The job of a marketing consultant is to analyze your business and develop a plan that will increase your visibility online and in the community, grow your lead base, and stay connected with your current customer base. Gone are the days when a company’s marketing consisted of a few print ads in local newspapers, the phone book, or an occasional direct mail campaign (outbound marketing). Marketing today has gone “social” (inbound marketing). Inbound marketing consists of social media, blogging, website creation, and search engine optimization.
There is a growing trend among companies to spend more of their marketing and advertising budget on inbound channels. The main reason is because marketing today is about relationships. People want to learn about your company on the Internet and keep connected on the social media platforms they are using. Another reason is social media platforms and blogging are free. You only need to hire someone to do it. Website creation costs vary greatly, so shop around. Once you have your website up and running, the only additional costs are having someone maintain it and update content. Use your website as an online brochure to direct customers to. People want to know about you before their first meeting, and having a website with social media links will give them a glimpse of your company’s skills and credibility.