“Time moves fast, unless you are serving it” (Malcolm Forbes)
Check out the changes and developments of the Internet 2002 to 2012
The Benefits of the “Data Age” for Small Businesses
August 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” Albert Einstein
The Olympics reminded me that we are moving faster and faster in this new “data age”. Moving faster towards a time, when we measure everything and use analytics to value our progress. In my mind business needs to strike the right balance between measurement and quality and creativity, to gain the future competitive advantage.
Small and Medium size businesses, need to start now, to catch up. Measure to improve. Measure to identify new opportunities.
Digital marketing provides the benefit of an abundance of metrics that tradition marketing lacks, so setting clear goals and selecting a handful of metrics, avoids “paralysis by analysis”.
With continuous and faster change, it requires constant re-assessment on how to get more marketing benefits with limited budgets. Getting more sales leads to develop your business is key. It’s time to test the new marketing opportunities e.g internet / online visibility, social media and SEO, and measure them against the effectiveness of “same old marketing activities” e.g. sales sheets, conference / trade shows, yellow pages etc.
- Develop a quality Website or Blog-site to showcase what you offer, and why what you offer is different & better.
- Establish a basic presence in cost effective Social Media (Local / Maps, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr).
- Implement EMailing marketing to promote your business effectively and to build a database.
More and more small businesses are moving budget to digital, and can now measure their progress and identify what works best for them, and which activity is the most resource efficient. This is rapidly becoming a prerequisite of modern business.
But we need to remember the goal is too establish a distinct and sustainable competitive advantage, which takes innovation, creativity and leadership.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice; and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs
Traditional Marketing 10P’s+ for Internet Marketing
June 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Positioning of product or service by channel – the core of Marketing SEO
Product of quality, rich content and optimized
Placement achieved by integrated channel presence for on-line visibility
Promote through Ad Words, EMail, PR Web
Price sensitivity, and flexibility to be competitive
Plan quality content across different internet channels
People connect with your audience
Participate in the social media Conversation
Pathways for target audience to follow to achieve defined goal (RFQ or Contact)
Process all the above with structure and metrics
Non-Profit FREE On-Line Marketing Support
March 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Cool Way to Volunteer and Help Non-Profit Organizations 
“Media Cause is a new online resource that connects NGOs and online marketing volunteers to collaborate on Google Grants, SEO, and social media marketing projects.
NGOs can sign up for free, post online marketing “challenges” (anything from improving a Facebook profile page to optimizing an AdWords keyword list) and have an expert from the online marketing world step in and lend a hand.”
Media Cause is recommended by Google Non-Profits – read Google Blog Post
Non-Profit / Charity Organizations check out Media Cause for FREE on-line marketing advice and support.
SEO / Internet Marketers check out Media Cause to Volunteer to help Non-Profit / Charity Organizations.
I recently completed my first Challenge for Battle Creek Junior Theatre, which strives (with support from donors and from volunteers) “to empower our local youth through quality acting and participating in educational theatre experiences”. Contact them if you think you can help they need Volunteers: Professionals to volunteer for set and prop building: handyman, painters, carpenters, electricians, etc. Also Theatre directors, musical directors, choreographers, pianists, etc.
Re-Invent your Company Brand – through Internet Marketing – New Audience New Opportunity
January 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Great Ad Promoting Internet Marketing
Maybe this is the creative positioning and discovery I like the most out of the new marketing opportunity offered by the internet, and one I want to develop i.e. how the internet can revitalise brands / companies, by reaching to a new audience with a fresh approach and new ideas.
This also highlights my own experience that internet marketing is a growth opportunity for small business, which makes employees and management smile again, i.e. one of my clients doubled the company work force during 2011 to meet the new demand brought primarily from enquiries / leads / contacts from the internet.
Check out this Google Chrome Ad that spotlights King Arthur Flour a Vermont flour producer which uses the web to transform its 220-year-old operation into a popular baking company.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFLP7HD1s7k
10 Tips / Growth Trends for Small Business to Optimize Internet Marketing in 2012
January 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
2011 – Internet Marketing Opportunities created
Internet Marketing went through significant change in 2011 and provides fresh opportunities for business entrepreneurs.
