JDR Group's 'Digital Prosperity' Blog

New generation marketing strategies are the best way to supercharge your business. Whether you’re diversifying into a new market or strengthening your current client base, there isn’t currently a better way of getting the results you need. However, it’s important to take a considered approach to marketing, rather than trying to rush to the finish line. Trying to go from 0 to 100 in six seconds is as likely to leave you with a burnt-out engine or careening off the road as it is to get you to your destination.

What are new generation marketing strategies, and how do they compare to ‘old school’ techniques? Over the past few years, noticeable trends have caused changes to how businesses market themselves – to the extent that some old school strategies are no longer as effective, and can even be counter-productive.

Marketing is only effective if you target the right audience. If you market to the wrong people, your content will fall on deaf ears – for no other reason than they don’t need your services, or aren’t in a position to purchase them. There’s no point trying to appeal to everyone – only people who have a definite interest in what you sell. This is why it’s so important to understand who your ideal customers are, what they’re searching for online, and how you can be found by them.

You need leads to generate sales but not all leads convert into customers. Some leads have a better prospect of becoming paying customers than others. As generating each lead costs your company money, an effective lead generation strategy should focus on maximising the number of high-quality leads, while filtering out those that are less relevant. How is this achieved?

Who doesn’t love a word-of-mouth referral? It’s a great endorsement of your business and is definitely something to aim for. Many mature businesses gain a lot of their new clients on the back of client referrals. Word-of-mouth referrals are gold dust for several reasons:

In B2B sales, people don’t buy from companies; they buy from other people. Every business lead you generate had a person attached to it, with a role to play in that business, motivations, stressors and other factors that affect their purchase decisions. Many businesses feel their products and services sell themselves on their own virtue – and in some cases this is true – but all lead nurturing strategies benefit from relationship building.

Here's one of the most important things we know about marketing: it works. Therefore, if you aren't getting results from your strategy, there's definitely something wrong. That doesn't mean you need to abandon your current tactics, but you should reassess the methods you're employing and review the goals you've set. Let's consider why your strategy may not be delivering the number of sales or leads you want.

If you feel that fighting a demogorgon would be an easier option than turning your company's sales performance around, don't despair – help is at hand. You might find it hard to believe that harnessing the power of inbound marketing can produce spectacular results for companies in niche industries, but “stranger things” have happened! Let's look at how implementing an inbound marketing strategy could help your business to bloom.

Trade shows, exhibitions and events are classic ‘outbound’ marketing tactics that can be extremely successful if they are the right events and they are carried out effectively. Many business owners simply send their salespeople with some brochures and business cards to man a stand, but when you are investing thousands of pounds for an event, it’s vital to maximise the opportunity. Here are six ways you can ensure your next event has maximum marketing impact:

If you’re new to the world of digital marketing, you might be asking ‘What does Strava have to do with all this?’ You’re not wrong to ask. Let’s get into it…