A cutting-edge healthcare technology company (BUDDI.AI), whose target audience includes C-level healthcare executives, was poised for major growth in 2021. However, they were playing in a fragmented competitive landscape that would require them to creatively “break through the noise” in order to build and maintain brand awareness, drive lead generation, and achieve tangible results. To become a true thought leader and partner of choice in the industry, they needed to enhance their digital presence.

Like many growing businesses, this client had neither the time nor the resources to hire an internal team to drive the level of marketing strategy and execution needed in order to achieve success. They also struggled with bringing an unknown concept to market and helping potential customers understand the value that it brings to their companies.

&Marketing’s Approach

Internal Discovery & Immersion

Due to the complexity and newness of the company and its product, a foundational “reset” was first needed, to create consistency and alignment within the company itself and ensure their positioning and messaging was delivered in a way that would resonate with their target audience. This discovery phase consisted of:

• A comprehensive review of backgrounding documents from the client
• Several internal stakeholder interviews and exercises
• Supplemental secondary customer research
• A high-level audit of competitor websites and messaging

&Marketing used this as fuel to build the following foundational outputs:

• Audience segmentation, customer research, and identification of pain points
• Brand voice and tonality/personality for each audience segment
• Value proposition and key message document, using our storytelling & branding framework
• The customer journey
• Alignment on success goals and KPIs (metrics)

Marketing Analytics

To identify digital marketing opportunities and create the building blocks for a comprehensive strategy and execution plan, &Marketing needed to first understand A) the target audience’s behavior online and B) the competitive digital landscape. To do this, we completed a full marketing analysis for this client to review and assess the digital online landscape:

• Keyword Striking Distance Analysis: Identifying top keyword opportunities based on current rankings
• Enhanced Competitive Analysis: Identifying competitor strengths and opportunities in which Buddi could steal their online market share
• Nontraditional Competitor Analysis: understanding where our target audience is going to consume information about our product/service that are NOT competitors.
• “People Also Ask” Research: Related online searches that may provide less expensive opportunities to rank or advertise for that reach our audience at each stage of the sales funnel

This research served as the building blocks for a future comprehensive strategy and execution plan that would include content, digital advertising, website enhancements, and SEO optimization.

Execution & Reporting

Discovery and Immersion combined with Business Intelligence data allowed &Marketing to create sophisticated, yet engaging content, automated email campaigns and highly targeted paid advertising on Google and LinkedIn helped to drive website traffic, lead generation efforts, and overall brand awareness.

Results

In four and half months, we helped BUDDI.AI generate 253 qualified leads at cost per lead of $121 – more than double their goal and all within their budget!

Additionally, we helped increase website traffic 434% compared to the previous period, furthering BUDDI.AI’s presence amongst the marketplace.

We continued to support this client as their business expanded with new products and audiences.A comprehensive marketing strategy was developed that included digital marketing, social media exposure, website and SEO enhancements, content creation, sales enablement, email automation, and a lead generation plan that expanded their brand awareness and accelerated their sales efforts.

The post &Marketing Case Study: Healthcare Digital Marketing Strategy Simplified appeared first on &Marketing.

Like so many solopreneurs, Ken struggled to find enough time in his day to keep up with the ever-changing digital marketing trends and tools. He described most of his marketing efforts as “doing things as they came up” and felt like his hard work amounted to a “scattershot approach” that lacked consistency. Sound familiar?

It wasn’t that Ken didn’t know what to do, it was that he didn’t know how to do it. As Ken felt his marketing knowledge plateau, he knew he needed help taking his small business to the next level. When he learned &Marketing was launching a pilot program called &Marketing U that offered the tools, education, and accountability he needed to take his marketing game up a notch, he was in.

Throughout the program, Ken gained foundational marketing knowledge and learned how to apply that knowledge to his specific marketing needs through:

• Honing his messaging
• Implementing SEO best practices
• Creating a content marketing strategy

By tracking all of this in a comprehensive marketing calendar, Ken was able to align and execute all of his efforts consistently. This made it easy for Ken to know exactly what to do every day to keep things moving forward.

Since enrolling in &Marketing U and working through each of the modules, Ken reported a major uptick in both LinkedIn activity and requests for meetings. He found so much success in applying the foundations and focusing his efforts that his calendar is now completely full, and his business revenue goals are within reach.

No individual has the bandwidth to stay on top of the changing trends all the time — yet so many one-person marketers are expected to. We created &Marketing U because we know it feels impossible to stay on top of the best trends and tactics, know where your time and energy should go, and execute in a way that works with the time you have.