- Google Panda search results ranking alogrithm change – improved the quality in search results
- Continued growth in SoLoMo across the Internet – confirmed that internet marketing is much broader than SEO and website marketing
- Social
- Local
- Mobile
2012 – Internet Marketing – 10 Tips / Trends
2012 and Beyond !
1. Successful on line Search is still focused on helpful information (relevant and unique)
- Providing solutions with quality content marketing
2. Analytics and Webmaster Tools
- Avoid “paralysis by analysis” – set your targets and measure – it continues to be all about Conversion to Contact or RFQ
- Know your customers and what attracts visitors and making them stay
3. Positioning is Everything
- It continues to be more and more evident that it’s impossible to be “all things to everybody”
- Matt Cutts (Google) Sept 2011: “If you concentrate on a very specific niche, you can outrank the big guys”
4. Social Networking makes it Personal
- Search is becoming more personal as socializing is the new media platform.
5. Referrals and Reviews
- Feedback (Reviews / Comments) through all online / internet interfaces is critical, to improve as well as improved visibility
- Consumers and Google love reviews, Google’s will continue to do a better job marketing Google +
6. Mobile
- Mobile usage increased 4 fold in 2011, and continues to grow, most people will interface with internet in the hand rather than at a desk
- One out of every three mobile searches has a local intent.
7. Local
- One in five searches has a local intent.
- Local Listings …..critical…….Local Listings + reviews even better (build a additional presence on sites such as Citysearch and Yelp)
8. Multi On-Line Presence
- Not only about the website: Facebook, Youtube, Flickr, Yelp, Google Maps / Places etc
- It’s about the quality of the presence / information and consistency
9. Writing a Blog adds Value
- Essential for Speed, Flexibility, Customer / reader Response, and Share of Search Results
10. Dynamic Internet Marketing is becoming More Dynamic
- Means constant change and regular review of competitors activities is essential
Contact John Cullen
jcculleen@proteusism.com
Website
Like this:
Executive Coaching – Training in the Essentials of SEO Marketing – Cincinnati, Ohio.
June 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Executive SEO Coaching for Business Owners, in the Cincinnati, Ohio,
Who want to improve their business knowledge of the latest tools in…..
…..Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization….FAST!
The Goal of Executive Coaching / Training in Internet Marketing and SEO:
Provide you as a Business Executive / Owner with up to date knowledge of Marketing Optimization ( SEO, PPC, Social Media, Blogs) so you understand:
- how to develop a relevant Internet Marketing Strategy
- how to implement an efficient Internet Marketing Plan for your business
- what time frame, resource and organization is required to implement the internet marketing plan
- how to set appropriate goals and metrics for your business
- how to measure your progress, and how to continue improve going forward
The Executive Training / Coaching is structured for busy business owners to gain significant practical knowledge of Internet Marketing and SEO that would take months to learn by books and research.
Ideal for small business owners or business leaders who want to get up to speed on how to utilize Internet Marketing / SEO in their company, and want to get an qualified independent professional marketing view on the SEO essentials for their business, and know how to use it, FAST!
- what is behind all the acronyms and labels: SEO, SEM, Social Media, etc
- what constitutes a well designed web site
- how a web site should be structured to be effective
- how to maximize visitors to your company website
- what are the Marketing benefits of the new Digital Media / SEO
- how to manage the Marketing aspects of Search Engine Optimization
- how to improve website ranking, to get on #1 page on Google Results
- how to gain more business leads through your company website
- how to measure and monitor results, to gain a competitive edge and sustainable advantage
- how to use a Blog and Facebook to promote your business further
Outline of SEO Executive Coaching / Training Sessions:
A choice of 1 Full Day or 2 Half Day Marketing SEO Training session, is available depending on depth of current knowledge and the level of information required, and availability of dates on both sides.
Executive Coaching sessions on SEO and Internet Marketing can also be organized on a One-to-One basis (which is the recommended approach), or to a Small Group of your Management Team.
Benefits Gained from Marketing SEO Executive Training / Coaching :
- Learn the Essentials of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and improve how your company manages your website and the marketing opportunities within digital media marketing.
