Hopefully this blog will help you see how digital marketing and inbound methodologies can take the pressure off your sales team. I'm not aware of anything as effective as inbound marketing to generate leads, condition the market, shorten the sales cycle, and keep your sales team from cold-calling.
With all the effective options in the world of digital advertising, it's easy to take your eye off of proven methods like inbound marketing with content as the backbone. Don't. As an agency, we've shifted a good bit of our focus to getting better at Facebook and LinkedIn ads. We've created a strategic partnership to offer IP targeting services for clients where this tool makes sense. We have the ability to offer retargeting ad campaigns for our clients, as well. And, yes, we still use Google PPC ads to drive traffic before we've earned those SERP rankings organically. These are all great tools in the toolbox. However, the lead still has to convert and they don't always convert at the bottom of the funnel.
The traditional business to business sales model is to hire a sales force, then hire more sales force, then hire a couple more sales people. At some point, a marketing person may come into the mix, but marketing most likely falls to the owner, operations manager, or even a sales person. We see this a lot as we're out prospecting in the B2B world. Whenever there is a longer sales cycle, sales people enter the equation. When sales people enter the equation, it's important to help them be as efficient as possible.
If you're considering on hiring that next sales person, maybe you should consider investing in content marketing or inbound marketing first to make the job easier for those sales people already starving for good, warm leads.
Contact us to learn more about getting started down this road.
With all those non-mobile-responsive websites floating around the interwebs, we thought we'd write a post about what clients typically get for a $4000 to $5000 investment in a website redesign. We've been writing a lot lately about the big Google Mobilegeddon announcements and how they will affect your search rankings. Of course, that's just one reason why you need a good mobile responsive website. Another is to create a better user experience for all those potential prospects and site visitors who will access your website via a mobile device, like a smartphone or tablet.
Just last night, my dad mentioned two websites I should check out regarding some health issues I'm experiencing. After I got off the call, I would normally reach for my Macbook Pro and look them up, but I was watching our four kids and playing wiffle ball with them, so I had to wait until we took a break. When we did, I accessed both websites on my iPhone 5c. The first website was mobile responsive, but the user flow didn't make much sense. After clicking through most of the website, I still had no idea what they really did, or what made them different. The second website was mobile responsive but was really light on content. Again, I left with more questions than I came with.
So this brings me back to the original reason for my post. When we sell a client a typical $4000 to $5000 website redesign, we usually know after one sales/strategy meeting which platform (WordPress or HubSpot) we're going to recommend. Then we go about the following process.
Our entire project process consists of between 75-100 tasks depending on the platform we use—WordPress or HubSpot. Those tasks increase dramatically when we begin talking about large site migration, custom forms, e-commerce applications, subdomains, client login portals or secured areas, or database-driven functions.
Again, the pricing above is for a basic level marketing website. We think it's competitive and a great value. We're not in a race to the bottom in price, but we're also not greedy like some large agencies.
When you decide to outsource your digital/inbound marketing to an agency (and we hope you do) you'll gain many benefits. Today I wanted to talk about a few of the benefits we see each and every day, as we partner with 23 ongoing clients... and growing.
I'm not suggesting that every business in the world is a good fit for outsourcing. Some micro business, startups and small businesses have no other choice than to bootstrap their efforts, especially if they are not well-funded. Other business would probably do best to handle their own marketing out of the gate. They have the passion and desire that no one else can really manufacture. It's what I/we love about entrepreneurs. Sure, they may need to hire an agency like The Marketing Squad to build their initial website, or to guide them with some strategic consulting, but they likely will have the best chance to run with their own digital marketing for the initial sprint.
Once a business moves through that phase and their marketing department starts to grow, or at least exist, we find that outsourcing to an agency can be the most logical next step. The alternative is to begin hiring employees internally that have the skills you need to create and execute a digital marketing plan. What skills do they need? Well, we're not talking bow hunting, nunchuck or computer hacking skills, we're talking about the following digital marketing skills:
Unless you're a small business primarily run by an owner, operator, or a strong sales team (by the way, we work for a lot of these clients), then you likely already have at least one or two of the positions above. That's great news. An agency like ours works great with an internal marketing champion and many times we work with an entire marketing team. Here's the thing: it's still a better investment of your time and resources to pay an agency a portion of what you would pay full- or part-time staff and hope you can find all the skills you need above.