We know a little direction from the right people can go a long way, so we designed this program so help making doing it all not seem so daunting. We have distilled the most effective marketing strategies and tools into bite-sized lessons that make a big impact so that no matter how much extra time or budget you have — you can grow your small business like Ken did.

If you’re a one person marketing department or solopreneur, we invite you to contact us. You’ll learn exactly how to create and execute a concrete marketing plan to grow your business for a fraction of the cost of hiring a marketing agency or new employees.

Want to sample our materials first? Download our content marketing eBook or watch our webinar where &Marketing team of expert coaches share valuable tips about developing and implementing a marketing program in 2021, specifically for “solo marketer” businesses.

The post How a Solopreneur Broke Through the Marketing Noise With &Marketing U appeared first on &Marketing.

Business Challenge Summary

&Marketing’s client, Freya Systems, is developing a new brand called Allvaldi as a launching pad for a product strategy separate from their base business. Allvaldi will commercialize web and mobile applications initially focused on the inspection and maintenance space for pipelines, infrastructure, and aviation, with the eventual aim to broaden the platform.

Allvaldi’s name is based on a giant from Norse mythology, commonly known as Ivaldi or Alvaldi. The sons of Ivaldi were master craftsmen who created tools for the gods, and the client saw this new company as a digital smith forging powerful tools for their customers. They came to us with a desire to develop a brand that communicated this narrative, while also conveying a sense of modernity and fun.

&Marketing’s Approach

Before any design work began, we scheduled a working session with Allvaldi where we could understand their background, their audience, and their goals for the company. During this working session we utilized a unique combination of Donald Miller’s Storybrand Framework, along with a Brand Archetypes exercise. This allowed us to uncover who their customer is, what problem(s) they face, how Allvaldi is uniquely positioned to guide them to a solution, and how they can help their clients find their ‘happily ever after.’

Once we established that narrative, it was important for Allvaldi to know their place in the story. We shared the twelve Brand Archetypes (applied to marketing by Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson) with Allvaldi, and through a combination of a Narrative Marketing Outline and supplemental questions, were able to determine the Archetypal Guide their customers need.

In this case, their customer is seeking to minimize human error in inspections and reporting in order to focus on the things AI and programming can’t do. The guide they are looking for is one who understands the need to control the mundane (Ruler) in order to have the freedom to create the magnificent (Creator). Once the story (and their place in it) was established, the work of creating their visual identity could begin.

Here is our typical process for crafting a brand’s visual identity:

• Develop 8-10 concepts of a logo based on the Narrative Marketing Outline and Brand Archetypes
• Share with the client and narrow down to one design
• Refine the chosen design based on client feedback
• Share with the client, receive final feedback, and finish logo

Once the logo was approved, we moved on to create their brand guide. Here is our typical process for developing a brand guide:

• Select 3-5 color palette and font pairing options, and provide samples for the client using the finalized logo and lorem ipsum text
• Share with the client and narrow down to one color palette and font pairing
• Take the selected color palette, font pairing, and logo to create the brand guide
• Share the brand guide with the client
• Package and deliver the guide, logo, and font files

Results

Allvaldi received a visual identity that was congruent to their audience and what they are looking for in a guide. With their brand identity firmly in place, Allvaldi can now confidently launch into the marketplace with an engaging and consistent look and feel.

Additionally, the client is also confidently equipped with a strong sense of their own brand personality and can move forward with additional marketing strategies with clarity and consistency.

Clarification and alignment of Allvaldi’s unique value proposition

New logo that reflects the essence of their identity

Brand guide that serves as a compass for brand aesthetic and communication

The post Using Storytelling & Branding to Establish a Compelling Identity for an Emerging Company appeared first on &Marketing.

Business Challenge Summary

Our client is a well known IT security provider with a knowledge base of experts who have created a proven solution to a pending regulatory requirement that impacts many businesses.  However, a lack of awareness and understanding of the regulatory change, including the timing, requirements, and approval process, surrounds the need to become certified. An extra level of complexity exists because the certification has a range of “levels” based on the nature of the business.

Since the coronavirus pandemic became a reality in the early spring of 2020, the government has been emphatic that the timing and rigidity of these certification requirements will remain unchanged. This has caused further chaos with many impacted companies scrambling to become certified while working remotely.   Fortunately, our client has a strong brand name within their industry, belongs to many trade associations, and has deep relationships that span decades.

