Over the last few years, I think the thing that has really defined marketing is less, not more.
Having a clear Marketing Blueprint and executing it over a period of time steadily and keeping track of the results to measure ROI is essential.
Do not subscribe to a ton of email lists for Marketing. Do not sign up for every new social tool that comes out – it is not about the software, it is about the audience and the engagement. New tools will not have that in the first year, so why waste your time?
SEO is still valuable, but now it has become Content Marketing and Authority Publishing, instead of targeting 10 keyword phrases and buying back links.
Email is still the unsexy king because a responsive list is still going to be a great asset to drive up sales.
Some adjustments you may want to make this year if you have not already:
- Text email instead of fancy emails – think about optimizing it for mobile phones.
- Mobile versions of your website and blog.
- Developing third party authority publications to promote your product and service.
- Integrating social, search and content marketing into the authority strategy to maximize the time you spend in all of the tools.
- Relationship CRM instead of Sales CRM – such as Contactuality.
And simply do not keep chasing shiny new things. Build our your focused plan, make minor adjustments as you review the results and run with it. Outsource every piece you can and focus on your customers, leads and improving your products and services. And do not keep vendors that do not deliver value over a reasonable time.