Our agency has these talented people on our payroll and on teams within our business. They work together to serve our ongoing partner clients and our project-based clients day-in and day-out.
On April 12, 2016, we made the announcement that The Content Squad had become ... wait for it... The Marketing Squad.
The goal of this subtle name change is to let the marketplace know that we're much more than a marketing agency that develops content.Each year, the number of websites we design and develop has increased -- we've built over 150 websites since our inception (back in 2007). We've also added capabilities in the areas of graphic design for web and print. In addition, digital ad management, including advanced Google PPC management and retargeting, has become one of our key services. Our team has developed strong video capabilities that scale for the small business. We also have added the ability to help with more strategic consulting initiatives. Our RoadMap process is a great way to start a strategic marketing plan for your business. Also, we've led businesses through the process of rebranding.
Lastly, we've added a true veteran in the marketing and sales world. Adam Robinson, our newest partner, has brought new processes, new energy, new software tools (lots of those :), and new life to our business model. Adam has experience in sales, marketing, and business consulting that spans over almost two decades.
The Squad has evolved into a full-service digital marketing agency and we wanted our name to reflect that.
So, although we've grown, changed our name and added capabilities, we still have the same DNA that has gotten us to where we are.
What it means:
If you're a client, we want you to know that we have added capabilities. If you're not growing you're dying, at least that's our philosophy. So we want to always identify ways we can grow in service and execution for our clients. We've added a lot of new software tools that help us do our job better and help you win—whatever winning is for you. We've created new structures within our business model and they are streamlining the way we serve our project and retainer clients.
What it doesn't mean:
It doesn't mean we're going to spend lots of time focusing on ourselves and ignoring your needs. Many businesses can get so lost in their own brand they can forget that service to their clients is the lifeblood of their business. That's not gonna be us. If you notice us hyper-focusing on us, then drop us a line and let us know. It's that important to us.
What it means:
If you're considering working with us, we want you to know that we still pump out targeted, relevant content (lots of it every day and week) just as before. However, now we can be a part of a bigger conversation in your marketing. We can truly be an outsourced marketing arm for your marketing department. We also can help align your sales and marketing to maximize business development.
What it doesn't mean:
It doesn't mean we're lumped in with all those other agencies that are ad agencies or marketing agencies. We continue to have a very digital/inbound flavor to what we're doing. We're not engaging in outbound media strategies like TV or radio for clients. We didn't cross over. We do have partnerships in place for clients where these higher cost methods still make sense.
What it means:
We'd welcome your continued attention. Your time and what you spend it on is one of your most valuable assets. With our indbound marketing and our content, our goal is to educate you and to make you laugh or think from time to time. We appreciate our community we've developed and we are always open to how we can communicate with you in more effective ways.
What it doesn't mean:
It doesn't mean we're moving on and growing up. Our followers and friends are the ones who got us here after almost 9 years, and we believe in dancing with the one who brought you. #loyalty
What it means:
It means there will be a new name on the checks coming your way.
What it doesn't mean:
It means The Content Squad won't be on the checks anymore.
Thanks for catching up on what this renaming really meant to us, and to you. We appreciate the time you took to scan this post. Please share it with your networks on social or email. We'd love to get this message of the new (but the same) us out to those who want to hear it.
In our announcement message Adam Robinson, our newest partner, said that the renaming was a subtle shift. As Managing Partner, allow me this brief postscript on what exactly that means 🙂 It was a subtle shift, just one word, right? So, outside of changing all our signage, all our marketing collateral, all our directory listings, and all our website assets, no problem. Wow, changing one word in your name still means a lot of work across the board! I know many of you can relate as you've been down this road before.
The source of all good blog material is the endless archive of Seinfeld episodes. One of my favorites is the one where Kramer and Mickey pick up a gig acting out medical diseases at the local University. Kramer does such a great job with his disease that they keep casting him with the same disease. He yells out, "I've been typecast." Well, Kramer is not the only one. Many of our businesses have been typecast. I'll start with an example that's close to home.
We at The Content Squad have a mutual friend who insists on referring to us as an SEO firm. It doesn't matter how many times we correct him he will refer to us that way. Now to us that's the ultimate pigeon hole. It's degrading. We do so much more. We do inbound marketing, better yet, we show businesses how to integrate sales and marketing online. Sure there are tactics involved like corporate blogging, email marketing, content marketing, website design, copywriting, social media marketing, and search engine optimization. This list isn't even exhaustive so to call us an SEO firm is the ultimate playdown. I'm sure you're just like us. You have customers or prospects who typecast your business. It's frustrating and we want to tell you what you can do about it.
