Empartner Marketing - Good marketing for small business

09/02/2022

It's that time of the year again!! The global sports and marketing event/ festival/ phenomenon that is the Super Bowl. Each year big brands spend millions (this year, up to a record $7m) in a creative battle to align themselves and take residence in consumers' top of mind. This year we'll see a triumphant return of travel ads as well as long-time endorser Budweiser.

We're already seeing, and predicting the trend of DEI, Sustainability and 'Human Connection' to continue in 2022, but regardless and without fail, there will be some amazing campaigns that just lingers long after the after parties.

Also secretly keen for the 'flops' - intentional or not! Cannot wait!

The action may be on the football field, but Super Bowl commercials are the big stage for marketers. Paying attention to trends showcases how brands and customers are changing and gives CMOs a chance to stay in tune with what’s happening in the world.

07/01/2022

It's 2022! We still don't have actual hoverboards but at least they exist somewhere in the metaverse.

2021 was a bit of a case of same but different for a lot of the world, and it's always interesting to take a look back so we've gathered a collection of some marketing/ consumer stats from 2021 as a review of the year and it's a great reminder of how much is evolving every year!

Enjoy, and here's wishing you a safe and wonderful year ahead.

2021 was a bit of a case of same but different so we've gathered a collection of some marketing/ consumer stats from 2021 as a review of the year!

30/06/2021

>>Small business advice - Google user-experience update:

Another Google update... more implications for . We want to address the thought that a lot of businesses keep thinking there are 'so many things to pay attention to nowadays'.

There really isn't a lot of 'different' things to pay attention to, if your approach to your website has been simply to be as relevant and user-friendly to your target audience as possible. If that has always been your focus, then you haven't needed to change much.

So so often, we see such a misalignment between a company's business strategy to their website, as if both are completely different brands. I've been in meetings where sales and customer service have been measured on customer/prospect satisfaction metrics and yet those metrics have not been considered for one of their most important assets - their website. Where they've changed scripts, changed service blueprints, trained telemarketers and customer teams, but have neglected to take that focused approach to their website.

***If businesses can adopt the same focused approach to managing their website, there will be much less reaction to any change and in fact, you'll probably be leading the changes.

That said, here are the changes to some of the metrics it now places more emphasis on as part of its algorithm for user-experience (in summary):

· First Input Delay (FID) – how long it takes the website’s server to respond to the browser’s request to load.

· Largest Content Paint (LCP) – the largest piece of content and how long that takes to load on a user’s screen.

· Cumulative layout shift (CLS) – how much your page jumps around as different elements load in.

Have a chat with us if you want some assistance developing a website strategy that truly aligns with your business.

We've covered the demise of cookies but what about Google's upcoming 'page experience' update? Kieran Reed explains exactly what this change is and how it will impact marketers and brands.

08/06/2021

You turn it on, and leads just flow. 🚿 Everyone can buy it and use it! Sounds ridiculous? Well, it is. Yet so many businesses we speak with continue to believe in it. Does this sound familiar:

“We need more leads now, we should do some ads now.”

Building a lead generating ‘machine’ is a long-term process and instead of a tap, think of it as a FRUIT TREE.

If you invest in building a good marketing framework and foundation, over the years it will help to not just generate more leads, but greater ROI and often, it’ll produce fruits almost ‘automatically’.

Make sure your business has a marketing framework and has a good marketing foundation, so it’s not just reliant on ad-hoc marketing activities.

If you need help building a framework, we're happy to guide you.

31/05/2021

“I’ve been doing a lot of marketing.” – some small business owners.

Not really, you’ve been doing a lot of advertising. And most likely, you need to do more marketing.

Managing Directors, need to understand the role, and certainly the VALUE, of marketing across the customer journey.

Limiting the role of marketing to just need/lead generation is like putting a turbo in your race car but neglecting the engine, tires, brakes… everything else that can actually help your car go and stay faster.

Marketing supports and is effective in every stage in the customer journey. Check out the simple diagram below that illustrates (basically) how marketing sits across the entire journey.