- Each Executive Coaching / Training session will be custom prepared to your business and competitive marketplace
- A detailed analysis of your company website and competitors, identifying the opportunities to be gained
- Choice of Seminar Audience: One-on-One or Small Group of business executives
- Custom designed to your level of understanding and your needs of Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization
- Step by Step plan to improve use of your company website and a roadmap for developing an Internet Marketing Strategy
To Review John Cullen’s Professional Biography go to www.ProteusISM.com website based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
To find out more information contact John Cullen direct:
10 Marketing SEO Benefits of Writing a Business Blog
May 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
10 Marketing SEO Benefits of writing a Blog
10 Benefits of writing a Business Blog
- Speed of indexing by search engines, posts go live within hours of publishing
- More Visibility on relevant search pages
- Higher % Share results on the search page results
- Organic search visits increase
- Links to your website and other related information, means more traffic
- Authority recognition increases with search engines with relevant content
- More up to date topics and comments, more newsworthy
- More colloquial & friendlier writing style, easier to read
- Research benefits of most visited topics (and comparison to website content)
- Quick & Direct Feedback and comments
For more information on Marketing SEO and getting more qualified visits to your website, and converting the visits to sales lead go to www.Proteusism.com
Day in the Life……..Internet Marketing Work Style……
May 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Started the day early (at least for me), at 7am checking out Google News, and read about Spain, and the earthquake in Lorca, near one of my UK clients overseas home.
I email UK !
At 8am I had a breakfast meeting with local company, they asked me to search for an agent or representative for their cutting presses in Brazil and Germany, and to “relaunch” the company LinkedIn Page.
Internet Sales are going well. We talk about Microsoft buying Skype and question how are they going to promote the Skype free service and make an ROI, or will they try to charge for the service?
Came back to my new home, and set up an Google, Adwords campaign in Brazil, focused on the State of Sao Paulo with both English and Portugese language ads. Did the same on LinkedIn, potential search audience of 1.4 million in Sao Paulo state.
Checked my 2 blogs, but no thoughts come to mind, so no entry of comment.
Worked on new business, and researched keywords about Linen Rentals, Rental Linen, Rentals Linen, etc and reviewed competitors, and realized its got a strong local niche business, the client is 5th generation family company in Ohio.
Came across some neat websites from Oregon to Atlanta. But none of the websites have yet been search engine optimized and its 2011!
I check more related words to tablecloth, linens, restaurant linen, linen services, on Google’s Keyword Tool, having used the Google Translate section earlier, to help set up the Portugese ads.
Scanned Irish Times online, see Kenny Dalglish, Tiger Woods images . Checked Facebook. Paid some Bills online and changed details of new address. Watched some of the Players Tournament on laptop.
Sent two Powerpoint Slides to CEO for inclusion in his Employees Meeting early tomorrow in Clermont County, Ohio.
Sent my son a text, suggesting we play golf tomorrow. Wondered why I had no reply to my eamil from potential client in Lucca, Italy. Looked at furniture to buy online.
Checked out the latest analytics for a UK client in Oxfordshire as the day is over in England and the data is up already.
Now writing in Blog……explaining why I enjoy the independence and diversity of my working business day.
It’s good to stand back and compare “changes in your lifetime” and talk about “the speed of change today”, its probably one of the few benefits of the “aging process”, i.e. getting older.
This is a clear advantage for the older age group, as we experienced the change first hand, and we all talk about “those days”, this is a new opportunity for the “greys” and “grays” , wherever you are…..time to rethink and adjust…but adjust…. because “the work place is flat”!
Must Google to see see whether the phrase “the work place is flat” is already a Trademark?
If not? I claim it here, as mine!
Benefits of Internet Digital Marketing SEO……..
May 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If anybody every wants an example of the positive elements and benefits of internet digital marketing……show them the poor quality Videos and Images that were available at the passing of one of the world’s greatest golfers Seve Ballesteros.
Now, there would be a panorama documentary of quality waiting “to go”, by an infinite some of sources…….that would show the world, how great and how unique Seve Ballesteros was……from all angles…..
Not just how great he was in playing golf, in a natural almost flamboyent manner……but also his passion about golf…..his friends…his skills….how competitive he was…….and would capture Seve from all the different images from different perspectives…..
