Growth is a common goal for almost every business.  To grow, you need to keep current customers and acquire new ones. Lead generation activities will help you do this. Many people know the principle behind lead generation; they just don’t understand the execution of it. Today, we will share lead generation tips.

1. Develop Your Strategy

As you plan your strategy, think about these points:
• Who are your target customers? What is their “buyer profile” or “persona”? If you could have a perfect client, what characteristics – buying habits, etc. would they have?
• How are you going to find these customers? How can you gather contact information for target businesses and appropriate individuals?
• What value do you offer these kinds of customers? What can you offer customers that no competitor can?
• What are these customers worth to you – over the lifetime of your relationship with them?  How much should you invest to start a profitable relationship with them?

Once you have answered these questions, you should have a clear description of your targets, and the best way to reach them. Sales and marketing organizations should agree on this description as it will impact every lead generation program component.

2. Choose Your Tactics

Phone, emarketing and contact management are the tactics that will help you build strong leads:

Phone: Calling prospects can be daunting, but it shouldn’t be. The phone offers a quick and easy way to make a connection and decipher whether or not the prospect in interested in your product. Use the phone to make initial contact with leads or follow up on previous marketing activity (tradeshows, webinars, etc.).

Emarketing: Emarketing is an easy and cost-effective way to reach prospective customers. You can gather email contacts from previous marketing activities, or through an initial phone conversation. Be sure your emarketing is brand consistent, concise, and contains your contact information.  Ideal emarketing uses your organization’s full digital presence for impact and measurement.

Contact Management: Contacts are useless unless you organize and manage them. To keep track of your contacts and how often you reach out to them, use contact management software as CRM – and then track and measure all lead activity by it. You’ll know who responds, to what, their potential purchasing patterns and future profitability.

3. Build Your List

Start with contacts you received from inbound marketing (those contacts who contacted you directly about your product or service). Then add contacts you obtained through your phone and email communications. Perform added research on possible contacts through association or other Internet research.  Iterate over time – your list is a living, breathing thing—never complete!

4. Create Offers

When you reach out to contacts, offer them something tangible and discrete. Consider product information, competitive comparisons, free trials, discounts, links to ancillary products or services.  Overall, your offers should entice your leads to become an active consumer of your product or service. Be creative and brainstorm offer ideas before you test them.

5. Content is Key

As you build your leads and begin contacting them, continually present valuable and compelling “content” to them. Every piece of communication should clearly communicate your company’s value proposition, why they should choose you and the call to action. 

Use these tips and you will be on your way to effective lead generation. Lead generation doesn’t have to be intimidating or difficult. With a clear strategy and plan, executing lead generation will be a breeze! For more information on how to start lead generation for your company, contact us today!

Posted by Brittany in • General Marketing • Lead Generation • Sales Marketing • Target Marketing | (0) Comments | Permalink

Last week, we shared how to use SEO to attract potential customers to your website.  But how do you know if SEO works effectively? Measurement comes in the form of Google Analytics.

Google Analytics is the easiest, most comprehensive way to measure SEO because it tells you who visits your site, how long they stay, and what content they view. Simply install Google Analytics code into your website and you will be on your way! To learn more information about incorporating Google Analytics into your website, visit: http://www.google.com/intl/en/analytics/iq.html.

Once you install Google Analytics, pay attention to the metrics below to measure website success:

1. Overall Visitors & Unique Visitors

When first logging on to Google Analytics, you see an overview of how many visitors view your site. This tab also shows the number of unique visitors to your site. The unique visitor metric is the more important of the two.

Unique visitors are the total number of visitors coming to your website, excluding repeat visitors. This lack of inflation gives you a much better understanding of the numbers your website attracts. As you monitor your analytics over time, pay attention to whether this number rises or declines.

2. Pages/Visit

This metric shows how active visitors engage with your website’s content. The higher the number, the more content your visitors are viewing and learning about your company. As you monitor these metrics, watch how this number fluctuates.

3. Avg. Time on Site

This metric shows how long each visitor, on average, stays on your site.  You would like to see a high number here. Anything above one minute is considered pretty good, however, the higher you go above one minute, the better, indicating visitors are actually reading and absorbing the information on your site instead of quickly browsing through it.

4. Bounce Rate

The bounce rate indicates the percentage of visitors who leave the website from the page they entered. This rate has two implications:

a. People leave your website from the page they entered because your site’s content is not relevant to them.
b. People leave your website because they are able to find the exact information they need from the page they entered.

