How Much Should I Spend on Marketing?

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Even seasoned marketers routinely wonder how their budget stacks up against traditional averages and what they should be spending. Our answer is always the same: “It Depends!”

The first step in determining an appropriate budget is a change in mindset. Consistent, long-term marketing is NOT an expense.  Rather, it is an essential investment that pays dividends in the form of sales, income and market share. Marketing is a business asset that drives revenue. Continue reading →

Seven Steps To Making Tradeshows Work For You

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The resurgence of vertically focused, industry specific events offers savvy marketers a gold mine of opportunity. Tradeshows and related industry gatherings provide a unique opportunity to meet prospects and influence key contacts in person at a convenient central location.  However, the old ‘set it and forget it’ approach to exhibiting has little chance of winning the rabid battle for attention.   Continue reading →

How to Actually Be Social in the Age of Social Media

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As much as I’d like to say all our business comes from referrals, I still make a concerted effort to hit the streets and introduce JH&A to potential clients. While out and about, it’s convenient to foster new relationships and to drop in on current clients to reinforce existing relationships. If you’re in a client-facing role in the marketing communications field but you’re not a “people person,” you might be in the wrong business. Getting out from behind your computer to build real, personal business relationships will pay-off many times over in a number of ways. Continue reading →

How To Handle A Difficult Client

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In the Advertising industry, we’ve all been there and probably said it hundreds of times, “If I was a client, I’d be awesome.” The truth is, we have no idea how we’d react in our client’s shoes and as great as your current client relationships may be, you will inevitably one day run into a difficult client. They come in all shapes, ages and titles –no two are alike and they can be downright frustrating. When it happens, you just might find yourself sitting in your chair spinning or staring at the wall (drink in hand) wondering, “How can I possibly handle this?” Continue reading →

Is Your Organization ‘Customer Focused’ or ‘Customer Tolerant’?

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We’ve all read corporate mission statements with the immortal words “Customer Focused,” or the even the more lofty “Customer Obsessed” philosophy referenced front-and-center – sometimes even emphasized in ALL CAPS.  However, in reality, most organizations fall far short and are lucky to eek-out something more akin to “Customer Tolerant.”

Most of us occasionally encounter a flash of great customer service.  Those blessed events easily stand out from the countless business interactions we experience over a lifetime. Continue reading →

Supercharge Your SEO – with Public Relations!

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Effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a critical component of website development. The objective of SEO is of course to rank your site as highly as possible among search engine returns in response to specific user search terms. ‘On-page’ strategies range from a package of baseline keywords, page titles and descriptions to sophisticated, ongoing analysis and adjustment programs. Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are sometimes used to supplement SEO results. Continue reading →

How Much Should I Spend on Marketing?

Written by

Even seasoned marketers routinely wonder how their budget strategy stacks up against traditional averages and what they should spend. Our answer is always the same: “It depends”!

The first step in determining an appropriate budget is a change in mindset.  Consistent, long-term marketing is NOT an expense.  Rather, it’s an essential investment that pays dividends in the form of sales, income and market share.  Marketing is a business asset that drives revenue. Continue reading →

Why A DIY Website And $49 Logo Are Great For The Marcom Industry

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The old adage, “It’s important to know a good attorney and a great plumber” rings forever true. Simply, there are those things in life we probably should not try to do ourselves. When we do, it inevitably costs more to fix them in the long run. In business the “cost” associated with ill-conceived, tactical, stop-gap approaches to marketing are enormous and always (yes, I said always) end in failure. Continue reading →