As part of the redesign process, we worked with Jim Oertle, their marketing business partner, to take updated pictures and help write new content. This included staff pictures, which was highly important since they are known for their great customer service and team involved atmosphere.  Then, we brought more emphasis to the application process. We did this by creating a banner at the top left of every page and by adding other calls to action at other places on the site. Finally, we created a ‘sleek’ and aesthetically pleasing web design, more geared towards the new audience they wanted to reach.

Overall, a more professional look was achieved that matched their brand and what they feel best represented Hardy Aviation Insurance.

1. Messaging and Content – It’s likely your business has changed some since you last updated your website. Make sure the content focuses on the problem your potential customers or clients are having and how you can solve it.
2. Fresh Images – Of your location, employees and others things that make your business unique.  Studies show that having real photos of key people on your website helps in the sales process.
3. The call to action – What is the one thing you want people to do when they come to your website.  Also, what is the most important piece of information you want them to know (Phone Number, Address, etc.)

Get started with giving your online presence a fresh and updated facelift by contacting us.

What is digital marketing?

It’s the promotion of a companies brand, products or services via digital mediums to reach consumers. From our perspective this includes Web, Social, Mobile and Email Marketing.

A Trusted Partner

I will be the first to tell you that some aspects of digital marketing are best done by someone that has a vested interest in the business, while others just need to be done by a trusted partner. This is where we come in. With proper expertise and guidance, we will get your business found and turn window shoppers into buyers. Contact us today to get started!

• A Marketing budget.  Know how much you are planning to spend and by when.  Unless you already have a website that Google loves, you will need to spend a good portion of your budget on display and video advertising.  SEO is still an option, but is not likely to pay off big at this point.

• Marketing materials.  This may seem like an obvious one, but you will need to have your ads, landing pages and copy designed, edited and ready to go in short order.

• Online advertising channels.  With search, mobile and social media marketing channels available,  determine how much you plan to spend on each one.

• Blog.  Not only do you have to write the copy for your ads and landing pages, you need to also have the copy clear and to the point for your blog posts as well. Even though this is extra work, it is well worth it in the long haul.

• Website Updates.  Make sure your web site gets updated as soon as possible with the marketing materials once approved.

Go get ‘em!  If there are other items that you see as critical to getting ready for the holiday shopping season, leave a comment and let us know. Thanks!

Five Things You Need to Beat the Competition

1. A Visually Pleasing Web Design -
   No, it does not need to be able to win a design contest, but it should visually speak to your target audience in an desirable way. The look of your website will be the first thing that draws the potential client to you, so it’s important to make a positive lasting impression.
2. A Site that Focuses On The Problem -
   Your site should address the issues, problems and concerns that your prospects have.  They care more about their problems than product or services you offer. Knowing what problem you are trying to solve and then informing them how you are going to solve it, is critical
3. To Be Found -
   A site that is not optimized for search engines or one that gets no traffic, is near worthless.  Work with design agencies that also have experience with online marketing to get you the most bang for your buck.
4. To Make an Investment -
   If your already have a website, make sure it is truly representative of your company and not something that is whipped together as an after thought.  Using your next door neighbor or someone that does it on the side is good for getting your foot in the door quick,  but is not a good long-term strategy.
5. To Maintain and Update It - 
   A website should be maintained and updated on a  periodic to frequent bases.  Make sure your site is designed in a way that is easy to manage and maintain.

We would love to hear your comments and suggestions of other critical things to to stack up against the competition.  Please feel free to engage and leave us a comment.  If you are looking to take your online presence to the next level, please keep us in mind.

1. I have been using their service for years and have not seen the value.
2. I only see my representative once a year, at renewal time.
3. They present all kinds of charts, demographics and other jargon that sounds like a sales pitch.
4. I know that I can get better value from someone in Wichita, that is more responsive and concerned about my business.
5. Who really uses the yellow pages anymore.

In the cases we have researched, we believe that local Wichita businesses are being dis-serviced and clearly mislead by these giants.  We found websites that were not available, that had missing pieces of information, not compatible with modern browsers and a handful of other issues.  We also found pay per click issues with campaigns, being ran for keywords that had no traffic and to boot, the landing page was not optimized and had little to do with the topic at hand.

How can this happen?  Well, it’s because a change is happening.  Folks just aren’t using the yellow pages as much and are spending more time online. Yellow pages companies are trying to adapt.  Now, we are not saying that they do not have skilled resources or  don’t know what they are doing. We are simply saying that it is necessary and vitally important to meet more than once a year, to talk about the ever changing pace of technology and how it affects the growth of your business.  You need a partner that is a phone call away, to help break down the latest buzz everyone is talking about to help you see how and if it impacts your business.

