In the second of our five-part series of blogs on ‘Trad-digital marketing’ we’re talking about the importance of consistency between your website and printed marketing materials, such as brochures and flyers.
Let’s start with the basics. Can you remember the last time your website was refreshed or updated? If it has been a few years, this might explain any drop-off in web traffic or a reduction in lead generation through your site. Keeping it fresh and up-to-date is a crucial step in your marketing strategy.
That’s because your website is at the very heart of all of your marketing activities. It’s where you want to direct potential clients to show them why they should be using your services and what makes you different from your competitors. Your website is an essential touchpoint for your existing clients too, helping them keep up to date with your latest service offerings and making sure you stay fresh in their minds. It even acts as the cornerstone that your social media, email campaigns, and other digital marketing activities point to.
Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing are constantly updating their algorithms to determine where websites are ranked in results lists. If your website isn’t up to snuff, you simply won’t be visible in relevant searches. For example, in the last few years it has become critical to have a website that is mobile responsive (i.e. one that looks good on the screens of mobile devices) in order to achieve a good search ranking. So, how does your company’s website look on your smart phone? If you have to scroll horizontally or zoom in and out to read sections of text, then your mobile site needs serious attention.
But aside from this, there is a larger question about your website that will affect your entire marketing effort. Is there uniformity between your website and your other marketing materials, more specifically your printed collateral? Here is a little test to try. Gather up all of your printed marketing materials such as brochures, product sheets, flyers etc. and bring up your website on a big screen. Here’s what to look for:
If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, then there are issues you need to address now. If the printed collateral you use in any of your marketing activities does not have a look and feel that is consistent with your website, you’re creating confusion. Even if you’re ranking highly on searches, when you don’t have a clear brand image this makes it difficult for customers to understand what you’re offering and why you’re different. In an age of information overload, customers need to be able to understand and identify with a brand quickly and easily. Any inconsistencies simply muddy the water and make customers walk away from doing business with you.
So, before you move forward with any marketing strategy, you first need to make sure you have a cohesive look, feel, and message between your website and printed collateral. This is the absolute bedrock of an effective Trad-digital marketing strategy.
The concept of Trad-digital marketing is at the heart of what DriveProfit offers to the chauffeured transportation industry. Along with Create A Card, Inc., we help to plan and execute highly effective marketing strategies for chauffeured transportation companies who want to take their marketing to the next level.
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