Get the most out of your marketing by working inside-out
Posted On August 29, 2023
We all know digital marketing is important for your business. But have you thought about how you’re marketing yourself? Where do you start?
Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” maintains that it’s best to use what he calls an inside-out approach. Gayle Rogers is the founder and self-described Chief Happiness Officer at The Atomic Agency, a Birmingham-based digital marketing firm.
He describes the concept of inside-marketing like this: “We’re big advocates of starting with the things that are closest to you, that you have the most control over, and fixing those first, and then stepping out each way farther and farther away. … What are the things that are going to create the biggest impact, and what are the things you have the most control over? As you build out, you’re building this fantastic foundation.”
How does this work? Rogers starts with three steps.
“The first thing is: Are you solving a problem for a target customer?” he said. “A lot of people will create keys for locks that don’t exist.”
How do you know whether you’re creating a solution for a problem people care about? By asking them, Rogers says: “There’s no replacement for market research.”
The second stage is ensuring that your website is user-friendly, conveying the messages you want it to convey, and creating an experience that’s going to draw customers to your business, not turn them away.
“I think you have to think about it like: What outfit do you want to wear to the interview?” he said. “That’s what you’re doing: You’re interviewing for the opportunity to create a relationship with this person. Are they going to like you and are they going to emotionally connect with you? Or are they going to be frustrated?”
And finally, measuring the success of your efforts. That means using analytic tools to find out how much time people are spending on your website, and which parts of it they’re visiting. Are they receiving the messages you’re sending out? Are they finding the answers to their questions?
This doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, Rogers added. Customized websites are great, but for many businesses they can be cost-prohibitive. Rogers says templates have improved to the point where in many cases, they work just fine. Besides, if you don’t have enough money to market your business after building a website, you’re not likely to get much traffic.
“A website without traffic is a paperweight,” he said, adding that continuing to hone your message and improve your customer experience is key. “Perfect is almost unattainable. You have to realize your website is an organic thing, and it always can be improved.”