On average, a bounce rate around 40% is considered good. Anything in the 60% or 70% range would be a troublesome rate. If your bounce rate is that high, you may want to rethink your SEO and keywords to ensure you attract visitors looking for your product or solution.

For certain pages, it is not as worrisome to find a high bounce rate. Your contact page, for example, will most likely have a high bounce rate because people entering this page are probably looking for your contact information and nothing else.

5. Traffic Sources

This tab shows exactly where your visitors come from, whether it is from search engines, direct traffic, or referring sites. This tab also displays the top search terms that lead people to your website. This information can help you decide which keywords should be included in your SEO.

6. Pages

This tab is located under the “Content” section of Google Analytics. This page shows the most viewed pages on your website. These results illustrate which content is the most popular, which can help you decide which content to update and how to update it. On this page, you can also see individual page bounce rates.

Still confused about Google Analytics? Give us a call today! We will help you clear the fog and start measuring your website’s progress.

Posted by Brittany in • General Marketing • Google Analytics • Web Marketing • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | (0) Comments | Permalink

Once your website is up, it’s time to drive traffic to it. But, you don’t want just any traffic, you want targeted visitors who will be more likely to become customers after visiting your website. Search engine optimization (SEO) will help drive the visitors you want to your site. 

People often become intimated when they hear about SEO because they don’t fully understand what it is. Simply put, SEO consists of keywords and dynamic, interactive content.  Below is a step-by-step process.

Step 1:  Research and Develop Keywords
Keyword research starts with a brainstorming session. Think about the most important words that pertain to your business, including your company name and words that relate to what you do. For instance, if you provide technology services to healthcare companies, a good keyword would be “healthcare technology.” Also think about words your customers use to describe your business.

Once your list is compiled, plug it into a keyword research tool, such as WordTracker or WebCEO. These tools show search totals for your list, and generate similar keywords and their search totals. This will help you understand which words receive the most searches and will drive the most traffic to your website. Then, compile a final list of keywords, combining words that specifically relate to your firm (even if they do not have high search totals) and more general terms that have higher search totals.

Step 2: Add Keywords to Your Website and Content
Incorporate your list of keywords into your website in:

1. Page Titles
2. Body Copy
3. Image Tags
4. Headers
5. Metadata*

*Metadata is the website “code” and is what search engine crawlers “read” when they visit your website. Based on the system used to build your website, you may have to include keywords in the source code of your site or you may be able to plug them into the metadata section of your website. As a rule of thumb, each page should have a different combination of keywords in the metadata. This will ensure search engine crawlers go to each page of your website to “read” it, which means higher search rankings for your website.

Step 3: Generate Dynamic, Interactive Content
Interesting, dynamic, and interactive content is just as important as having the right keywords in your website. Because people want to see content they can interact with and connect to, interesting content draws more traffic naturally.  Here are some examples of dynamic and interactive content you can post:

1. Videos
2. Press Releases
3. Links to other websites
4. Photos
5. Social media links and buttons

This type of content drives people to your website. And, the more often your content changes, the more often search engine crawlers visit your website, resulting in higher search engine rankings.

Step 4: Register Your Site with Search Engines
Once you have the best keywords in your website and you’ve incorporated interesting and dynamic content, you are ready to register your site with search engines. Many people believe that not registering your website with search engines means you will never appear in search engine results, however this is not true. Search engine registration simply guarantees that your website will be tracked and ranked on those search engines, which can lead to increased ranking overall.

Search engine registration is easy. Google which engine you would like to register with and you will find a simply entry form to include your website. We recommend you register with the following search engines:

1. Google
2. Bing/Yahoo!
3. Open Directory
4. Alexa
5. Ask.com
6. MSN

These are the most popular and most important search engines. To find other search engines, Google “register your website with search engines” and you will find numerous, free tools, that will register your site with a large number of smaller search engines around the web.

You have now optimized your website for targeted traffic! If you have further questions about SEO and how to get started, contact us today!

Posted by Brittany in • General Marketing • Web Marketing • Target Marketing • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | (0) Comments | Permalink

In the technology-driven world we live in, if your website hasn’t been updated in a year, it is outdated.  It’s important to keep your website branding current to reinforce your position, and to frequently update content to give your audience a reason to visit time and again.

Now, if you cringe at the thought of updating your site, fear not!  There are a number of inexpensive and user-friendly tools to help.  In our next series of blogs, we will outline how to create and design a new website, optimize it for SEO, and track website progress.

Today, we begin with a requirement in website creation: a Content Management System (CMS).

A carefully chosen CMS includes tools to help create your website and allow multiple users to logon and make changes. It gives you an easy way to update your site yourself, with little hassle and low time commitment. With a CMS, you should be able to:

1. Create new web pages
2. Edit text in current web pages
3. Add and delete photos
4. Create an interesting side bar and module content
5. Add Facebook and social media plug-ins

You’re probably thinking, “Okay, that sounds great, but where do I find a tool like that? and, How much is it going to cost me?” The truth is, there are many CMS options that can be found by Googling “content management systems.” And, even better, many are free! Below are the five most popular options (ranked by Nettuts+).

1. WordPress
2. Joomla!
3. Drupal
4. ExpressionEngine
5. TextPattern

If you think a CMS is right for you – because you want to maintain your site on an ongoing basis—ask your agency (think focused, smart, great to work with…DMG?) to add one to your new site.  At DMG, we often use Joomla! to build sites for clients that want to participate in maintaining them.  Our Joomla! clients are usually pleased at how simple it is to create new pages and edit content.

Want to learn more about how to incorporate a CMS into your existing or new site? Contact us today! And if you like this blog and want our others to come straight to your inbox, subscribe today.

Posted by Brittany in • Content Management Systems • General Marketing • Joomla! • Web Marketing | (0) Comments | Permalink

For the fourth and final part of our social media blog series, we focus on a platform that not only helps you create dynamic content for your social media campaigns, but is also becoming one of the top search engines on the Internet: YouTube. As YouTube’s video content grows at an exponential rate, many are utilizing them as a way to find information. Rather than reading about how to change a flat tire, most would like to see it for themselves!  For companies, this means that YouTube is not only a way to post videos about your company and products, but is also a great way to increase your SEO and drive consumers to your website. YouTube can’t be ignored because:

• More than 3 billion videos are viewed a day
• 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month
• Nearly 17 million people have connected their YouTube account to a social service (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• 100 million people take social action on YouTube (likes, shares, comments, etc.) every week

In this blog, we will describe how to get the most of YouTube by making and customizing your own company channel. The steps for creating a company channel are incredibly simple, as you’ll see.

1. Assign an administrator for your YouTube account
- Administrator’s email will be the login email for the account
- Administrator will upload and manage video content
- Administrator will monitor comments posted to videos and can remove unwanted comments
2. Once the YouTube account is created, in the left hand column, click “My Channel”
3. Choose a name for your YouTube channel
- Channel names can only be letters and numbers
- Channel names cannot contain spaces
- Keep the channel name relevant to your company
4. Once your channel is created, select “Edit Your Channel”
- Upload company logo to act as the channel’s “avatar” or icon
- Write in a company description, under your channel description header
- Add tags to your channel so it is searchable (tags should be relevant to your company and can contain keywords from your SEO you already have on your website)
- Select a background color for your channel to make it visually appealing to viewers. Background color should be as close to your color palette as possible
5. Begin uploading videos to your channel
- Simply select “Upload Video” to begin the process
- Create descriptive, searchable titles for your videos. Try to use as many characters as possible to title your video, as this will make it more descriptive and optimized for search
- Also add “categories” to your video, which will also help make your videos searchable. Categories should relate to the video’s content as well as your company

As with every social media platform we’ve covered in this series, the second step is to create dynamic, interesting content for your videos. Just like nobody wants to sit through somebody else’s boring family videos, you need content that is going to entice, engage – even thrill your audience. Content could contain:

• Product comparisons
• Company news
• Company events
• Charitable missions supported by the company
• Employee features
• Profiles of tradeshows attended

This is the part where you get to flex your creative muscle, so have fun! Once you have content, videos should be uploaded on a consistent basis, as often as they are created, so your company will be top of mind with followers and searchers on YouTube

The final step in YouTube, which is unique to this platform, is to connect your channel with your other social media accounts. While this may sound complicated, it is actually a very simple process.

1. Under the Settings tab of your channel, click the “Sharing” button
2. Then click “Connect” next to the Facebook icon
- This connects your YouTube and Facebook accounts so whenever you upload a new video to your YouTube channel, it will also be shared directly on your Facebook page
3. There is no way to directly connect your YouTube and LinkedIn accounts, so you will have to post videos to LinkedIn as soon as they are uploaded to YouTube
- LinkedIn administrator or YouTube administrator should be in charge of this
- Post the link to the YouTube video, so users get accustomed to your YouTube channel, and if they also have YouTube accounts, will request to follow your channel, so they will automatically be notified when a new video is uploaded

Like Facebook, YouTube is a necessity for any company starting a social media campaign. While videos are more timely and costly to create, they provide dynamic content for your other social media accounts and give another outlet for potential customers to find you through search. Interested in tips and advice on creating videos for YouTube and how to start your own account? Contact us today! And if you liked this blog, make sure to subscribe so that all of our future blogs come straight to your inbox!

Posted by Brittany in • General Marketing • Social Media • YouTube | (0) Comments | Permalink

Last week we introduced you to the most popular social media tool on the Internet: Facebook. While Facebook can be used by any type of organization, it can sometimes be difficult for B2B businesses to connect with their clients on Facebook. However, there is a social media tool that emphasizes the professionalism found in B2B transactions: LinkedIn. LinkedIn is targeted for business individuals, making it easier to connect with clients and their employees. Here’s why LinkedIn is a great tool for B2B firms:

• 135 million members from over 200 countries and territories have LinkedIn accounts
• More than 2 million companies have LinkedIn company pages
• Professionals are joining LinkedIn at a rate faster than 2 new members per second
• LinkedIn ranks at the 34th most visited site in the world, up from 54th just one year ago

The best platform for businesses to use LinkedIn to the fullest is a LinkedIn Company Profile. Company Profiles on LinkedIn are very similar to pages on Facebook and include:

• A company “Overview” which is the first thing a viewer sees on the company profile
- Highlight what your company does
- Link to your company website
- Share relevant information about your company such as location, employment numbers, etc.
• Special features customized to each company profile:
- Career Section: post open job descriptions and qualifications to find prospective applicants
- Products & Services: Highlight products or services related to your target consumers
- Product Reviews from past customers you connect with on LinkedIn
- Company Description: provide a more detailed description of your company than you did in the company overview
- Company Employees: display LinkedIn profiles of your employees
- New Hires: feature new employees you recently hired
- Recent Promotions & Changes: feature recent title changes of your employees
• Company profiles on LinkedIn can be “followed” by LinkedIn users (this acts similar to a Facebook “like”)
• Followers of a company profile are able to see:
- Posted jobs
- Employees
- Posts made by the company (these posts are similar to Facebook posts)
• Followers are able to interact with your posts through comments and shares
• Incorporate videos and photos into company posts to create dynamic content
• Posts on LinkedIn can be similar content to Facebook posts

Steps to creating a LinkedIn company profile:

1. Visit http://www.linkedin.com/companies?trk=hb_tab_compy and click “Add a Company” in top right corner of page
2. Have a valid employee sign up to create the page by entering Company Name and Company Email when prompted
3. In the Overview tab, decide who will be the administrator of this page:
- Any employee with a valid email registered to the company domain
- Can designate specific users to act as administrator
- Administrators manage and maintain content (creates new posts, careers, products and services, etc.)
4. Upload a logo and fill out additional company information on the overview tab
5. Add any available job descriptions to the Careers tab
6. Add relevant products and services to the Products and Services tab. It is also through this tab that past clients can review and rate your products and services
7. Click the Publish icon on the overview tab to make your profile public

As in creating a Facebook profile, the second step when creating a LinkedIn company profile is to brainstorm, define, and archive dynamic, interesting and interactive content. Content could come from:

• Industry news: find this from industry newsletters, blogs, etc.
• Company news: exciting promotions/transfers, charitable giving, new employees, etc.
• Product and Services news: new products, updated product lines, coordinate featured products with season and specific markets
• Link most of your content to your company website to increase reach of your communications
• You can also feature information about the culture of your company and what you look for in future employees

The key to a company profile on LinkedIn is to maintain the professionalism of your posts and focus on promoting your company to future clients and employees. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn gives B2B businesses the opportunity to reach their key audience directly. Contact us if you’re a B2B firm looking to use social media to your advantage.

Posted by Brittany in • General Marketing • LinkedIN • Social Media | (0) Comments | Permalink

No intro to social media could start without taking note of the #1 social media resource in the world: Facebook. Here’s why:

• There are 800 million active users on Facebook, more than any other social media tool
• 50% of these users log onto Facebook on any given day. That means at any point in time there are around 400 million people on Facebook
• There are 900 million objects to interact with on Facebook. These include Pages, Groups, Events, and Community Pages. If you are not already on Facebook, you are late to the party
• Facebook represents a NECESSITY to businesses, not an option

When we discuss social media with our clients, they sometimes feel lost, because they do not completely understand how to use social media for their business practices. There are so many different options to use on Facebook, such as pages and groups and personal profiles. However, here we will describe the best Facebook tool for a business of any size: a Facebook page.

Facebook pages give you the most tools to interact with your followers and other pages. Notable features include:

• Fans who “Like” your Facebook page view every post made by your page on their News Feed (the first screen viewers see when they login to Facebook)
• Fans can make posts directly to your Facebook page, comment and like posts already found on your page
• Your Facebook page can interact with other pages by “liking” them, posting on their wall, and commenting on their posts (a great way to interact with partner firms, vendors and/or clients)
• You can post photos, videos, and links directly to your Facebook page

The other benefit to starting your social media launch with Facebook – it’s easy! Below are the two main steps it takes to get a Facebook Page up and running:

1. Assign an administrator
- The administrator will be the individual who creates new content and posts
- Administrator can also monitor content created by others and delete any offensive or negative posts
- The administrator also has the ability to remove unwanted Fans from following the page
- It is important to assign an administrator because this will be the person who essentially manages your page
2. The administrator will simply follow the prompts to create a Facebook page, which is very intuitive and simple to do
- The administrator can either build the Facebook Page from their own personal account, or through a separate work email so he or she is only responsible for the page

Once your Facebook page is up, the next crucial step is deciding WHAT to post on your page. It is essential to generate new content for your page as often as possible. We even recommend making a weekly schedule, which will help you plan when and what to post. The more often you post to your page, the more often people will be drawn to your content, which will increase the visibility of your company. Here are some ideas to get you started generating dynamic, interesting, and interactive content:

• Industry News (you can find this from industry newsletters, blogs, etc.)
• Company News (exciting promotions/transfers, charitable giving, new employees, etc.)
• Product and Services News (new products, updated products, coordinate with season and specific markets)
• The majority of your content should link to your company website to lead viewers to your actual product and service offerings
• Include videos, photos, links, articles, etc. to your posts to increase the variety that appears on your page

Now YOU have the tools to create and manage your own Facebook page! Starting to unravel the confusing tangle of social media options?  Contact us for more advice.

Posted by Brittany in • Facebook • General Marketing • Social Media | (0) Comments | Permalink

Have you seen these recent statistics?*

• 57% of businesses have acquired a new customer through a company blog
• 41% of B2B and 67% of B2C companies have acquired a new customer from Facebook
• Websites with a blog get 55% more visitors than those that don’t have a blog
• The number of marketers who say Facebook is “critical” or “important” to their business has increased 83% in just 2 years

Let’s face it – social media is more than just the hype it regularly receives. But many B2B marketers remain uncertain about its value. At the highest level, social media connects your brand in a more personal way to your target audiences, reaching them where and how they want to be reached.

Our best advice? Consider incorporating social media into your marketing mix by asking key questions, like: Do we need to exchange information with customers or participate in industry conversations on a more timely basis? Can real-time conversations with clients increase orders? Do our core prospects already congregate online, to share information or network? Even if you’re “late” to the social media party, these questions will help define an approach.

As we start this four-part series on social media, we will show you how to incorporate this growing medium into your marketing communications strategy by giving you tips and advice on how to get started. Our series will focus on three main social media platforms: Facebook, LinkedIN, and YouTube. For each platform, we will describe its importance, how to get started using it, and how to turn it into a successful marketing platform for your business. If you’re thinking of incorporating social media into your marketing mix, you can’t miss these blogs! Stay tuned!

*Source: The 2011 State of Inbound Marketing, HubSpot

Posted by Brittany in • Facebook • General Marketing • LinkedIN • Social Media • YouTube | (0) Comments | Permalink

Are you thinking of branching out into the area of mobile marketing? We are! Below is an article from AdAge discussing how important mobile marketing is becoming. As more people search for information on their phones and touch pads, websites and marketing materials must be optimized for this format. At DMG, as we build new websites and emailers for our clients, we are continually keeping mobile marketing principles in the back of our mind. Check out the article below for interesting tips on how to get started in mobile marketing. For more information on how DMG can help you branch out into mobile marketing, contact us!

Push Clients Out of the Gate With Mobile, Before It’s Too Late (article from AdAge.com)
By: Phil Johnson Published: December 9, 2011

Who can argue any more about the significance of mobile? It’s big, and we all know it’s big. Given the media hype, and the abundance of case studies on successful mobile marketing programs, you might conclude that every client and agency is a master of the mobile universe.

Surprisingly, that’s not the case. Based on questions from the audience at a BtoB Forum on Mobile Marketing in New York City, where I spoke recently, plenty of people are struggling to integrate mobile into marketing programs. The Association of Strategic Marketing reports that 58% of companies it surveyed do not even have a mobile strategy. The number one reason why: they’re not sure how to get started.

That statistic is hard to believe when you consider the size of the mobile advertising market and its phenomenal growth, but it points to a perceptual gap between companies leading the way on mobile and many thousands of others going nowhere with it. On one side of the gap, we see billions of dollars spent on mobile advertising, not to mention the amazing personal mobile experiences that most of us are having on a daily basis, whether we’re shopping or using social networks. On the other side are companies without mobile sites who still have not made mobile part of their marketing discipline.

See more of the article...

Posted by Brittany in • General Marketing • Marketing Articles • Mobile Marketing • Web Marketing | (0) Comments | Permalink

At DMG, we are all about what’s next. We love to think outside of the box and come up with the next big idea or service. Often, our best ideas come from simply expanding a service we already offer. Our latest endeavor, which came from combining our services and skills with those of an award-winning client, band producer, Dennis Smith, is a great example.

Dennis Smith produces award-winning, national bands that are represented by an entertainment production group called Official Party Bands (OPB). From DJ-hosted dance groups, to big swing bands, Official Party Bands’ groups play around the nation at high-profile events and weddings, as well as for many fundraising events for non-profits. Not only does Official Party Bands provide entertainment, they also provide event consultation before, during, and after the event, coordinating every last detail.

As Dennis worked with non-profits to maximize their fundraising events, he realized that many of his client organizations needed assistance in event marketing.  Dennis, through Official Party Bands, and DMG thus combined talents in the creation of a Fun-Raiser package, which includes:

- development of messaging, mission articulation and branded creative solutions;
- integrated marketing strategy to optimize attendance, participation and sponsorship; and
- expertise in event planning and a variety of world-class entertainment options

We have had early success with our Fun-Raiser package. Last May the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago used our services for its 62nd Annual Summer Ball. DMG prepared all of the branding elements for the event, including Save The Dates, invitations, and targeted video messages which were displayed during the event. We also assisted the Boys and Girls Club with getting their message out to the community as a whole through social media campaigns and emarketing campaigns.  The band chosen for the event, Party on the Moon, provided the entertainment and helped with pre-event promotion, creating a unique video with children from the Boys and Girls Club, which was released on YouTube and featured in DMG’s marketing communications prior to the event. The Summer Ball was a tremendous success and with the help of DMG and Official Party Bands, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago were able to raise $1.3 million dollars through one night of dancing and celebration.

The Fun-Raiser package combines the best talents of DMG and OPB, integrated to provide a seamless experience for non-profits or any group connecting an event to a mission.  If your next event demands maximum exposure, targeted marketing and professional marketing, a Fun-Raiser may be in you future!

Posted by Brittany in • Entertainment • FunRaiser • General Marketing • Non-Profits | (0) Comments | Permalink

Social enterprise (also known as social entrepreneurship or social ventures) has caught our attention over the past few years.  Social enterprise, represents a new form of business in which two goals are pursued equally: sustainable revenue and the creation of positive social impact. Social enterprises can be formed as non-profits or for-profits and are defined by employing business strategies and techniques to create social good.

A DMG client, Social Venture Partners Rhode Island (SVPRI) is expanding the power of social entrepreneurship by building and deploying a social enterprise ecosystem with key fundamental supports. 

1. Economic Eco-System of Social Enterprise

In an economically challenged state like Rhode Island, social enterprise has attracted interest for its ability to provide revenue strategies for non-profits, build sustainable enterprises supported by consumer dollars and create jobs. 

SVPRI connected business leaders to social entrepreneurs, helping build new businesses that would help the economy of the state.  The organization partnered with local universities, community foundations, private philanthropy groups and other stakeholders to build a network of financial, mentoring and educational support for the early enterprises.

Social enterprises have the ability to transform the economy of local communities. While social enterprises bring valuable jobs and investment to the community, they may also provide increased access to public services, access to affordable credit, and assistance to local businesses and services.

2. Local Public/Private Incubators

SVPRI also developed an interactive, collaborative space for social ventures to network and grow. One incubator – the Change Place – offers low-cost rent, support services and networking and education. Incubators bring together a number of social ventures, availing them the ability to share ideas, challenges and networks.

3. Building a sense of Community through Mentorship and Support

Probably the most important element of developing a successful social venture or social venture community is to develop a spirit of support among the ventures. As this business organization style is developing, it is crucial for social ventures around the country to come together and learn from each other.