Instead it appears all we have is how a few shots from old TV technology………a golf shot here and there……but no real depth….no “real people” comments…….good and bad……sad……(but I remember).
Internet Marketing in a Flat World
May 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Small Business Competitive Advantage in a Mobile Flat World
Recent presenation on the challenges and opportunities of Internet Marketing and SEO in the current Mobile Flat World
Acknowledgements to Thomas Friedman author of The World is Flat and Mary Meeker now a a partner at the Silicon Valley venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Globalization 1.0 (1492-1800): With exploration the kingdoms in Europe pursued global expansion that included discovering and controlling international trade.
Globalization 2.0 (1800 – 2000): Multinationals followed their countries and took over international trade.
Globalization 3.0 (2000- ): Individuals of diverse backgrounds able to collaborate and compete globally and mobile / wireless speeding up change.
With Globalization 3.0, “playing field” has been leveled
New Rules for Marketing in the Flat World
Target segments start with dialogue with one person
Think Customer Needs as build Customer-Led positioning
Global Branding now live in the portfolio
Its a Consumers Choice and Input to innovation through customization
Pricing must be Flexible in the new comparative world, dynamic like rest of marketing mix
365/24/7 Communication and Distribution with Integrated supply chain
Advertising / Branding as interactive and integrated marketing, communication, education and entertainment
Marketing Research is knowledge creation, there are no secrets
Scale allows experimentation to learn from mistakes!
New Business Strategy process and struggle …….where is IT?
New Organizational Structure – brand, internet, website, marketing – who manages what? A role for a “Chief Integration Officer”?
Internet Marketing - Dynamic and Global
SUMMARY - Small Business Competitive Advantage in a Flat World
Have an OPEN MIND but GET INVOLVED to be PART of the DYNAMICS
Develop CLEARER RELEVANT POSITIONING of BUSINESS PROPOSITION and BENEFITS to Target Audience / Market
Set Goals ………..Use metrics…….Measure Improvements
Focus on Competitive Advantage…..Point of Difference
Find the Best Knowledge Source…..keep up to date with changes & opportunities
Find How to Help People…in Business and Social….
Not Everything on it’s own has an ROI……Total Picture / Holistic
See complete presentation www.proteusism.com
Internet Marketing – The Internet Small Business Opportunity Gap
April 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Internet Marketing – The Internet Opportunity Gap
1. Research studies identified that consumers are actively increasing their use of the internet, where they collect and disseminate information and knowledge (Forrester Research), AND at a faster rate than business traffic.
2. This is the result of the dynamic changes and choices in technology which has resulted in fragmentation of the “traditional” communication. Consumers have changed their approach, but the business structure (primarily in the medium to small size companies) is lagging behind.
3. This significant gap provides a major competitive advantage and window of opportunity for enterprises willing to change in line with the consumer approach.
4. Its not a single piece of the marketing mix that is required to change (e.g. a new website, use of search engine optimization, use of Google ad words etc) but a new internet marketing pathway based on proven brand marketing principles.
5. “Build a Website and they will come…..but they don’t” How few websites in an existence today are built (and regularly updated) for the “changing consumer”?
6. The new Internet Marketing Model fundamentally changes the thought process and business structure of how to reach the customer / consumer.
7. The website (& its contents) is a critical focal point, as it integrates and coordinates all the other Internet Marketing & Advertising possibilities available to businesses.
What are the changes that We as Consumers have adopted so willingly?
Basically we have more choice today, and the choice is more under our control.
The availability of multimedia in multiple delivery systems has created a breakdown of what we read, watch, listen to, use, avoid. and what we can ignore.
As a result, our perception of branded products and services has changed due to seeing more images, more messages, more frequently.
The message, positioning and promise of the product and the service have also changed.
We now continually assess a branded product and service (and its supplier) in a multi dimensional composite of all we have recently seen & heard from multiple sources, in the rapidly changing and dynamic new environment.
Our expectations have changed we are more demanding, more inquisitive, more skeptical, and more savvy in our adoption of the traditional marketing “message” in advertising promotion, packaging, supplier claims, and PR.
We no longer Surf the web, we now Search the web.
We expect websites & suppliers to be as efficient & easy as Amazon.com.
We Google when we want information.
We do not read Web Sites we scan pages for Keywords or Relevant facts.
