Against the Grain: Advertising

Are you keeping up with the world of digital media? Do you know who visits your website, where they’re from and how they got there?

The expansion of digital media over the years has opened new doors to businesses and organizations, allowing them to see how many people visited their website, how long they were on the page and even where they came from. These simple details are extremely important from a marketing standpoint. Advertisers can pinpoint what referred the visitor to the site; what age, race, and gender the individual is; and what pages bring in the most views. This drives future content of your site to ensure you’re targeting the content your visitors want.

As a professional marketing agency, we have the tools and resources you need to market to your customers and stay on-top of social media, mobile marketing and technology trends. We subscribe to daily blogs, articles and news sites to stay one step ahead of the competition, and exceed our customers’ expectations.

Website analytics is only the first step to understanding the world of digital media. It takes experience to interpret the information and develop sound marketing strategies to provide your customers the online content they need. Trilix’s interactive team can help you create a web presence to reach your integrated marketing goals.

Manufacturers who don't have digital marketing expertise on staff often rely on the growing number of consultants who can do everything from web development to social media marketing. This makes sense from a financial standpoint, however it may not make sense from a branding standpoint.

Digital marketing programs need to be handled by people who understand your marketing strategies as well as they understand technology.

When working with digital marketing consultants, take the time to share your marketing strategies and objectives with them. Make certain they understand your brand and your industry. Educate them about your competitors. If they don't get it, chances are you won't get what you're after — a coordinated marketing program!

Trilix is a full-service advertising agency headquartered in the Midwest with expertise in helping businesses market effectively and drive sales success. Learn more at www.trilixgroup.com or email Todd Senne at tsenne@trilixgroup.com.

Everywhere you look, you’re inundated with advertisements. The average American is exposed to 3,000 online, radio and television ads per day. So how can you break through the clutter and ensure that your marketing message reaches your target audience?

Meet Trilix’s Media Department.

Trilix’s professional media buyers have tools and programs designed to help them get the most bang for their clients’ buck. Our professional media buyers use software that integrates with Nielson and Arbitron ratings to identify the spots that are most likely to reach your target audience. This allows our media buyers to dedicate more time to exploring new opportunities to promote your business and fulfill your needs.

What can Trilix’s professional media buyers do for you? Our media buyers work with the creative, interactive and public relations teams in the initial planning stage of your marketing campaign. This ensures that your messaging is consistent and each ad purchase moves you toward your end goal. Our buyers take the time to get to know and understand your target audiences, competitive environment and current vendor relationships so they can plan an effective media schedule within your budget.

The rapid growth of online advertising has changed the media buying game over the years. Trilix’s media buyers pride themselves on staying ahead of new trends and technologies to help you maximize your ad exposure and reach. They can help you integrate social media and online ads into your buys. Our buyers can also help integrate sales promotions into your media purchases to provide added value.

Trilix’s media buyers are always seeking out new opportunities and bringing innovative ideas to our clients to ensure they are running effective media schedules. But, the most valuable asset our media buyers bring to the negotiating table is the relationships they’ve cultivated with ad reps that ensure our clients get the best ad buys available.

Want to learn more? Contact Media Director Heather Weaverling at hweaverling@trilixgroup.com and let Trilix’s Media Department create an effective schedule to complement your marketing communications plan.

In the past few months, group buying power has become a hot trend in Central Iowa. Groupon® deals have filled our e-mail inboxes and many people have been persuaded to try new restaurants, stores and events. The deep discounts pull you in and it’s hard to resist a good deal.

Are you curious if Groupon would work for your company? Trilix’s Account Director Brett Adams and his wife Dawn own and operate Signature Massage by Dawn in Ankeny. After analyzing their budget and business goals, they determined that running a Groupon deal was a great way to get more people in the door and raise awareness about their business. Getting in front of Groupon’s more than 40,000 eager-to-buy subscribers was extremely intriguing.

Brett and Dawn set two goals: to increase their customer base and to enhance the lifetime value of their clientele. To meet these goals, they ran a Groupon Daily Deal offering a one-hour massage for $30 ($55 value) or a multi-service massage package for $50 ($100 value). The deal launched on Friday, December 3, 2010 and “tipped” by 6:30 a.m. The promotion was scheduled to run throughout the weekend, but sold out by 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 4, once sales hit 625 massages. To date, more than 30% of the Signature Massage by Dawn Groupons have been redeemed, representing a steady flow of new business and more word-of-mouth.

But, is Groupon an economical choice for all small business owners?  With no upfront costs, it would appear to be a no-brainer at first glance. But, it’s important to understand that Groupon’s success relies on your ability to sell products/services since they share in the sales-up to as much as 50%. Their team will work with each business to ensure that the right deal(s) are being offered and for a price point that they believe will intrigue their captive audience (generally 40-60% off). By the time your business actually sees a sale, the price has been cut in half not once, but twice. If the deal is extremely successful, your investment could be very large in comparison to the regular price of your product or service. At the end of the day, each business must be willing to take the risk in order to reap the reward. If a small business is looking for an innovative way to kick-start their new business efforts, Groupon or other daily-deal sites may be the perfect fit.

According to Brett, Groupon was a great investment for their small business. It not only created an immediate spike in business, but also created a buzz through other outlets such as social media and word-of-mouth.  He’s excited to see how the promotion will affect short- and long-term sales. Groupon provides analytics on the people who buy-in to each deal. The data provides demographics on age, gender and location (by ZIP code). The seller is also able to track the number of Groupons redeemed and is then able to see which Groupon customers return for future business.

Groupon was a smart decision for Signature Massage by Dawn, but it may not be a good fit for every business. Want to learn more? Public Relations Director Keely Pearson gives you some things to consider before running a daily deal in this blog post.

Want to get more daily deals? Check out group-buying sites Living Social and Plum District.

Customers expect more than a conversation about sports and a free lunch from salespeople these days. According to a study by the International Data Corporation, 24% of buyers indicated that sales reps are not prepared for presentations at all.

Preparation means understanding the challenges your customers face and presenting them with compelling reasons why your company offers the best solution.

Turn your next "sales" call into a "solutions" call by researching your customer's industry, understanding their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Then, incorporate your findings into a customized interactive presentation that clearly demonstrates the value of your solution.

Trilix is a full-service advertising agency headquartered in the Midwest with expertise in helping businesses market effectively and drive sales success. Learn more at www.trilixgroup.com or email Todd Senne at tsenne@trilixgroup.com.