SVPRI has numerous initiatives to help bring together social ventures from both the local Rhode Island community and across the nation. One way they have done this is through the annual SERI (Social Enterprise Rhode Island) Summits. These annual events bring together social entrepreneurs from all over the country to discuss important matters regarding social enterprise. Last year, the SERI Summit brought together 100+ social ventures to learn best practices and new trends in this rapidly growing field.

We at DMG are thrilled to be part of this new wave of sustainable and “double-bottom-line” business.  We continue to support many social enterprises, through advice, assistance and support, and we look forward to the social enterprise sector taking root as a key job creator in the US.

Posted by Brittany in • General Marketing • Non-Profits • Social Enterprise | (0) Comments | Permalink

It’s hard enough trying to stand out in the crowd in a typical B2B industry, but standing out in the crowd in an industry full of creative, over-the-top competitors is decidedly difficult. Many of DMG’s entertainment clients face this very dilemma.  While many clients seek exciting, innovative promotion or attention-getting brand building, our entertainment clients need something more mundane…structure, financial and marketing discipline, investment rationale.

In fact, combining strong business sense and marketing savvy allows DMG to create truly outstanding results for companies that need to stand out distinctly in crowded fields.  Marketing success in the entertainment industry, like in many others, can be attained by focusing on three core things:

· creating a unique product/experience;
· identifying its unique selling points; and
· using that uniqueness to create a sustainable brand experience.

How?  Consider these:

1.  Create a Unique, One-of-a-Kind Product: This seems like a no-brainer, right? Easier said than done. Look carefully for gaps in the market, gaps in pricing levels and integrated offers (product+service+product) that can meet expanded needs.  One of our clients, an entertainment producer of nationally reknown bands, did just that. He combined unmet demand for high-end entertainment—especially in the price gap between recording artists ($300K+ per performance) and local artists ($10K per performance) – with the novel idea of a party band which would play for 3 hours straight, never allowing that party “dead zone” to occur.  The result?  A portfolio of in-demand party bands, of multiple genres, priced at premium levels for optimal profitability.

2.  Carving out a Market Niche: Once your product is set, it’s time to identify your target market and key competitive differentiators. Think hard about core selling attributes – be honest with yourself – and focus all your messaging on the quantitiatve and qualitative benefits of those attributes.  As you develop your target market, don’t fall into the trap of “the whole world is my potential market.” Even if you have invented the next zipper or paperclip, you can’t reach the whole market—you’ll have to focus.  Be disciplined about asking “Whose world will change for the better with my product?” “And, how?”

3.  Stay Ahead of the Curve: Developing a unique product and creative, one-of-a-kind market niche will provide success – but for true sustainability, you’ll have to be three steps ahead, thinking about the “next big thing.” If you sell to consumers (and who doesn’t, really?), you’ll need to stay as current on your product as you do on your marketing, promotion and selling.  At DMG, we help our entertainment clients stay ahead of the curve by assessing, recommending, executing and evaluating integrated marketing programs.  We experiment freely with new technologies, we constantly scan the market for innovative ideas and we integrate the old tried-and-true into the new seamlessly.  If your marketing partner is old hat, your market’s perception of you will be the same.  Be bold.

If you are in the entertainment industry and feel yourself drowning in a sea of creative competition, try some of these ideas. And, if you need a savvy business partner, consider the team at DMG.  We can take your business - no matter how entertaining—to the next level.

Posted by Brittany in • Competitive Differentiators • Entertainment • General Marketing • Target Marketing | (0) Comments | Permalink

Have you ever looked around your office, your website or your product packaging and thought, “This doesn’t look or feel like our exciting organization – we need to feel newer, fresher … more relevant!”?

If so, you might need a brand re-fresh, or a new branding altogether. A brand update can revitalize your entire organization, from the inside out. You can update your look, the way you communicate to your customers—even update employee sentiment towards the company and your customers. Of course, this process isn’t completely risk-free: while there is excitement in renewing your company’s vision and purpose, you may also disconnect with current customers and employees who don’t want to see the new you. So, how do you know if it’s truly time for a total re-brand?

Consider these 5 signs:

1.  Your Brand No Longer Represents Your Company: Remember, your brand needs to reflect how your core customers perceive you, as well as how you see yourself. Do customers complain about unmet promises? Are sales dipping, even while competitive products stay stable or grow?  If so, your organization may be disconnected from the wants, needs and perceptions of your marketplace.  You can choose to get closer to your customers and prospects (wise choice) … or you can choose to move away, perhaps to a different segment of the market whose needs and perceptions are more in line with your own brand beliefs (riskier choice).  In either case, alignment of markets, opportunity and delivery is the most important factor.  Key Note: Don’t guess on this one – get real data, do some analysis and get serious about your choices.