We’re more than happy to chat if you need some advice on how to structure your marketing support and where to get the biggest bang for your buck (in phases).

24/05/2021

"So what do you think of our website?"

Here's how we usually respond ;) :

1. We don't actually know what to think of it, because we don't yet know what the website is for and if it's meeting its objective.

2. If you're asking our impression of it, it doesn't matter unless we're part of your target audience.

Every website should understand its role and everything should be aligned to that. E.g. A luxury furniture brand completely designing its website as an online shop, but most of their targets prefer to buy in person - because they need to touch and feel and see it in person. So the current website is a great online store, and if we didn't understand the role it plays and where it sit in the customer journey, we'd just keep trying to improve how it works as an online store.

Secondly, always design your websites based on meeting your target audiences needs and preferences, not yours or the marketing agency's. Not many people actually think like marketing agencies (thankfully? :) ).

Happy marketing!

03/05/2021

Powerful stats. 📈 Up to 3 times better recall and 2.8 times brand lift 😲. Not completely the 'go big or go home' message but it shows again that you need a good digital strategy.

Ad placements have always been very important but so often ignored or under-utilised by small businesses and even agenices.

It's also worth considering that while premium delivers 3x the recall and brand lift, you'll need to look at where they play in conversion strategies and also if the additional cost (1.5x,2x,3x,4x?) is justified.

TL;DR: For greater bang for your advertising buck, make sure you have a good digital strategy or an expert working with you.🦸‍♂️

The Benchmark Series, the largest cross-media advertising effectiveness study ever conducted in Australia, finds advertising in premium digital media creates superior recall and brand uplift. Advertising in premium digital channels is more effective than run of the internet* and Facebook. These find...

22/04/2021

Creating a huge QR code with 1500 drones. Clever!

14/04/2021

Interesting... while it's obvious consumers may use each platform for different purposes and certainly to satisfy different needs, it's always good to see research prove that placement is always a scientific consideration in advertising strategy.

Especially for small businesses, chasing greater bang for buck, understanding how (and when and why) to use different vehicles can be very useful.

Radio, podcasting and music streaming are distinctively processed by consumers, leading to differences in their strengths and effectiveness as advertising channels, a new neuro research study claims.

07/04/2021

"Nearly half (45%) of consumers are put off brands when they are repeatedly shown the same ad or creative messaging,"

Couldn't agree more. Still, reacting to the pace of change in consumer behaviour is no easy feat for brands. And especially for smaller businesses, by the time they adopt certain advertising practices, they may have already lost their effectiveness. Will we see more become early adopters or even lead the way in the near future?

We arm you with all the stats you need to prepare for the coming week and help you understand the big industry trends.

29/03/2021

What do small businesses need most? We get asked this a lot. The most common questions we receive from companies during our first meeting are:

"Should we focus more on social media marketing?"
"How much effort should I put in SEO?"
"Is Facebook marketing better or Google or any other vehicles?"
"Do you think I need to change my website?"

Is there a correct answer? Indeed. The best and most appropriate response you should be offered is:

"I don't know."

If you've met with any agency and they've proceeded to give you advice without understanding if your business, and especially, your marketing priorities even require any of them, then their interest may not lie with your business.

What marketing activities you engage in, particularly if you are a smaller business with lesser resources, depends on what will give you the best bang for your buck based on your marketing plan and business plan and so many other factors.

So what do small businesses need most? Above everything, small businesses need PLANNING. Business and marketing planning.

16/03/2021

Please excuse us nerding out a bit:

Marketing is science, art, business, IT and so much more. As a science, it's important to understand that marketing has the power to influence behaviour and it can be even more effective when we apply science to marketing planning and ex*****on.

A recent study also proved that even the placement of ads can help prime thoughts and behaviour in audiences:

“The findings are clear: As an advertising channel, news has the power to increase the propensity to purchase due to the halo created by the engaging, trusted and professionally produced content,”

Advertising placed in print and digital national and metro news gives better brand recall and purchase propensity, according to a cross-media ad effectiveness study by the Benchmark Series.