What are Necessary Marketing Tools?

I was asked on twitter about what marketing tools are necessary. Marketing starts with the foundation, the basic elements:

• Who do you target?
• what are you offering?
• why should they care?
• why should they buy it from you?
• how will you contact them?

A website is absolutely necessary today. A current, informative one. Buyers are doing 60-70% of their research BEFORE contacting a vendor.

There are so many elements to marketing: website, pay-per-click, SEO, email, social media, PR, advertising and so much more. That is a lot for anyone to keep up with. It is different for B2B and B2C. You have to know where your target is.

I have seen what a Marketing Director has been tasked with in our industry — and quite frankly they are set up for failure. It isn’t possible for a single person to handle all aspects of marketing, communications – internal, external, partner channels – and events. Doing both branding and direct marketing — one with an ROI; one with an immeasurable impact. (see here) Huge challenge today.

I get asked, “Do you need collateral?” Maybe. What is the purpose? What do you hope to happen when someone takes it with them or a salesperson leaves it behind? How do you get the

The ability to get Attention is diminishing at the same time that word of mouth and connection are increasing. Makes for a marketing dilemma. How do you increase WOM and connection?

Engagement, valuable and/or interesting content, and target your best audience have become important to the marketer. Those are the objectives. The platforms and tactics will be specific to your target.

Branding is very different from direct marketing – or lead generation, which is what most folks mean when they say marketing. They don’t want top of mind; they want leads now. Different strategy, thus tactics.