Blog Insights

Let’s say you have a sales team of between two and ten people. I’m going to make an educated guess that one of three things is happening:

To many, out-of-office replies are annoying, sometimes because it’s another email to clutter up your inbox and sometimes because you really needed to contact that person and they’re unavailable. But auto-reply emails hold meaningful information that can aid your sales and marketing process – and build personal rapport.

Thor: Ragnarok is a considerable risk-taking departure in style from the first Thor movie, which was essentially a Shakespearean play meets superheroes. The second film in the franchise, Thor: The Dark World, was aptly named – a dark story where Thor even loses his love interest. Ragnarok is sort of the Norse version of Armageddon, so it could have easily continued the dark view and tone … but instead, Thor: Ragnarok (the third installment in the Thor universe and 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, by the way) goes the route of heavy comedy blended with action. The combination is pulling in huge profits and fantastic reviews as a result.

Is the purpose of marketing to create leads?

No – it’s to create relationships.

I know you’re wondering what I mean, so allow me to explain: when you build the relationship, the business will come naturally.

Here are some ideas for building relationships through your marketing:

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in April 2009 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

Do you sell business-related products or services through a channel? And by “channel,” I mean another party between you and the end customer/consumer/user. Channels could include retailers or dealers or be multi-level with distributors involved.

I was doing an audit of the Leading Results blogs, and to my horror I found that I had started a four-part blog series last year – and never completed it. I had been binge watching Mad Men and decided to look at how marketing has changed over the years. 

Your company is engaged in a relationship with a marketing agency, and you’re feeling optimistic about the opportunity. You know how you’re going to provide your potential leads and customers with the insight and enterprise they crave – not to mention that you’re on your way to taking your business to the next level.

Though the weight is on the marketing agency to complete the proposed action items, tasks, and strategic input, your company is not without responsibility in this new found relationship.

The 4 Ps of Marketing – Product, Price, Place, and Promotion – really aren’t applicable to a professional services firm (actually, they probably aren’t applicable to most businesses in our knowledge/experience economy – but I digress).

When I was younger, I used to ride a bike – camping, rails-to-trails, around the neighborhood. Then I stopped, although I’m not sure why, or even when. Then, when I was 20, I decided I wanted to mix up my fitness regimen, so I got a bike. I figured it would work different muscles and all that jazz.

Let's put it plainly - dating sucks. Starting the painstaking process of finding someone special is enough to make anyone resolve to be single forever. If you've landed on this blog post, you're likely gaining insight regarding a new style of dating - how to find an inbound marketing agency that's right for you. You're probably overwhelmed and nervous about this process, and while it won't be easy or quick, there IS an inbound marketing agency that's perfect for you. Once you find it, business as you know it will never be the same!