For years, certified financial planners have stressed the importance of having a diversified financial portfolio. The idea is that you spread out your risk so that when one investment doesn’t perform well, another picks up the slack. They caution people about having all their eggs in one basket. (By the way, we’re not talking about the “get-rich-quick” financial charlatans that have caused so much trouble on Wall Street and Main Street. We’re talking about the folks that have taken a long-range approach to the steady acquisition of wealth, and their advice is still sound.)
The same case could be made for a company’s marketing efforts. It’s rare that one marketing approach or discipline will give a company the marketing results they want. And it’s particularly appropriate now that audiences are so fractured and hard to reach.
There’s no question that more and more business has moved to the Internet. The cost to reach your audience is dramatically less. You have great flexibility when it comes to changing your message or offer. And the cost to add content is minimal when compared to conventional marketing. But successful marketing requires more than being a “one-trick pony.” Businesses can’t successfully market by just blogging, or just doing email, or just being on Facebook. You need to diversify—and integrate your efforts.
Not every marketing tool is right for the different stages in your sales funnel. Email, for instance is a great way to stay in touch with customers you know—to provide them with updates and alerts. But it’s a terrible tool for attracting new customers that don’t know or trust you.
Some businesses have totally written off direct mail because it’s expensive and not as “flexible” as online media. But sometimes direct mail is what drives potential customers online in the first place. And there is a surge in the effectiveness of direct mail among younger recipients—because it’s novel to them! They’re not used to getting mail, so it’s a cool new experience.
Don’t put all of your marketing eggs in one basket. Use the web whenever you can, but use other means to drive customers and prospects to your website. But make sure that you coordinate and integrate your various efforts so that they work together and maximize your impact. And if you’re looking for help, TMR has the marketing services—and the expertise—to help you pull all your efforts together.
Blog Post Written by Spencer Powell
Spencer is the Inbound Marketing Director at TMR Direct. Spencer specializes in helping clients create and execute effective inbound marketing campaigns.