2.  Your Web presence, Logo, and Graphics are Outdated: You wouldn’t be caught dead in the glasses you wore in 7th grade, right?  Well, neither should your company.  In our rapid-fire world, trends and fads move at warp speed. What might have seemed “modern” in 2006 feels clunky in 2011. If your website is more than five years old – it’s time for a face lift. If you’re in a trendy industry sector, like entertainment, it’s time for a total overhaul.  While you’re at it, invest in an updated look: vintage logos can be cool, but old-fashioned web pages and collateral can weigh you down like an anchor.

3.  The Customers You Currently Serve are Not Your Future Targets: It’s likely your business started by meeting the needs of a core customer perfectly.  Over time, however, things change and your target customers may change as well.  If your brand doesn’t meet your new targets’ wants, needs, or perceptions in the ways they demand, it’s time to change how you look, what you say, what you offer.  This situation demands a total re-brand, starting with a business plan, involving key employees and customers in feedback sessions and decision making.

4.  Employees Are No Longer Excited About Your Brand: Let’s face it – if your own employees aren’t evangelical about your brand, products or service, who will be?  Employees need to understand and represent your company’s brand, every day and in every way.  If they don’t, turnover, low productivity and poor customer service can result.  If you feel like your employees are no longer excited about working for your company, it’s probably time to re-approach, reinvigorate and re-communicate your image and purpose. A new mission, value statement, and environment will give employees a new passion – which will shine on through to your customers and prospects.

5.  Your Customers are Being Stolen by New Competitors: When you entered the market, you were Top-Dog. Your product was cutting-edge, your branding was fresh and innovative.  Your competition couldn’t compete. Fast forward:  Your early innovation is old-hat.  Your market share has slipped. You commiserate with long-time competitors while the new guys get the sale. Sound familiar?  If this is a situation you currently face, a re-brand may just be what you need to push yourself over and above the competition. With a re-brand you can reestablish your identity within the marketplace. You can develop a fresh image that will help you stand out in the crowd and entice customers once again to choose you as their supplier. Getting swallowed in the competition can harm and even ruin a business, however, a re-brand can make an old thing new again and revitalize your sales and profits.

While there may be other scenarios that call for a re-branding of your company, these are a few of the biggest signs that you are in need of a business makeover. This is a process that comes with exciting challenges and imposing risks. It is important that before you enter the process, you know exactly why you need to re-brand and a road map for where you see yourself at the end of the process, whether that’s with increased market share, happier employees, or a fresh, modern look.

For more information about how DMG can help you begin your re-branding process, check out our website and contact us today!

Posted by Brittany in • General Marketing • Logo Development • Re-Branding | (0) Comments | Permalink

Hello Everyone,

We are excited to introduce you to our new DMG blog. We know we were a little late to this party, but at this point, we’ve been developing and managing social media programs for our clients for 2+ years, and we thought it was time to blog about it (and other things). The marketing professionals on our team spend just about every waking moment of their professional lives (and lots of personal time, too) living and breathing marketing, and we wanted to share our passion for what works, what doesn’t and the whimsy of marketing campaigns and concepts that drive real interest, awareness and results.

We hope our marketing stories will create a resource to help guide you through your own marketing thought processes and give us another forum to interact with you and gain insight about your specific needs and challenges.

We focus on providing our clients, colleagues and coach-ees three important things:

1. Innovation: We love to experiment with what’s new in and around marketing. We’re risk takers, within reason, and we pride ourselves on pushing clients to think about new ways to tackle marketing challenges.

2. Value Creation: We’ve all worked with ad agencies and marketing groups who are one-shot wonders or happy with pretty pictures, and we’ve always deplored that approach. Our ultimate goal is to create value for your business, whether that’s through stronger market understanding, value propositions articulated, leads generated, or increased sales.

3. Sustained Growth: We’re in this for the long haul: most of our customer relationships date back to the very first meeting, and we’ve seen their businesses grow over time.

We have been very fortunate to serve clients in many industries, in organizations of various sizes, and with a variety of missions and challenges. We hope the entries on this blog will help you succeed in the art (and science) of marketing!

Best,

Ellen Donahue-Dalton
Founder of Dalton Marketing Group

Posted by Brittany in • General Marketing | (0) Comments | Permalink