We link with people in totally new Social networks e.g. LinkedIn, Face book.
We expect change and speed of change and adopt it quicker e.g. IPhone, IPad
We Skype friends overseas with a free video communication service.
We search and compare products & services.
We build our own news & entertainment schedule with YouTube, CNet, ITunes, ESPN.
We communicate “word of mouth” now by “speed of email”.
We balance or challenge mass media statements with individual Blog “experts”.
I wrote the above notes in 2008, and little has changed, I am still amazed that the Internet Business Opportunity Gap for Small and Medium size businesses still exists.
So why are Small and Medium size businesses lagging behind in the adoption of Internet Marketing and SEO Optimization?
With the drive to Local Search being championed by Google and Bing, surely 2011 will the year of dramatic change.
Any ideas let me know.
www.ProteusISM.com
Taking Successful SEO to the Next Higher Level
December 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
“Nothing Succeeds like Success”
If you have achieved a successful implementation of search engine optimization for a B2B Business Website, i.e. improved search ranking, increased visits, more unique visitors and sales leads providing more business, how do you keep improving?
How do we generate even more website traffic and more even more sales leads and more orders for Freeman Schwabe Machines.
This is the challenge and goal for Freeman Schwabe Machinery in 2011.
New marketing opportunities do exist to expand the business, building on Current Customers who have already purchased machines and to increase the Customer Base even further, so we will continue to provide more quality information and more rich relevant content for people who visit the site.
The starting point for building the internet marketing plan is in the details of the Analytics Data, so it’s back to research the search keywords and the pages most visited, and building on the success already achieved. That’s the beauty of Dynamic SEO! Constant change, analysis and making improvements to take the business to the next and higher level.
The main expansion opportunity for the Freeman Schwabe business in 2011 is the with delighted customer base that the company team has built up over the last 3 years. Freeman Schwabe provides quality hydraulic die cutting presses, mold & trim, embossing and laminating presses and backs up the sale with a value added maintenance and parts / service program.
The internet marketing strategy being developed with Freeman Schwabe management will build on this success. Watch this space!
SEO – Small and Medium Size Business Research
November 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
My jaw is still against my chest, after reading the 2010 UK Website – SEO Study of 1,001 SME (small medium enterprises) websites and compared them against a range of SEO criteria.
- 70% of companies researched have less than 50 employees, and they either have no SEO or very basic optimisation of their website
- 12% of SEM websites are not indexed in any search engine,
- 35% of websites did not have unique page titles
- 56% lacked unique page descriptions
- 82% of small business websites had no HTML site map
It is especially worrying as I also read the results of Zoomerang 2010 US Research “…. understanding of how small to midsized businesses (SMB) are using their
marketing budget in 2010, as well as 2011 projections”
- 46% of SMB (small medium businesses) businesses, in USA, do NOT have a website!
- 35% of the SMBs surveyed employ some form of social media
The net take away is SEO has made very limited progress in Small Business Marketing in USA and UK.
The good news, however, is the opportunity for Marketing SEO Consultants is huge, if we live long enough!
10 Tips Traditional Marketing & Marketing SEO
June 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Overview
Rethink the purpose of your company website and other touch points with potential customers through the internet or digital media.
Remember all business materials and actions should be consistent and work in synergy, and be focused on the company positioning and competitive advantage of its products and services…..mmm Traditional Marketing approach…….
The website is your opportunity to present these products and services and convert visitors to buyers.
Your conversion rate will depend on how well your website company offering, its positioning and your credentials fit with what the searcher is looking for.
- Consistency in the marketing message and how it flows across the web site and social media touch points, reflecting the business culture, positioning and offering, the holistic approach to marketing SEO. Identifying the specific strategic role of the website within the overall plan is critical.
- Encourage your visitors to explore your site by making it easy to navigate, and also make it easy for the robots to explore the site as well, by providing a map of the site architecture. Here is the opportunity to start a relationship.
- Ensure the technical development of the site SEO is clean and that it’s accurate, and follows a “white hat” approach to work in synergy with the Marketing SEO. SEO should be Marketing lead not Technical.
- Be honest and open (and consistent) providing reassurance to visitors wherever possible.
