Marketing has always been an ever-changing industry and now, more than ever, with advanced technology, social networking, and new media opportunities; it can be hard to keep up! This constant struggle to stay ahead can often lead a business down a path they may not otherwise have followed.
There are, however, a few core-marketing principles that haven’t changed and likely never will. Understanding these basic elements will help you and your business stay grounded and make the right marketing decisions. These core principles are: Know your Business: Of course, you know your business - you can give your elevator-pitch in your sleep, right? That’s a given. I’m talking about answering questions like: • What does your business stand for? • Does your brand reflect your business? • What’s your brand voice? • What’s your value proposition? Having a solid understanding of your business can help you stay focused and make better business decisions. Know your Customer: When’s the last time you actually talked to your customers? Do you know how they like to be marketed to? Why they like your business or how they heard about you? Understanding your customers is critical. Social media insights and Google Analytics provide a good start but focus groups or tools like Survey Monkey are great ways to dig deeper into your customers’ interests and behaviours. Know your Industry: Sometimes you can get so focused on your business that you’re out of the loop with other players in the industry? Keeping tabs on your direct/indirect competitors and where you fit within the landscape will go a long way in building your marketing efforts. Having a solid understanding of these core principles will help you better navigate the myriad of marketing tactics and strategies that will continue to face you in the months and years to come. This article, by Dashboard's Sarah Williams first appeared in the Autumn 2017 issue of Sixty Six magazine.
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Dashboard Marketing brings together the power of a seasoned team
Halifax, NS – January 11, 2018 - Sean and Sarah Williams have launched a new marketing and communications shop - Dashboard Marketing Inc. This new company brings together two established consulting businesses - Sean Williams Marketing Group and Idea Girl Consulting. These two seasoned strategists are combining forces to offer organizations 40+ years of marketing knowledge and experience. Sean Williams Marketing Group is a 10-year-old consulting business. During this time, Sean and his team of freelancers worked for clients all across North America. Organizations such as Tirecraft Canada, Business Develop Bank of Canada, Henry’s, Kinduct Technologies, GOALLINE, Halifax Stanfield, Golf PEI, MacLeod Group, Scotia Fuels, Concordia University of Edmonton, Holland College, and StFX University were clients of this dynamic marketing collaborative. Many of these organizations will carry forward as clients of Dashboard Marketing. Idea Girl Consulting is a 4 years old business that Sarah launched after almost 10 years in marketing at Bell Aliant. During Sarah’s time on her own, she has done a mix of marketing and business planning work for a variety of local businesses in Nova Scotia. Since leaving Bell Aliant, Sarah’s entrepreneurial spirit was also driven by the launch and running two other businesses – Urban Parent (which she sold in 2016) and Gluestix. Dashboard Marketing plans to help clients drive business growth through effective marketing. With a hyper-analytical approach, the company will develop strategic solutions that are tailored to support the business goals of their client. They work to budget, not billable hours, so the focus is always on their client's success. As ‘growth advisors’, Sean and Sarah, along with an established list of North American based collaborators, will develop brands, build marketing strategies, conduct customer research, design digital strategies, define key performance indicators and more. The company will also continue to offer a ‘Marketing Management’ service where a resource is embedded into an organization to act as an in-house marketing department. Dashboard Marketing already has a few clients on the go, and several opportunities lined up for 2018. For more on the launch of this new company, please contact: Sean Williams Co-founder & Brand Strategist - Dashboard Marketing sean@dashboardmarketing.ca or 902.220.5945 dashboardmarketing.ca |