Marketing Services

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Often times, great ideas, talented people or timely opportunities can make great businesses without much planning. But formalizing your goals on paper and creating a growth plan for the future can mean exponential returns for your business in the long run. Simply put, a strategic plan provides a clear path to accomplishing your business goals and focuses your daily activities in the right direction.

Formal strategic planning is useful for any size business at any time. If you are looking for funding, a formal plan is absolutely necessary to give investors the confidence you know what you're doing. If your business is already thriving and successful, a more formal plan can provide an opportunity for you to assess its current operations and explore future possibilities and new areas for growth.

We live in entrepreneurial times ... the desire to strike out on your own, invent the new thing  or open your own business has never been more attractive. Yet many times businesses can get ahead of themselves and more formal planning is what lies between you and meeting your goals.

BRAND POSITIONING

Brand positioning is simply the act of designing a company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target consumer.  In other words, brand positioning describes how a brand is different from its competitors and how consumers think about it.

But most importantly, brand positioning is all about the story. Whether your product is an item, a service or a business, what you're really selling is the story. Developing your brand story brings alignment between what you want customers to think and what they actually do think.

I can help you create that story. And once that story is uncovered, then we can create all the elements of the brand strategy and messaging framework to continue to tell that story to old and new consumers.

CONTENT STRATEGY

The goal in content marketing is to develop compelling, relevant and valuable content to attract, inform and engage an audience and generate leads, while also promoting the brand itself. By funneling the right message across the appropriate channels, your business can move into a thought leadership position and take advantage of the new relationship-based, buyer-driven marketplace.

As a marketing professional and long time copy writer, I can craft the various forms of messaging that are needed in your marketing communications mix. Whether it's social media, industry white papers, advertising copy or press releases, your messages will speak to one clear position.

MARKETING INTEGRATION

In today's world of specialization, it's frequent that departments work independently from each other. You may have one team doing your social media and another doing your brand management and yet another handling your advertising. As an outside consultant, I can audit and asses each functional area's messaging and can ensure that all your communications work together to support your brand position. I can integrate your campaigns so they speak with a single voice, resulting in a clear message that resonates with audiences. 

VIRTUAL MARKETING DIRECTOR

If you are a smaller company, you may not have a Marketing Director. You may not even have a marketing department. But you definitely do need someone who can take charge of the big picture planning and manage the day-to-day marketing activities – so you can get back to the business of, well, your business.

Perhaps you’re just starting your business, or your company is encroaching on a new type of service and you want to make sure your company is heading in the right direction. I can step in as your temporary marketing effort. As a Virtual Marketing Director, I provide the benefit of a senior-level marketing expert without the cost and overhead involved in hiring a full-time employee. I work with you – getting to know your company and the unique needs and challenges of your business – to ensure that your marketing efforts and in line with, and support, your overall business goals.

MARKETING STAFFING

Sometimes it's hard to find the right person for the job. And sometimes it's hard to even know what you're looking for. If you're busy running your business and know you need marketing help, I can help you identify your specific marketing needs, help decide if you need that help internally or help you justify a new hire. We have experience in several kinds of marketing organizations and configurations and can help structure your team in a way that works best for your company. 

Our connections span from creative to research, from media to management. I can help you avoid large search executive search fees and find the person that's right for you.

GENERAL MARKETING

Ever heard you just don't know what you just don't know? It happens. After a few cups of coffee, I can get you on your way to thinking and acting like a Marketing Director