What’s that you say? You don’t have a plan. Now that’s very bad, because without a plan you will only throw good money after bad. Without a plan, you become susceptible to every harebrained scheme that crosses your desk. And without a plan, you don’t have a framework from which to measure your progress through the marketing maze.
The very first thing to do is create a marketing plan. Do it now! Then decide how much money you have available to invest in marketing. Adopt the media channels you intend to use. Select tactics you propose to use to deliver your important messages to your existing and potential customers. Then begin to create content that fits the channel and tactic you intend to use.
Once you have your plan and you’ve begun to create content, you need to decide where you are in the process of developing your brand. If your company is still relatively new, you may find yourself in the position of having naked website pages. Whomever said less is more, wasn’t talking about websites. There is nothing worse than going to a website and not finding enough information to help you decide if you want to contact or do business with the company whose website you’re visiting.
So, back to the quantity versus quality question. Naturally, quality is important, and a well-researched piece of content is much better than a haphazard piece. However, it takes time and effort — or money if you pay someone else to do it, to develop a quality brochure or content for your website. Ultimately, it comes down to where you are in the process, if you’re a new company with a new website, you need content to fill your website. If you have an existing website with years of content, you need to review what you have and discard old or outdated information.
Do you need quantity, quality, or both? The best way to approach this question is to examine your website. If you have an older website that has pages of content, then work on creating new content that has great quality is unique to your business. It should be something that you invest time or money into researching. Create content that highlights your expertise, that shows you are the natural choice for the product or service about which you write. Toss out or archive older irrelevant content that doesn’t receive as many page visits as it once did and carefully read existing webpages for errors, or pay an editor to review your website and make recommendations.
On the other hand, if you are a new company and/or have a brand new website, you are probably starved for content. Many people find it hard to write website copy and consequently new websites seem too thin and short on relevant information. This is one case where quantity may be more important than quality. If you have the time or the money, you can pay someone to develop well-written content for your website that meshes with your brand image and company philosophy. However, in many cases once you’ve decided to create a website, the desire to go live becomes so strong that companies will go live with just a few pages with the intention that they’ll update their website as they get time. Sadly, websites sometimes go for years in this state of needed work.
It is always good to have quality, no doubt, but there are times when you need quantity and you can sacrifice quality for the sake of the expediency of publishing your site. Remember, that you can repurpose marketing materials; TV commercials (if you have them), radio spots, and print ads can have a home on your website and can continue to sell for you long after the initial campaign.
My website contains links to all the marketing articles I’ve written for the HVAC-Talk Newsletter. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of my new book, Navigating the Marketing Maze, click here. If you need a branding consultation, a complete strategic marketing plan, or help with marketing services, call or send an email to discuss your needs.
Andy Fracica is president and CEO of Fracica Enterprises, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in marketing, and social media strategy. He has over 30 years of sales, marketing, and product management experience in the heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) industry. He concentrates on helping companies deliver their message in an ever increasingly crowded market by helping HVAC dealers more effectively market their businesses without breaking their budgets. Contact him at 260-338-4554, [email protected] or visit the Fracica Enterprises, Inc. website.
