Mobile compatible marketing

Mobile compatible marketing -ABC guide

Mobile compatible marketing – ‘going mobile’ or being ‘mobile compatible’ is one of the most current topics in digital marketing. Customers often ask us to factor this in to our solutions and it is for all the right reasons.

This simple ABC gives you an overview of the main considerations that affect moving your communications into mobile territory

A – relevance

You should use the analytical information available to you to decide just how important mobile compatible marketing is. Often when we look at analytics for our clients, the results aren’t what our customers expect. This isn’t solely specific to the use of mobile either. It is surprising how many organisations still don’t use analytics to evaluate their online and digital marketing investments. It’s a free service and helps you make informed decisions about developing your online and email strategies.
Keep your choices in perspective.

B – design

The whole point of mobile compatible marketing is useability. Responsive websites and email work on the principle that on a smaller screen (than a desktop) they look different. This may mean bigger and fewer buttons, larger images and simplified navigation.
The general rule of thumb for us is – the rule of thumb. If a user has to use any more than their thumb to navigate your media, it has failed. If, however you can successfully navigate your media with the use of a single thumb, the design is ticking the first part of the ‘designed for mobile’ criteria. There are other considerations too, including colour choices, font sizes.
The primary focus is the rule of thumb.

C – investment

Going mobile doesn’t need to cost a fortune and you are able to adapt existing collateral relatively easy. Brand new collateral is even easier to achieve the cross over with many templates and themes being responsive out of the box. These form a strong set of foundations to edit and tweak to make them suit your needs exactly.
In terms of budgeting, you will need to allow additional resource for design and programming but its not something you need to do all at once. If you follow the advice in A and B you’ll find that your budget will stretch and accommodate a number of mobile optimised solutions without causing any major upsets.

In conclusion, moving to mobile compatible marketing is as easy as it is effective.

If you need help taking your collateral to mobile readiness, there’s plenty of help at hand.

By Ryan Mullins

Email marketing guide for novices

Email Marketing Guide

Email marketing is probably the most common form of marketing. Marketers in large companies, small companies and everything in between use email marketing. Email marketing crosses all sectors and is used for all sorts of communication. This Email marketing guide gives you an insight.

Why is email marketing so popular?

Which email platform should you choose?

In truth, you’ve likely already got a system in place. The first thing to do is make sure you’re utilising it to it’s full potential. The discipline of regular email marketing is something marketing teams must be well versed in. You should only consider changing what you’re already using if you’ve identified shortcomings. If you have, are they hindering results?

With so many variables what do you need to get right with email marketing? A point hotly debated by many, we at renew use an evidence-based approach as our standard.

Data

The number 1 critical factor with email marketing is data. The quality of your data determines the scope of your success. As such some sectors achieve great success, while others continue to struggle.

Subject line

Millions of emails don’t get past the subject line and go straight to the trash can. Your subject line is the first part of your email marketing that’s easy to test. It’s also easy to determine what works.

Responsiveness

Does your email marketing work on a mobile phone?

A huge proportion of email marketing is viewed on mobile. If you haven’t thought of your target audience and user, you risk the trash can. Why risk recipients unsubscribing by sending emails they can’t view on all devices.

Content

As with websites, is the content of your email focused on the recipient? First step is forget what you want to say and consider what the recipient wants to read. The more you bring content round in line with this, the greater your successes are likely to be.

Call to action

What should someone do upon reading your email? What action do you want them to take? What’s in it for the recipient? Your call to action needs to be obvious and direct. Make it easy for your recipients.

By using good data, a subject line that will grab the right kind of attention. A format that can be easily read, content that they’ll want and a clear call to action. The basic formula for successful email marketing.

At Renew Marketing, email marketing delivered for clients takes all this into account..

Our email marketing clients contact us because they want better results from their marketing.

Request call back

Issue marketing brief

Complete the simple to use form for issuing a solid marketing brief to your team of choice.

[su_black_button linkurl=”http://www.renewmarketing.co.uk/forms/free-create-marketing-brief-form-template/” linktext=”ISSUE BRIEF”]

Website test and recommendations

Complete the simple to use form for issuing a solid marketing brief to your team of choice.

[su_black_button linkurl=”http://www.renewmarketing.co.uk/forms/free-website-performance-test/” linktext=”BEGIN NOW”]

Bedford Marketing Agency

Setting up a Bedford Marketing Agency

From an early age the ambition was to set up a Bedford marketing agency. I was always interested in artwork and design as a youngster and my father said to me while I was at school “you’ll never make money as an artist”. Whether that’s what he meant or he wanted more for the investment he’d made in school fees I’m not sure. This sparked even more of an interest for me though. I’m not someone who gives in easily and generating an income from the thing I love most became my principal objective. So from the age of around 15 I knew my Bedford marketing agency was how I’d get the career I wanted.

Moving my Bedford marketing agency into an office

In 2012, the time came to set up Renew Marketing, my Bedford Marketing Agency. Initially I was working from home with a handful of clients and the business grew pretty swiftly. In December 2015, we had outgrown the conservatory at home and needed premises. The company was moved into serviced offices on the Elms Farm Industrial Estate and that’s where we’ve been since.

Not only do I get to cycle to work, which I love as I’m also a cycling coach, but we have a beautiful clean office from which we can service our marketing clients. Being only a couple of miles from home avoids any traffic issues and enables a quick trip home at lunch time or any other time if needs be.

Moving the company into our Bedford office was one of the best decisions I’ve taken for the company. Not only can we now entertain client visits but it also makes my home my home. When you work hard it’s important to be able to have the choice about separating work and leisure. The alternative can lead to a distinct blurring of lines which can affect both sides of life.