The NewBase Difference:

We want more than just a sale, we want to be your local digital marketing partner.  A partner to us means taking a vested interest in your business and providing value that you can easily see.  We are solely focused on serving the greater Wichita area and are dedicated to helping local businesses within the area grow to their full potential.  We could sell our services nationally, but we choose not to.  We have made a concise decision to help the businesses in our own backyard be successful.  The work we do is what we specialize in and practice every day, so you can rest ashore knowing that we are well-educated and experienced in this department. We look forward to helping you grow your business with us here at NewBase.

Call Us Today, To Get Started

316-841-4238

All hope is not lost. Recently, Google commissioned Ipsos OTX to survey a wide variety of B2B marketing professionals. These 600 professionals, from a wide variety of company sizes and industries, helped Google shape the marketing outlook for 2011. At the heart of this survey, Google wanted to know how companies planned to spend their marketing dollars, where their money was going to be spent, and the challenges they faced. Google also wanted to know how companies would gauge their return on investment (ROI).

It’s clear that B2B marketers are getting behind the power of digital marketing. Google found that in 2010, digital marketing accounted for 34 percent of marketers’ budgets. E-mail marketing took up the most dollars with eight 8 percent, with search engine optimization, online content, and search engine marketing (paid placements) each taking 5 percent.

Digital marketing opportunities for B2B marketers have grown exponentially over the past few years, and will continue to grow well into the future. These digital channels offer companies the ability to go where their customers are and communicate with them on the customers’ terms. Think of it this way: each customer is on his or he own little island. Businesses can and should use digital channels to build bridges from the islands, bringing customers back to your company’s website or blog.

The willingness to increase budgets in the digital realm will make 2011 a year of increased digital activity. Companies are recognizing that search, mobile, social media, and video have a higher potential to bring in new leads, as well as keeping existing customers coming back for more.

At NewBase, we recommend a variety of digital marketing solutions to our clients. We help clients by making every aspect of their online presence measurable, targeted, and, most importantly, effective. To take a closer look at how digital marketing can help you reach your target markets and clients, please contact us:  info@newbasellc.com.

Professional Web Design

In summary, I think it is an interesting way to promote local services and I will be keeping an eye on it’s progression.  If you have a local business and would like to get listed, here is the link: http://www.thumbtack.com/

At first we brainstormed with the team to identify what makes us different. We quickly realized it was time to get some professional help from someone that does this for a living, and that’s where Todd Ramsey came into the picture. Todd has a strong background in helping businesses identify their brand and messaging. He left Greteman Group late last year to start his own company and later helped co-found The Labor Party, which is where we office. The net result is our new descriptor and messaging:

Descriptor: Online Marketing Strategists

Message: We provide online marketing strategies to help local business find new clients by making every aspect of their online presence measureable, targeted and, most importantly, effective.

Although this message is still more marketing-driven, it has helped our clients better identify with what we do.  In general, now their response has changed to, “Oh, so you do search engine optimization (SEO)?” —  which is much closer to our real focus.  The next step is for us to begin incorporating our new brand and messaging into our website and other marketing materials over the next few months.

Google Boost is a broad brush approach to using search advertising for local businesses. The idea is to Boost the visibility of a local business by promoting their Google Places listing. The benefit to the local business owner, is that it is a hands off approach to Adwords. What this means is that a local business sets a monthly budget and then Boost takes over by creating ads and a list of keyword based on the information in their places listing.  It seemd like a nice approach to hands free search advertising, so I decided to give ti a try. I setup my campaign and let it run for a few weeks.  After that I logged into the Google Places dashboard to see how things were going and noticed I had no impressions.  So naturally that caused me to dig deeper and here some details from the Boost Adwords campaign:

• It set a daily budget to $5.48 based on the $170 (25 – 40 clicks per month) monthly budget we set
• It created a keyword list of 1245 keywords
• It set the bid of each keyword to $2.00 based on the daily budget and the number of clicks we want to get per month

The net result is that the market I need to advertise for is far more competitive then this and this is why I was getting no impressions.  The other thing I noticed, was that out of the 1245 keywords there were only a few that my website is optimized for, and some are services I don’t provide all together.  So In my case Boost was not adding any value at all to Boosting the views to my Google Places listing.

In summary, what I found was that even though boost is managing the Adwords campaign, it does not give you any special treatment. Boost ads are still competing against every other Adwords advertiser, and there are several factors that go into how well an ad will do that Boost does not seem to be taking into account.  Basically, the value that Boost provides, is to let local businesses advertise on Google search, on a small budget with no headaches.  However, based on my review it appears that it will only render good results for certain markets, and it may end up costing a local business owner more in the long run.  Primarily due to the fact that they will pay more per click, for keywords their listing or website is not optimized for.  In most cases I believe it would be far better to have an online marketing specialist help them with managing their Google search advertising instead of using Google Boost.

Have an experience or other insight about Google Boost, leave a comment.