potential clients won’t fall through the cracks. And by staying connected with them, you’ll naturally be more in tune with their demands, desires, complaints, reviews, etc.

But it doesn’t stop with your customers and clients. CRM systems also work to keep managers and sales teams on the same page, so teams can collaborate and strategize (always in real time) even from remote locations via the cloud. This will ultimately increase efficiency and improve sales.

If you’re looking to invest in a CRM system, make sure you purchase the right one for your type and size of business. Don’t know where to start, check out this year’s 10 best-rated systems.

If you’re on the fence, or want to know more about what a CRM can do for your business, take our FREE online marketing assessment and schedule a free consultation.