So, if you’re looking for a Bedford marketing agency and want to receive practical advice and solutions, get in touch, we’d love to hear from you. The approach we take is about using evidence and being measurable. For most company owners and marketers this will be music to your ears. No fluff, no fuss, no nonsense. We aren’t about big ideas, quite the opposite, this Bedford marketing agency is about evidence based measurable marketing. Let’s face it, most people want to know how well their investments are performing.

[su_rm_boilerplate_with_image boilerhead=”Contact us now.” boilerimage=”http://www.renewmarketing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/rm-slider-073.jpg” boilertext=”Get in touch straight away, we’d love to hear from you.” buttonlink=”http://www.renewmarketing.co.uk/contact/” boilerbutton=”CONTACT PAGE”]63% of survey respondents indicate that the ability to set measurable objectives for each of their campaigns is the biggest value driver of marketing automation.[/su_rm_boilerplate_with_image]

Marketing Agency Bedford

Marketing Agency Bedford Renew Marketing Agency Bedford

Marketing Agency Bedford – new premises

Marketing agency Bedford – It’s been a year of growth so far for Renew Marketing, and with that comes the need for a bigger team and a bigger office. Of course, it is no secret that your office not only reflects your brand but also how you think about it’s future. You can now find us on the Elms Industrial Estate at Unit 2, Caxton Road, Bedford. MK41 0HT.

Elon Musk, owner of SolarCity, Tesla Motors and SpaceX, is said to be worth US $12.7 billion. Describing him as ‘the most inspiring entrepreneur in the world’, Business Insider also show photos of him at work in his office. Smart, functional, minimalist, filled with natural light and the ability to switch between being an individual and a collaborative work space, his office is a statement.

Knowing that an office can say a lot about you as a company, Director of Renew Marketing, Ryan Mullins, has created an open and enjoyable work space for his team. Following a light, bright, minimalist theme, Renew’s new office is designed to support and inspire the team. The bespoke bikes racked against the wall on one side are also reflective of the dynamic and entrepreneurial spirit of the company.

Come and visit us on the Elms Industrial Estate at Unit 2, Caxton Road, Bedford. MK41 0HT.

Pointers for choosing the right marketing agency

Some pointers for choosing the right marketing agency

The secret of our success? We’re old school![hr]

Why being old fashioned is harming our competitors while being ‘old school’ is bringing business to our door

I never cease to be amazed by things I see on the Internet! Not so much the dancing rabbits and gurning goats—but what companies describing themselves as the right marketing agency are doing to attract business. Take this morning. I went online early to tie up a few loose ends before going on holiday. I contacted a number of people regarding working together in the future and then I had a quick flick through LinkedIn to see what my connections have been up to.

And I was amazed!

The first thing that caught my eye was the number of people looking for freelance designers and copywriters. As far as I’m concerned, this is great—it indicates growth in the industry, and shows that business are seeing more value in these essential skills. This is certainly in line with our own experience—this year we’re already looking at significant growth in both turnover and profit.

But the other thing that drew my attention was how out of date some of our “right marketing agency” competitors’ offerings appeared, particularly from the more established companies. For example, I saw a post from a marketing and advertising agency on whether your business card is eye-catching enough. It may depend on your business, but I actually don’t remember the last time I swapped business cards with anybody. And surely you don’t pick your agency on the strength of their business card designs? Well, I certainly wouldn’t! But good luck to them with that.

Another example—a small, local marketing agency put out a post about using short video in social networking. It may seem perfectly reasonable on the surface but think about it a bit more deeply. In my opinion, if you have to teach your clients something this basic, then you’ll find it challenging to make money out of them. Why? In my experience, if you need to explain basic principles to your clients, you’re already on the back foot with them. If they know so little about marketing, I’m afraid they’re probably the type of clients who don’t appreciate consultancy being a billable service.

You’re probably wondering why I’m launching this barrage of criticism. I’ll tell you—the fact is that I’m concerned that this is a standard that many companies view as acceptable. In my opinion, this sort of sloppy marketing effort devalues the expertise and knowledge of the individuals who work for these companies. I’ve worked with one of them and know that their team is incredibly talented and hard-working—and they can certainly deliver brilliant campaigns with quantifiable results.

I don’t think I missed anything radical or new in their posts such as business cards includig wearable technology or short films going holographic! No, these posts were old hat! Why would they do that? Have they misunderstood the purpose of blogging on social networks?

So what about us? Presumably we’re not using such old-fashioned articles to pitch our business to potential clients? Correct—we do things differently. I’ve pitched for new business many times and I’ve won many times. But not by suggesting business cards or short videos. In fact, our pitching is even more old school than that!

How do you know which marketing agency to choose?

What we do is begin by asking questions.

What are your goals?
What are you already doing?
What works for your business?
What doesn’t?
And many more…

Our questioning process lasts for a considerable time and allows us to get to know our clients’ businesses inside out. It gives us the information we need to make the marketing decisions required. It means our proposals are based on evidence and fact, with outcomes that can be measured.

Additionally, we don’t do all the pitch work involved for free.

Traditionally, many companies do but we favour a different approach. If clients have faith in our process and our strategy, they will be willing to pay for the work involved in creating a bespoke proposal. This gives us the reassurance that our time and effort is justified. In turn our clients can feel reassured that we are providing an individualized service rather than just passing them a standard proposal. Our initial investigation provides an evidential report that will determine a measurable forward strategy.

Old school hard graft beats old-fashioned marketing flannel every time!

Get in touch now.We'll even give you 30 minutes advice completely free[hr]