As marketers and salespeople, one of the hardest things we are ever asked to do is to look within ourselves, make an honest assessment, and determine if a particular campaign or overall organizational strategy would benefit from outside assistance. The knee jerk reaction is to balk at the idea of seeking help as it could appear that your talent and skill are not really needed at your company. Nothing could be further from the truth.
For instance, when I took over marketing with Intellibright, I sought out advice, pointers, and tactics that are practiced by some of the top thought leaders in the online marketing space. Gleaning what I could from them made me a stronger leader with Intellibright, and has elevated me to the position of mentor to other marketers. Seeking help makes you stronger.
The 5 Signs
If you find that any of the following items resonate with your current situation, you can be assured you are not alone. Many sales and marketing teams have expressed one form or the other of one, two, or all of the points below.
1. I don’t have enough marketing/sales support to implement an online strategy.
Even though it is 2015, there are many companies that simply fail to see the value of an online marketing strategy, instead relying on the old school outbound marketing approach. If I told you that nearly 100% of consumers utilize the Internet before making a purchase, you might likely think I am discussing a future projection. In fact, this staggering figure was true over 5 years ago.
The truth is that you cannot afford not to have an online marketing strategy today, tomorrow, and into the future.
2. I don’t have the budget to re-do my company’s website.
There are many reasons why a redesign of your company’s online property makes sense. But simply throwing money at it and hoping it will miraculously improve is both foolish and unnecessary. A little legwork will help you to identify the key areas where you should focus your efforts on improving the design, layout, and functionality of your website.
3. I don’t have methods to properly track leads.
This is a biggie! If you can’t follow your leads through the sales funnel, then you are most certainly losing revenue opportunities on a daily, weekly, and quarterly basis. If you have no actionable way to track the leads that your efforts are producing, then it is certain that the rest of your skills are not being used in any quantifiable method.
4. I have too much to do/I wear too many hats/I don’t have enough time.
You are stretched way too thin. You likely work for a fast-paced organization where priorities can appear or shift from moment to moment. It is hard to conceive, design, and implement any sort of marketing strategy, much less an online strategy that requires frequent updating to maintain search relevance.
CONCLUSION:
Seeing that we are already into the conclusion, you may have noticed there are only 4 signs your online marketing efforts are falling short, above. The 5th sign is that you are reading this far. We all look for help, for guidance, and, (in our most frantic moments) a lifeline. If you are concerned that your company is missing the online marketing boat, it may be time to research the more reputable online marketing companies and see if and how they can help you and your company to not only survive, but thrive in the digital age.
