Roadmap to Growth: Marketing Strategies You Can Implement Today

Presented by:

Kacee Johnson, MBA

Founder

Blue Ocean Principles

About Us

Our approach is simple.

We listen to YOUR goals, complete an assessment, and formulate a strategy to ensure your company shines brighter than the rest!

Business Consulting Services

• Sales & Marketing

• CxO Services

• Strategy Design

• Outsourced Marketing Management

• Website design & mobile optimization

10 Strategies to Marketing Success

But 1st…the Nuts and Bolts of Acquiring New Leads

Marketing Avenues Pull Marketing

• Branding

• Website

• SEO vs. PPC

• Blogging

• Social Media

• Partner Programs

• Referrals

• Community Involvement

• Directories

Push Marketing • Public Relations • Direct Mail • Directories • Video • Telemarketing • Email Campaigns • Webcasts • TV and Radio • Print Advertising • Trade Shows/Events

The Marketing Revolution

The way we reach clients has changed. Adapt to Succeed

People looking for Professional Services, no longer want to be sold to. They research, they look for reviews, they get referrals, and they engage with Firms that have

specializations and credentials that matter most to them.

Current Trends of CPA Firms In a Recent Survey conducted by

Brian Tankersley (www.bftcpa.com)

60% of firms said they still rely on the Yellow Pages to attract new clients

98.1% of all firms cite referrals as a source of new business

40.4% rely on their website to bring them new clientele

What Potential Clients Are Doing

• 61% of Prospects Research Products/Services Online

• 44% begin via a Web Browser

• 70% of Clicked Links are Organic, not Paid

• 54% more leads are generated by Inbound tactics than traditional

• Over 50% of email receivers read most of their email

• 88% Prefer HTML emails

• 6am has the highest CTR of any hour

• In 2014 we passed the 51% threshold of searches via Mobile Devices

1st Step: Define Who You Are What do you stand for? How do you differentiate your firm?

• Vision

• Mantra/Tagline

• Services Offered

• Specialties

• Expertise/Credentials

• Pricing Model

• Branding

• Consistency in Message

• Team Development

• Sense of Community

Step 2: Define Your Client

Who do YOU Serve?

• Niche

• Individuals or Business

• Size

• Services

• Seasonality

• Geographic Location

Step 3: Marketing Budget – 11%

Step 4: Build a Marketing Strategy

Businesses Grow 30% Faster with a Plan! (LivePlan)

• Create your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

• Detail Specific Activities

• Identify the Audience in each

• How will you measure success

• Be flexible for adjustments

• Assign Responsibilities

• Listen to your clients

Step 5: Marketing Calendar

• Plan

• Assign

• Implement

• Execute

• Review

Step 6: Branding

3 C’s of effective branding: • Clear and Concise message, keep it

simple • Consistent in all public facing materials • Compelling to distinguish you from the

competition

Step 7: Website with Mobile and SEO Optimization

• In 2014 we crossed the 50% line of searches being done on mobile devices

• Mobile compatible is not mobile optimized

• Bounce rates will increase due to poor user experience

Let’s all do the finger test – take out your phones!

Examples

Examples

Examples

SEO is King

• 70% of all clicks are on Organic search results

• SEO has longevity

• PPC ends when budget is reached

• SEO takes time

• PPC is instant

• SEO is trusted

• SEO is based on content and browser algorithms (affected by social media, backlinks, relevancy, speed of site etc.)

The Difference

Step 8: Build a Referral & Partner Program

• 95.1% of CPA firms rely on referrals for lead gen

• Referrals reduce the time to conversion

• Referrals have a 50% higher rate of conversion

• No upfront expense

• Should be win-win

• Make it easy!

Step 9: Social Media The Meat & Potatoes

• Best Mediums for B2B versus B2C

• Importance of Being Active

• Building a Community • 8 out of 10 people use

some form of Social Media

Social is Only Growing Courtesty of social insights

Outlet Effectiveness Outlet Business to

Business Sales Business to

Consumer Sales Factoid

FaceBook Low High 32% higher engagement on weekend, 1pm – 4pm

Google+ Medium Medium Good for SEO, traffic fades quickly after 5pm

YouTube High Medium Good for SEO – 2nd largest Search engine after Google

Twitter Medium High 59% of users are ages 13-29, post right before lunch

LinkedIn High Low Mon – Thurs 7-9am or 5-6pm, LI users prefer educational and

professional

Pinterest Low Medium Saturdays are best and pictures are essential

Yelp! Medium High 72% of consumers trust reviews, 64% of Yelp users have incomes of $100k+

Rules for Social Media

• Ethics • Bad Reviews • Active • Educational/CTA Posts

Step 10: Trendjacking, the Best Social Hack

What is Trendjacking?

Trendjacking is the social art of using a hot topic (a trend) to capitalize on

and build a brand, either personal as a subject matter expert, or

professional as a relevant resource.

Essentially, you are “jacking” a #trend

Power of the #hashtag Once upon a time the octothorpe was your phone’s pound symbol, now it is the

most powerful means of categorizing data for online searches

• Connects people and groups

• Common Interests

• Anyone can use

• Brands create IP

• Over 2,900 trademark applications on hashtags

• Tools to track trends across the web, rather than just on 1 site. Example: Keyhole

How to Trend-Jack

Identify the trend

• Research Origin

• Engage in the discussion

• Write an article

• Become subject matter expert

• Syndicate

Client-Centric Marketing

Trendjacking Gone Wrong

Simple Rules to Follow

• Don’t be a cheater brand

• Use common sense

• Know the source

• Be socially responsible

• Don’t SPAM, less is more in #hashtagging (2-3 max)

Why Outsource Marketing?

Marketing is Your Revenue Spigot,

Turn up the Flow! • Focus Your Time on Billable Hours

• Increase Leads

• Create Online Community/Increase Client Retention

• Upsell to Current Clients

• Growth in Revenue and Customers

• Because You and Your Team are Busy, and it will never get done

• Strategy Consulting to build Campaigns, Branding, Sales Processes, and KPI’s

Thank You Questions?

info@blueoceanprinciples.com