- Research most efficient and effective keywords and focus on the goal of explaining your company positioning using the keywords and pharses identified.
- Think as the Searcher i.e. your Visitor (and potential Customer) when designing each page, asking “is this what they expect” or “ is this what they are looking for”.
- Quality Information and Content is critical, i.e. good copywriting will keep the visitor interested, just as in a first interview, sell ourself.
- Be willing to meet and adhere to all SEO guidelines and rules, this will avoid breaking any obscure or unknown rules with risk of penalties.
- Avoid using too many acronyms or jargon words, the site copy should reflect what the searcher is thinking and words used in search, the goal is meeting the searcher’s need.
- Periodically go back and review your website, challenge your own content and copy, as SEO is true “dynamic marketing” in which everything is changing fast and the changes are generally not under your.
Comments and Feedback.
Visit my website at www.ProteusISM.com
Marketing SEO Explained
June 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Marketing SEO – Translation Provided
After a long pause or absence I am back with this my 3rd attempt to write and establish my Blog Dynamic Marketing.
Written “tongue in cheek” with a Marketer’s myopia at the language and hype of search engine optimization (or as spelt in UK “optmisation”) and other new terms.
I am amused (or confused) how quickly we have “adopted” this relatively new language provided by search engine engineers and mathematicians, including the new acronyms and buzz phrases: SEO, Tags, Links, SEM, Social Media etc.
When was this new language introduced and accepted, and who hijacked the existing marketing terminology, and why has marketing “jargon” become out favor with modern digital media?
In the competitive marketplace of business marketing, it’s difficult enough to market and sell The Added Value of SEO, without adding a new language in the mix!
Especially when most potential business customers, have not heard of the new terms and if people have heard of the terms then most potential businesses don’t understand what the new terms mean!
The opportunities for businesses implementing internet marketing are exceptional, so why is the adoption of SEO by many website owners, so cautious or dare I say it slow!
I believe its because the new language and terminology, is misunderstood particularly by the “old school” of traditional marketing, and the longer this persists the more the “new school” enjoys the elitist feeling of superiority of speaking in a different tongue.
Perhaps the latest business opportunity is “Marketing SEO – Translation Services”
Marketing SEO vs Search Engine Optimization
I am intrigued with the new terminology surrounding Internet or Website Marketing (and Sales), and the breakaway from traditional marketing and advertising terms.
The subject of terminology arose recently in the development of a new website. What is development SEO work?
What is SEO work?
What is Marketing SEO?
Where are the overlaps and why have the engineers changed the language?
Search Engine Optimization, is defined from a “mechanical” perspective and as description of a new interface with a search engine to help each other perform better, but it almost refuses to acknowledge or in fact denies the strong relationship with “traditional marketing”.
Here maybe we start to see the marketing generation gap, as these new terms can be misleading or at least confusing to the newbie who grew up with and is used to the traditional marketing process and terminology.
To me Marketing is focused on the Customer or Consumer, and Innovation and Creativity.
In my view, the term SEO should be redefined as “Marketing SEO” to make distinct from “Admin SEO” when the focus is code compliance and actions are based on formula and rules.
Ken Auletta in “Googled: The End of Life as we Know It” highlights early on in his thesis the reason for the success of the Google approach is that the search process is transparent, whereas traditional advertising or marketing had become opaque, which others refer to as the “magic” or “sizzle”.
I applaud and support the transparency, my only point is not all the “traditional marketing” terms nor its thought process should be rejected, as we should recognize there is overlap, especially when we want to educate newbies on the benefits of SEO.
We are therefore in a transitional period, where there is a language divide and education is required, and maybe “Marketing SEO – Translation Services” is ongoing business requirement, particularly emphasizing the benefits of internet marketing.
Updating my Internet Marketing Plan Framework
January 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
“We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit”.
- Aristotle
I guess “I should do as I preach” and start the new business year by updating my Marketing Strategy – Goals – Activity Plan for the year. At least an overview to focus my thoughts and activities.
Business Proposition and Positioning
Proteus provides businesses with a measurable and experienced internet marketing and sales support, that will deliver results, based on proven marketing skills.
Proteus will deliver against agreed goals.
Proteus will focus on increasing sales leads, leading to increase sales income.
