The Marketing Essentials Podcast

If you think your “customer” is the person who buys your product or service you’re ignoring more than half your target audience. Ashley Davies Sarji, founder of ABLEx Customer Experience Consultants, enlightens us on how she helps small businesses understand ALL of their customers (employees, volunteers, board members, vendors, etc.) so they can provide the best experience and create a loyal fan base.

Stuff we mentioned during the podcast:

ABLEx Customer Experience Consultants

The moment it all went wrong for Kodak

Lil' Rhody Marketing Support Group

How do you craft a message that will get noticed amid all the modern marketing noise? Good storytelling. The Marketing Essentials team recently sat down with Rich Austin, founder of Speaking of Success, to talk with him about why storytelling is important, what happens when you tell a story, and what makes up a good story. It’s a fascinating interview filled with brain chemistry, protagonists, emotions, and millennials!

Stuff we mentioned during the podcast:

Speaking of Success

Getting Noticed in the Age of Distraction: Storytelling for Business (workshop)

What’s Your Story? (MET Podcast 004)

The story of TOMS Shoes

Apple’s “1984” commercial

Flex Tape commercial

Online design services such as Fiverr, Pixellogo, or Vistaprint might be attractive to a business start-up because of their low price point and fast turnaround time. But, ultimately, these services are just a band-aid solution for your company’s branding and marketing strategy. In this episode of the MET podcast Justin talks about what to be aware of when using an online design service and why working with a design professional to develop your brand and marketing is a better solution that will pay off in the long-term.

Stuff we mentioned during the podcast:

Three Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Pay $5 for a Logo

Stock vs. Custom Logo: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Lil' Rhody Marketing Support Group

What makes the most successful marketing websites, well, successful? Today on the podcast we speak with Chris Butler, Chief Design Officer at Newfangled. Chris has spent the last several years refining a process (dubbed “The Marketing Website Audit”) used for strategizing, designing, and building effective marketing websites.

In part two of our interview with Chris he talks about the most effective ways to persuade your website audience to engage and convert.

Stuff we mentioned during the podcast:

Newfangled

Prospect Experience Design (PX)

Lil' Rhody Marketing Support Group

Bonus: How the Most Successful Marketing Websites Work: The Marketing Website Audit Process
(available to MET Podcast subscribers)

What makes the most successful marketing websites, well, successful? Today on the podcast we speak with Chris Butler, Chief Design Officer at Newfangled. Chris has spent the last several years refining a process (dubbed “The Marketing Website Audit”) used for strategizing, designing, and building effective marketing websites.

In part one of our interview with Chris he walks us through how this website audit process works and how it helps Newfangled’s clients grow their businesses.

Stuff we mentioned during the podcast:

Newfangled

Lil' Rhody Marketing Support Group

Bonus: How the Most Successful Marketing Websites Work: The Marketing Website Audit Process
(available to MET Podcast subscribers)

As the famous old joke goes, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.” The same holds true for shooting a promotional video. Other things to consider when creating a successful promo video are storyboards, lighting, audio, and B-roll (no, that’s not a type of sushi). Our video guru and one-third of the Marketing Essentials Team, Bill Parmentier, explains how to avoid some common video pitfalls. Bonus: Check out the blooper reel of our webinar promo video (link below).

Stuff we mentioned during the podcast:

What To Look For When Shooting a Promo Video (PDF)

MET Webinar Promo - blooper video

Lil' Rhody Marketing Support Group

Trade shows and other professional events can be an effective and relatively inexpensive way to market your business. But to be successful you have to do more than just purchase a booth and show up. Susan Lataille, owner of DiscoverYou Events and one of the coordinators of the Ocean State Business Expo, sits down with the Marketing Essentials Team and shares some valuable tips on how to make the most of your next event; before, during, and after!

Stuff we mentioned during the podcast:

13 Secrets for Successful Exhibiting (PDF)

Ocean State Business Expo

DiscoverYou Events

Lil' Rhody Marketing Support Group

So you've decided that you need help developing and executing your business's social media marketing strategy. Should you retain an outside marketing agency? Should you hire a marketing professional to join your team? What about interns? On today's podcast Nicole Eller, from Ginger Green Marketing, joins Alicia and the rest of our team to discuss some of the things you should consider when selecting a marketing professional. That's right, you get two social media marketing experts for the price of one!

Stuff we mentioned during the podcast:

Why Should I Hire a Marketing Agency for My Small Business?

Ginger Green Marketing (Nicole's company)

Custom Marketing Solutions (Alicia's company)

Lil' Rhody Marketing Support Group

If you think ROI is the French version of Roy, don't worry, we speak human on the podcast (most of the time). The question for today's episode is, "How do I know if I'm getting my money's worth for my paid Facebook ads?" Lucky for you our resident social media marketing expert, Alicia, outlines some specific steps you can take to track the effectiveness of your social media marketing dollars and make sure you're reaching the right audience.

Stuff we mentioned during the podcast:

Alicia's Tips - How do I know if my social media marketing is working? (PDF)

Rooms & Works co-working space

Lil' Rhody Marketing Support Group

There's more to a professional photo shoot than just some guy showing up with a camera. To truly understand and appreciate the value of a professional photo shoot you have to consider the reputation and experience of the photographer, equipment and overhead, sets and models, day rates, project rates, and so much more! Bill Parmentier, our resident photo pro, discusses all of this in detail in this episode of the Marketing Essentials Podcast.

Stuff we mentioned during the podcast:

How much does commercial photography cost? (PDF download)

Rooms & Works co-working space

Lil' Rhody Marketing Support Group