Here are two things you can do:
1) Don't worry about it. Realize you can't change some people. Well, most people. Now that's liberating. Realizing we have little control over others, and not caring what everyone else thinks of us, is empowering. It was Bill Cosby who said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone."
2) Tell the story. Then keep telling the story. Whatever your story is, keep preaching it. In season and out. Develop your mission and stick to it. Eventually, many will come alongside you and pick up on it. They will become a fan, then a follower, then an advocate. That's golden. Use your blog, your email newsletter, or your social media accounts to keep telling that consistent story.
I like both options. It just depends on the situation. Choose one. Choose both. Choose neither.
Those of you who have followed along with us over the last six years might remember our business as Simplified Solutions, LLC. Some of you may have no idea what Simplified Solutions, LLC has do with The Content Squad. Others are wondering whatever happened to Simplified Solutions, LLC. Well, let's answer those questions in today's post. It's overdue.
Simplified Solutions, LLC was/is the parent LLC of The Content Squad and redmug. It was formed in the late summer of 2007 (August 16 to be exact). Originally it was established by myself, Bryce Raley, as a company to do business organization and productivity coaching. We did do that for several months, until a chance meeting with a fellow entrepreneur named Aaron Marshall. I met Aaron in a coffee shop called Java Brewing Co at Landis Lakes. He asked what I did, and at the time it was getting confusing. He mentioned digital coaching to me and it resonated, as I'd read something from Seth Godin on the topic. He suggested that I learn these tools and teach others to use them. These tools, at the time, were Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, 37 Signals suite, Google Analytics, Tumblr, MailChimp, and several others. I paid Aaron an hourly rate to learn these tools, then I began using them to market my own business.
The funny part was the reaction I got. As I began using an email newsletter, publishing blogs on WordPress sites, and connecting and teaching social media, I had people on my list (my permission list) begin asking for websites, social media training, and email marketing. At that time I made a connection with an old friend via Twitter, and he and I began working together. That old connection was Wayne Cox, who is now one of our Content Squad partners. So off we went, from business organization and digital coaching into launching WordPress websites and showing businesses, nonprofits, ministries, and churches how to use these web 2.0 tools. We made connections with the owners of the two earliest and best Premium WordPress companies, iThemes and StudioPress. Our redmug division still uses both their themes and plugins years later to help get businesses online.
As we progressed, I had to make a decision on whether to scale the business or stay small. We also couldn't ignore something else that was happening on the horizon, and that something was a company named HubSpot. HubSpot was preaching this new online/digital marketing but they were calling it inbound marketing. They basically coined the term. They blew up the existing marketing playbook of direct mail, cold calling, TV, and radio advertising. I had found out myself that it didn't work and cost a lot of money. I was a believer in this new way. It really made sense to me, and it made the most sense to hitch our wagon to their software and their culture. We wanted to grow beyond helping just the small business, and we wanted to provide a less disjointed solution for growth-oriented businesses and enterprises. HubSpot's software and methodology made it a perfect solution for some of the larger small businesses we were attracting.
At this time we stopped marketing under the name of Simplified Solutions, LLC, although it remained the parent LLC and still does to this day. We established The Content Squad as a DBA under Simplified Solutions, LLC. We wanted a name that spoke content and inbound marketing. Simplified Solutions was broad enough for an umbrella company, but didn't speak to the inbound marketing niche we were growing in. We moved into our first office in Jtown. Since then we were located in Eastpoint for two years, and we're in Middletown. We hired our first employee, Jessie Devine, and we also brought on partners Jay Stewart and Wayne Cox that same year. Over the past few years The Content Squad has continued to grow, and our agency now includes Sarah Stewart, Joel Gerdis, Greg Ladden, Molly Edds, and Kimi Morrison in both full-time and contractor roles.
Most recently, we launched a new DBA called redmug that focuses back on those early clients from the Simplified Solutions, LLC days. We never really stopped serving that market, but we did stop marketing to that market intentionally. Now as we've grown and developed the team and systems to deliver for both markets, we reentered as redmug this January.
So there you have it. The progression from Simplified Solutions, LLC to The Content Squad and redmug.
This was like a trip down memory road for me. And now when I meet with new interns like Josh Ahlers, I can say hey read this before we talk. I'm always for saving time and effort.
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