Proteus will focus on cost effective and efficient internet marketing implementation.
Background
Proteus Internet Marketing LLC, 3 years on continues to grow, change and develop.
Business Clients based on results have renewed contracts and are ongoing customers and are delighted with results.
SEO and SEM are also developing and changing even faster, one challenge is keeping up with all the opportunities, which is a great position to be in!
Goal for 2010 / 2011
Add 5 new customers to the business base in 2010.
Identify potential customers that “get it” but do not have the time or knowledge to get into the detail of SEO and SEM.
Target Customer Profile
WHO – medium size businesses with appreciation “at the top“ of the potential benefits of internet marketing and are willing to test / measure / learn / grow
WHERE – based in UK or USA
WHY – the business wants to learn and use the internet to reach potential customers but does not need or can justify full time internet marketing in organization
Internet Marketing Planning 2010 / 2011
Detail monthly activities to:
increase visitors to web site with constant SEO update and Ad Words Campaigns
increase readership of blog by regular writing with basic insights to small medium size businesses, and hopefully dialogue
expand social media visibility of John Cullen and Proteus
contribute more to local business community, get involved
Top 10 Challenges for Internet Marketing Consultant
January 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
So why is it taking so long for small and medium size businesses to realize the changes.
Not only is the world flat but it appears to be spinning faster, at least things appear to be happening faster.
Corporate is being challenged by smaller more energetic and forceful competition, through online search, building an effective web site and social media network has become a dynamic marketing tool. Where everything you do should add and improve the whole business, dare I say in a “holistic approach”.
Today’s marketing as evolved into how the early economists described the world of “Perfect Competition”, where the leaders are winners, but the competition is right behind, and improving constantly, as information is open and available to all.
Being out of the Corporate for life for some years it amazes me I stayed or lasted so long, but I am glad I did because being active in Global or International Marketing helped me achieve what I wanted to achieve: a global view, different cultures, different environments, disruptive marketing, meeting people and fresh new regular challenges, working in a dynamic marketing environment. [Dynamic as defined by Merriam Webster dy·nam·ic
“marked by usually continuous and productive activity or change”]
There is a correlation between the two worlds of Global Marketing and Internet Marketing and hence the reason I am doing what I am doing.
With the evolvement of SEO, SEM and Social Media Marketing, more and more closet marketing gurus have appeared, unfortunately most lack the depth of experience and knowledge in proven and tested foundations in marketing and sales.
The challenge:
1. With so much “free advice” available internet marketing consulting has still to develop and to be recognized within the mainstream of essential business needs, which adds significant value and therefore worth investing in.
2. The speed of change has many smaller businesses confused or unaware of benefits, consulting involves coaching and coordinating, and selecting what is relevant to individual clients and their unique business challenges and opportunities.
3. The role and opportunities of the Internet, SEO and SEM has been “hijacked” by IT as an empire building opportunity and a job security item, and marketing was too slow to recognize its potential, and now we face an in-house “expert”, who does not want to relinquish power.
4. Thinking with a different “head set” and “focused on people” is a prerequisite, this is a significant change to forcing products out to reach sales targets, which is a significant issue for a large potential of small and medium size businesses, certainly most family businesses.
5. How do we reach people, who don’t see or understand the need and benefits, using old media / marketing tools to tell people about new media / marketing opportunities ?
6. How do we communicate with people who don’t use the internet as a new medium, the acronyms and the terminology has developed very quickly to give validity to the tech or IT property?
7. Building trust with an unknown and a “consultant”, this is the most important and the most difficult parameter to overcome with new clients, especially as everything is constantly changing, so not everything is proven. There is a large element of trust.
8. Delivering tangible results to show added value to clients, without “guaranteeing #1 google ranking” or other promotional gimmicks which conflict with the longer term benefits.
9. Introducing “visibility of information” and “measurement” as a key business management tool, creates concern with management.
10. To implement all the benefits is time consuming and to capitalize on all benefits requires time, patience and most important the basic business premise understanding “what is your business positioning and competitive advantage to start with”.
The last point is the single biggest challenge of all, so marketing may not have changed that much.
Who are we?
Who are our competitors?
Where do we want to be?
How can we get there?
How do make a profit in doing so?
