Date: November 2021

In business, data is everything. It dictates every single decision that is made, big or small. This fact is becoming ever more apparent as businesses continue to embrace the digital age, employing the use of technology for everything from their marketing strategies, all the way through to their business platforms. Therefore, understanding what all this accumulated data means has never been more important. That’s why every marketing department needs a taxonomy specialist. A rather unknown role, in the marketing context, it is the taxonomy specialist’s job to group and organise data. 

My luck can be encapsulated by Melbourne going into lockdown a week before the start of my first ever internship. Months of balancing coffee on the train while commuting to South Yarra and belly-laughs of office banter flashed past before my eyes. I reached out to one of the consultants to ask whether my internship would be put on hold for the duration of the lockdown with fingers crossed that I wouldn’t be missing out on the “full experience”. Of course, marketing efforts cannot be stagnated just because of Covid-19 restrictions so the internship would still proceed but truth be told – I was absolutely devasted. In a way though, this internship at Marketing Eye seemed to be the silver lining throughout the lengthy consecutive months of lockdown. 

I had been on the search for an internship within the rather large realm of marketing and while I hadn’t quite found the niche I wanted to settle in – there was a charm about interning for an out-sourced marketing team. By working for Marketing Eye, I was able to experience an array of clients and the different needs they needed to be met. Tech companies to health insurance companies – you name it, and I have had some sort of experience within the industry. This allowed me to have a more varied experience - allowing me to learn more across industries whilst still strengthening my foundational marketing knowledge. 

The digital shift has changed the way marketers’ market, and how consumers consume marketing. The journey consumers take in 2021 is far different to the one they used to follow. Digital marketing is no longer just about having videos go viral and generating likes and comments.

In the past two years, we have seen a drastic change in the way we interact with each other. The COVID-19 pandemic happened, and meant that for the vast majority of us, the only way to remain connected with one and other was through our screens.

Overnight, we were forced into a new way of life, and digital transformation became essential for most businesses. Companies that were reluctant to jump on the digital wave had to quickly adapt to this new COVID normal of communicating online, and those that didn’t suffered the consequences. 

Instagram advertising is not recommended during the holiday season. The market on this social media platform is far more saturated during the months of October through December (which is also known as the festive shopping season). Your brand and product will not stand out on Instagram due to the flooding of posts and stories from other competitors, and there is a high likelihood your business will end up wasting money through this form of advertising. However, there are recommended alternatives to ensure your company is boosting its popularity during this season! 

There are misconceptions that email marketing is an outdated and ineffective form of advertising against the advancements of modern technology. Email marketing is in fact far from dead. Statistics evince that 90% of adults and 74% of teenagers regularly check their emails.  Although email is evidently not the most up-to-date form of marketing, it is still regularly used by consumers and thus should be utilized correctly in your companies marketing campaign. It is ‘one of the most popular, cost effective and highest performing marketing channels currently available’. That is why it is integral that your marketing team perfects your email marketing strategy.

There is extreme importance in the very first email marketing campaign you run. First impressions are everything, and your marketing team should ensure that the imprint of your company left in the consumers mind is positive. From the first email marketing campaign you organize you are creating your first client list, forming relationships with whom are regarded as your loyal customers. The format and information in this campaign will also leave a long-lasting impression pertaining to your brand identity in the consumers mind. There are many advantages of email marketing, however your company will only be able to benefit from these if this form of advertising is executed correctly the first time. There is no coming back from incorrect greetings or unappealing email designs. Those kinds of mistakes remain engrained in a customer’s memory. 

What’s the Meta-verse?

In-case you haven’t been paying attention to the latest upcoming changes of the internet – let me explain. Facebook is changing its company name to “Meta”. This rebranding aims to reflect the company’s new concept of a “metaverse” which Mark Zuckerberg promises will be a world as “detailed and convincing as this one [Earth]”. Whether Zuckerberg is successful in pulling off what might be the most ambitious and “next biggest chapter” of the internet is for another blog... but what this uprooting of the Facebook we all know and love - can mean for your marketing team needs to be foreseen and accounted for.

In 2018 alone, 124.5 billion business emails were sent globally each day. This figure has only risen in the years since. Hence, email direct marketing is currently the most popular, cost-effective and highest performing marketing channel currently available, offering companies a direct line to the consumers. However, with so many emails inundating consumers’ inboxes, it is crucial that your emails stand out from the crowd. Therefore, curating effective content is key.

Here are 6 ways that you can write effective content for email direct marketing:

Public relations (PR), at its core, is applied communications. It is much more than accounting, legal, management consulting, and financial planning firms - it is arguably the most important facet for any professional services firm.

Reputation is essential to acquiring customers. This is particularly important as professional services uphold a common identity and are regulated by tradition and a code of ethics. Therefore, from a customer’s perspective, the customer value is in the form of the benefits they receive relative to the costs they give up. What happens when the service is unable to meet customer expectations? This can bring implications for a firm’s reputation if clients feel they no longer want to seek your services.

Professional services firms are quite reliant on ‘human talent’; it is what allows them to increase loyalty and therefore, retention. However, incorporating public relations into your firm will retain your clients and improve profitability.

What can public relations do for your firm? Here are 5 ways: 

As digital technology continues to transform the ways in which industries work globally, we must keep up with the emerging trends. Professional Services are no exception to this. As an industry that has traditionally flourished off old fashioned marketing techniques such as: Relationship Marketing, Traditional Marketing Channels and Telemarketing, these firms have been forced to modify their marketing schemes to fit the more effective and modern marketing techniques. In the ever expanding digital world, having an effective digital strategy will not only establish your firm in the competitive online landscape, but also allows you to build a strong impression and relationship with prospective customers and clients. 

Marketing strategy scholars have contended that dynamic capabilities such as adaptability, integration, and deployment of organizational capital assist firms in becoming more aligned with their evolving business environments. With its ability to provide a source of competitive advantage, marketing strategy substantially influences market performance.

Marketing strategy is a construct that provides clear, realistic, and measurable marketing objectives. It is essential to the practice of marketing.

Continue reading to find out 5 key ways marketing strategy adds value to your professional services firm: