The Marketing Matters Podcast

We've all been taking a philosophical view of life the past few weeks but what place should philosophy have in your business model? A while ago we explored 'the Power of Why' and the philosophy behind why you do what you do but today we're looking at it in more depth. What drives you in the morning? Why are you in business and what do you wish to do with it?

The success of Captain Tom's 100th birthday walk for the NHS has been well-documented in the UK, now raising over £28m thanks to becoming a phenomena on social media. Contributing to social media is a lot like buying premium bonds: you invest in it without expectations to make it big, but you anticipate getting something back for your efforts. People post on online platforms every single day, and while it may not gain major traction, there is value to be had.

While much has changed over the last 3 weeks, life goes on and a large part of the economy is still trying to continue. There are contrasting impacts felt: many do not have the freedom to close and furlough staff until salvation arrives, online food sales are booming while the high street is a ghost town, B2B businesses are enjoying more luck than significantly hit companies dealing with retail. And it's likely that for the next few weeks we're going to remain at home under lockdown...so how can your business adapt to this new normal?

In these current times, most of us are in unfamiliar and uncertain situations that are presenting new challenges daily. But can this can also enable great opportunities? Over recent weeks, we have been focusing on the long term and someone having pressed the Pause button provides the chance for people to work on their business rather than in it, whilst focusing on staying 'in the game' for now we have the opportunity to come out the other side stronger. 

WordPress was launched in 2003 and, bar the odd website, we've exclusively been using the open-source system for a number of years now. But why is that? While it was initially designed as a simple tool, and still is, over time it has seen an increase in functionality and become a very powerful content management platform - one that can be flexibly and quickly used in-house.

Third party reviews are key for most ecommerce sites and very valuable even for niche B2B markets. But because there are so many fake reviews online, your testimonials need to sound as genuine and credible as possible; not everything needs to be a glowing 5-star review. The benefit of case studies is the demonstration of what your business provides via the eyes of the customer.

Having focused recently on the importance of having a vision for a business, we now look at the impact that vision might have on your marketing message.
The mantra of marketing has been about presenting benefits to customers and not just the features, but now you need to link those benefits to your vision and ask yourself "why do I deliver those benefits?"

Every year we like to take a weekend away for business planning. Taking some time away from distractions to work on the business together, gives us an opportunity to look to the future & ask ourselves about the bigger picture. However, if you work solo, with no partner or colleague, what's the solution and how do you overcome the challenges?

Happy New Year from Marketing Matters and with it brings the beginning of a new season of our podcast, this week inspired by 'The Infinite Game' (by Simon Sinek). The way we think about marketing can be impacted by our focus on the short term and hitting targets, rather than the wider vision of the organisation. The real long term objective is about staying in the 'game'.

Christmas is upon us and it can be a challenge to keep marketing consistent during the holiday periods of the year. With most businesses closing between Christmas and New Year, you have less time to produce content in December than the majority of months. How can you ensure your marketing doesn't get derailed?