Their aggressive sales goal has become even more challenging because the usual paths to prospects (networking events or in-person meetings) can’t be completed due to stay-at-home orders that were put in place due to COVID-19. The business leader turned to &Marketing to develop a lead generation strategy and plan, all while working from home.

&Marketing helped him solve some thorny issues, such as:

• How he can leverage his company’s strong name and network to build awareness about their solution to this particular issue.

• How they can add value without being overly salesy.

• How they can establish themselves as thought leaders and the go-to solution for those in need of guidance.

• How all of this could be accomplished while most of the country was self-quarantining.

&Marketing’s solution to these issues? A webinar pilot.

Because this was a pilot, the client’s senior management identified a success indicator of 10 engaged and qualified prospects on the webinar.

&Marketing’s Approach

Our team had a challenge ahead of them, given the circumstances. We needed to execute the pilot webinar within one month from project kickoff, from idea to execution. Our cross-functional team, including copywriting, creative, email marketing, and technology, executed a turnkey process for our client where & Marketing handled all the details, including:  

• The webinar technology, along with a “dry run” to ensure everyone could manage the tech and platform seamlessly 

• Coordinating the speakers, the presentation, and the delivery  

• Prospect invitations, signups, reminders, and follow-ups

• Developing the content —which was fragmented across their organization— into a cohesive story both online and in a presentation format, through a mix of document review and expert interviews. 

• Aligning a disoriented client team who was adjusting to a remote working environment. This team included subject matter experts, speakers, and those with networks we wanted to leverage.

Results

We had 71 total webinar registrants and 50 qualified prospects attendees for the webinar. That’s 5x the original goal of 10 qualified leads. In addition to attendance, the engagement during the webinar and feedback upon conclusion were both strong. We saw:

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Attendance Rate

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Avg. Score on Post Webinar Survey

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Want to Hear More From Our Client

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Attendees Felt Confident Leaving the Webinar

The post Boosting Lead Generation: Success with Targeted Webinar Marketing appeared first on &Marketing.

Business Challenge Summary

The primary problem this partner faced was a result of the company’s decision to change its name during rebranding. The client partner knew they needed marketing help, but they weren’t sure what specific mix of marketing assistance would be most appropriate. We worked with them to help them identify what they needed at a high level: a coordinated marketing program to target specific industry users to promote brand recognition and adoption.

&Marketing’s Solution

Here’s what we did to address their needs:

• Our web development team got to work rebuilding industry and product pages on their website, which would be used to drive engagement for their specialty areas.
• Next, we created a blog with compelling content that helped share their personality and uniqueness. This client’s ‘human-ness’ and service-oriented approach were the business traits that would set them apart from everyone else in their industry. The blog was the perfect way to give them a unique voice and set them apart.
• We implemented a Google AdWords campaign that began with broad strokes, then narrowed our scope to focus on more meaningful traffic.
• We helped them create an eCommerce platform using Shopify, so customers could interact directly with their site.
• We supported an industry trade show with planning assistance prior to the event, demo facilitation during, and follow-up after the conclusion of the show.

Ongoing Support and Execution

Lead generation drives our support, which includes consistent follow through and nurturing contacts with consistent email campaigns. So far, we’ve been able to increase our partner’s site traffic and pipeline by 2x using these methods. We also offer continual analytics and reporting, which allows us to enhance and change tactics as needed. Monitoring site traffic, engagement, bounce rate and that pathway of potential customers can help us improve in real time, as we go.

We at &Marketing offer something bigger firms can’t: Flexibility. We are limber and can pivot as needed while keeping an eye on your budget throughout. The support tactics we use vary based on each client’s individual needs shift. Let’s face it: Things are always changing in a fast-paced world, is your marketing team keeping pace?

Since then we’ve developed reliable marketing calendar featuring a blog, newsletter, and social media program to continually update our customers with new, relevant, information. Most importantly, &Marketing’s flexibility and sound advice have been the keys to our partnership.

Web Development

Full Trade Show Support (Planning Assistance, Demo Facilitation & Lead Follow-Up

Web Development

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Lead Generation (2x Sales Pipeline Growth)

Full Trade Show Support (Planning Assistance, Demo Facilitation & Lead Follow-Up

The post Lab Distributor Enhances Market Visibility, Differentiation, & Engagement appeared first on &Marketing.

Business Challenge Summary

&Marketing’s client partner is a professional services franchise specializing in damage repair for businesses and homes. The franchise operates under strict geographical restrictions, limiting the scope of all marketing work. The owner of the local franchise, who had been in business since the 1980’s, struggled with limited technical knowledge, exclaiming, “All I know is that phone isn’t ringing as much as it used to!”

&Marketing’s Solution

Up front, &Marketing: 

• Reviewed the franchise’s online presence (which was basically invisible in a sea of competition).
• Conducted a business review (employee interviews and secondary research).
• Comprehensively upgraded their online presence, tracking, and reporting:
• Revamped their social media presence on platforms such as Google My Business, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Yelp so that everything was updated and accurate.
• Installed a phone call tracking software to attribute calls to their original sources (social media, website, etc).
• Installed Google Analytics & Ads to fully capture all inbound traffic and built audiences, and mapped out advertisements.
• Developed a monthly tracking report to review key performance indicators.

&Marketing then used this information to execute a two prong marketing strategy plan to help this business grow: 

1) Content Creation & Distribution:

• Developed a content strategy (including case studies, tips, and employee profiles) to target several B2B and B2C customer groups through personal outreach, social media, and targeted email.
• Organized these campaigns into a cohesive execution calendar based on the seasonal nature of the business so that potential website visitors could find the franchise quickly when needed.

2) Digital Advertising:

• Ran zip code specific Google AdWords, Bing advertising, and social media campaigns to target particular services.
• Boosted the traffic to the client’s website (when appropriate) – which increased inbound phone calls (that were being tracked and logged.

Results

The client partner experienced a 30%+ increase in year over year sales and improved their online image through site traffic, social media likes, and positive reviews. The data from the call tracking software also led to insights on how to better target the franchise’s customers. Most importantly, we have built a trusted ‘win-win’ relationship with our client that encourages both sides to constantly look for ways to foster continued growth.

 “The team from &Marketing has been fantastic to work with! I’ve been in business for 30+ years, and have noticed a complete change in how customers search for my service. The team took the time to understand my business, and are now executing a digital marketing program to improve my businesses’ visibility with my prospects. They’ve done a mix of blog posts, Google presence, paid advertising, and social media… its made a difference. My business is up at least 30% since I started working with &Marketing”

— MARY P., FRANCHISE OWNER

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Monthly Execution: Low Overhead Costs + Win-Win

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Improved Online Image, Better Customer Targeting

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Increase in YOY Sales

The post Professional Services Franchise Sees 30% Sales Boost with &Marketing Strategy appeared first on &Marketing.

Our client is an engineering consultancy with a vast portfolio of services that range from temporary contractor placement and recruitment to process implementation and one-off engineering projects.

A manager and coordinator comprised the existing marketing team prior to the engagement of &Marketing. They were experienced in public relations and content generation; however, the growing company needed help with other areas of marketing including strategy, productization, web development, marketing automation, graphic design, social media, and analytics.

When the marketing manager resigned unexpectedly, their increasing marketing needs were beyond what one person could reasonably provide, so they turned to &Marketing.

&Marketing’s Solution

&Marketing brought in a team of professionals coordinated by a single point of contact. We took on several roles for this client:

• Senior level strategy advice
• Product marketing
• Web development
• Marketing automation
• PR support
• Trade show and event planning
• Marketing and sales collateral
• Regular weekly and monthly reporting
• Graphic design
• Content development (such as blogs and news articles)
• Email marketing and drip campaigns

Most importantly, the existing marketing coordinator was integrated into the &Marketing team throughout our relationship. We provided her with the resources and support she needed to elevate her efforts and achieve their marketing goals.

Results

During our time with this engineering company, we made a significant impact by accomplishing the following:

• Grew the company’s pipeline by more than 10%
• Managed their website relaunch complete with a new aesthetic and copy rewrite
• Supported 4 major industry events from pre-planning, speaking engagements, and lead generation at the event, to post-event follow up
• Developed several focused marketing email automation campaigns that drove high-quality leads
• Launched 6 major new service lines using &Marketing’s productization framework
• Launched a major 9-part growth platform for their business, including shaping the offers, messaging, web development and go to market tactics.
• Revamped content strategy to support key growth platforms to drive significant SEO gains for relevant keywords

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Pipeline Growth (Grew the Company’s Pipeline by More than 10%)

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Tradeshow Planning & Execution (Pre-Planning, Lead Generation, Post-Event Follow Up, & More for 4 Major Industry Events)

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Productization (Launched 6 Major Service Lines Using &Marketing’s Productization Framework)

The post Full-Service Marketing Team Boosts Engineering Consultant Sales Pipeline +10% appeared first on &Marketing.

With digital retail markets becoming increasingly prevalent, bad actors in these online spaces are rising in number. Many organizations don’t realize their products are being resold through online markets like Amazon, or that their brands are being associated with knock-off items and sold without their consent. Even those who do recognize this issue often struggle with effective retaliation.

&Marketing’s client partner, Gray Falkon (www.grayfalkon.com) is an expert in combating these third-party sellers and has a mission to share their expertise with companies that would most benefit from learning about gray market anti-counterfeiting best practices. Gray Falkon’s approach helps brands of all sizes reduce unauthorized resellers on platforms like Amazon by as much as 50% in just a couple of weeks. They focus on targeting gray market products and unauthorized third-party sellers.

Gray Falkon needed to build awareness to drive awareness and leads, so they turned to &Marketing to assist with the creation and distribution of new branded content to get their services known by the decision makers who matter.

What We Did:

The &Marketing team worked with Gray Falkon to create an inside sales program that would build brand awareness and sales opportunities, based on a five-step action plan:

• Create a digital counterfeiting-focused eBook, centered around actual industry best practices for preventing gray market activity.
• Plan an inside sales program to market Gray Falkon directly to 1000 target prospects (decision makers in brand marketing, e-commerce sales, and legal departments) by using the eBook as a free initial offering. This program consisted of a mix of phone calls and emails over a 2-3 week period preceding Thanksgiving, a crucial time for brand owners on Amazon given the proximity to the holiday season.
• Conduct an outreach initiative to potential Gray Falkon clients, aiming to create consultation opportunities and additional sales leads.
• Accumulate data and provide regular reports on lead development and sales program progress.

Results

During &Marketing’s project with Gray Falkon, our team fulfilled multiple objectives, including:

• Market & Goal Alignment
• Branding Assessment & Visual Upgrade
• Copywriting & Content Creation
• Creation of Leads via Inside Sales Program
• Detailed Reporting on Lead Status & Content Reception

With &Marketing’s assistance, Gray Falkon successfully created a cohesive brand for marketing content. Our team used those enhanced branding elements to create an eBook (including the creative and copywriting) that they have been using since, and the inside sales campaign connected them with 38 high-value leads. Two of these leads closed within one month of the completion of our sales pilot, with others still ongoing.

As Gray Falkon continues to work with the prospects this sales program generated, they remain an active partner of &Marketing. If you are interested in learning more about Gray Falkon, visit their website at www.grayfalkon.com.

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Market & Goal Alignment

Web Development

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Branding Assessment & Visual Upgrade

Web Development

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Copywriting & Content Creation

Web Development

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Creation of Leads via Inside Sales Program

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Detailed Reporting on Lead Status & Content Reception

The post Building Brand Awareness to Attract More Leads with Inside Sales appeared first on &Marketing.

Our client runs an executive coaching business that grew through professional referrals but had little online presence, including an outdated website and an inactive LinkedIn profile. This partner wanted to improve her digital presence to target local executives experiencing significant career barriers within a 25-mile radius.

She needed strategic marketing advice to questions like 1) where to focus her efforts 2) what immediate tasks to perform and how, and 3) which marketing tactics to try, would help grow her business. Along with strategic clarity,, our client also knew that she needed help to effectively execute those tactics on a consistent basis, both digitally and non-digitally.

However, she did not have the time or expertise to undertake these endeavors on her own, so she turned to &Marketing for support.

&Marketing’s Approach

Based on our client’s desire for a ‘flexible, yet affordable’ approach, &Marketing employed a program of monthly execution support, including both coaching and digital marketing execution, and augmented those projects as needed. The program included the following deliverables:

• Clear, focused messaging on three distinct target audiences
• New website, including branding
• Data analysis and reporting to show what is working and what is not
• Social media upgrade and posting calendar
• Content calendar (one blog post per month)
• Quarterly email newsletter (including links to blog posts and calls to action)
• Senior-level advice and coaching

Results

As our client partner’s outsourced marketing department, our team was able to create a modern website with clear messaging, along with defined service offerings and thought leadership content that improved SEO for local search results. We also refresh and activated a LinkedIn profile that establishes a distinct and professional brand voice. Finally, we implemented more accurate tracking of website engagement metrics and launched her first quarterly newsletter.

These deliverables resulted in:

• Regular content creation and distribution to attract and retain customers
• A near 50% increase in web traffic due to a modern digital presence
• 5 leads generated from quarterly newsletter and organic search

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Modern Website & LinkedIn Presence

Web Development

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Content Strategy, Execution & Distribution

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Lead Generation: 5 Leads After First Newsletter

The post Modern Digital Presence and Lead Generation for Executive Coaching Business appeared first on &Marketing.