In a recent blog, we touched on Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL) when discussing lead magnets. Now it’s time to talk about Quality Leads. There are many ways to gauge Marketing Qualified Leads. Likewise, there are many ways to gauge Quality Leads. We know you’re busy, so we will make this easy. To identify and maintain Quality Leads, we recommend one simple task:

As an agency, we understand how much data you are sifting through in order to find prospective clients that will turn into customers. While finding the right prospect is a numbers game, you can also use a marketing qualified lead (MQL) system to identify those prospects more likely to purchase your product or service. HubSpot defines an MQL as a lead who has been deemed more likely to become a customer compared to other leads. This qualification is based on web pages visited, what has been downloaded and other similar engagement with the business’s content. The tools employed to help identify and move along MQLs are called lead magnets.

We get it. Trying to catch the attention of a prospective customers gets harder every day. Competing for attention gets exhausting for marketers and customers. That is why you, as a company, need to employ multiple methods in order to grab the attention of your next customer. Another method you can add to your utility marketing belt is storytelling.

Storytelling allows a prospective customer to identify more emotionally with your company, product or service. We say more emotionally because people are already emotional buyers. Telling a good story gets people to stop, read and identify. They might buy, they might not. They may also share your story to their friends. Having a good story jump-starts discussion and get those emotions churning. Storytelling is a tool every business can use. Plus, storytelling can break up the mundaneness of any other type of marketing you are currently doing.

What was the open rate of your last email? Was it what you were hoping for? If you’re like most email marketers or business owners who rely on email, you check your open rates regularly. For some, panic may set in if every time you send an email, your open rates fall.

You wonder if you’ve lost your touch or maybe it’s the crazy times we’re living in.

But what if subscribers keep ignoring your emails— should you stop emailing? Does it mean email marketing is dead?

Trust us when we say, email is still working. Think about it—your email address is your ticket to just about anywhere online. Which means you need to figure out why your open rates are tanking— and that’s what we’re going to help you with today.

A home page without a story or a reason to stick around could mean your marketing efforts are falling flat. The home page is the hub of your marketing message. If that message is incoherent or mixed, it can be difficult for your salespeople to do their job. A messy home page can also mean your marketing emails won’t resonate with the people on your list.
No matter the status of your home page, there is always room for improvement. Follow these eight critical components of high-converting home pages and transform your site from a quick exit to a mainstay in web traffic.

Whether you’re a marketer tasked with writing content for a client or you’re a business owner cranking out your own content, there is a huge mistake you could be making—completely ignoring your brand voice.

If you want a fairly simple way to differentiate your business in an overcrowded, competitive market by just being yourself, then you have to find your (brand) voice.

To avoid your marketing content being as boring as a 90-minute college lecture, you want to think of your business or client’s business as a person. People buy from other people, especially people with a personality.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being not great and 10 being exceptional), how are your content marketing efforts going so far this year? If they aren’t where you’d like them to be, might we suggest incorporating video into your marketing strategy?
If you are already stretched pretty thin and at max capacity, you might be thinking, “what’s the point?” Well, do we have news and insight for you!
A whopping 70% of B2B buyers watch videos along their path to purchase. Now, before you go off and create more content for the sake of content, we’ll give you five valuable reasons to make it part of your business’s marketing strategy.

When a prospective customer reads your marketing, they need to connect with what they’re reading. This connection will give you an edge when it comes time for that customer to decide. The company that answers the question, “Who understands me the best?” is the company that will more often win the business.

In Part One of our 15 Engaging Blog Posts You Can Write, we outlined the first six types of posts. We tried to prevent our blog from getting too long-winded, while offering many different ideas for you. Generating content ideas is not always easy and sometimes you hit a roadblock of creativity – we’ve all been there.

As a business, blogging regularly can get tiresome. Running out of topics and content ideas is very common. Keep in mind that not every blog has to be product focused. Weaving in a mix of employee and customer stories or even industry-related topics can give your blog page a refresh and spread out content. Connect with your audience through storytelling and help the audience grow closer to your business.

Many different topics can be used by your business to attract customers. Using a variety of blog topics will draw in a variety of customers.

In these uncertain times, business owners have had to adapt, and many are in new territory as they continue serving their clients. For many, this includes conducting client meetings virtually.

If you’re used to having in-person face time with clients, this can be an adjustment. However, it doesn’t have to be difficult — especially if armed with these five practical ideas to help improve your virtual client meetings.

Negative comments about your business are going to happen eventually. While it may be soothing to believe it won't happen, the reality is that our ultra-connected world makes it easy for us to share our opinion on anything. Rather than dread it, this inter-connected, social media-driven world can be an opportunity to better manage and counter negative feedback.

Digital marketing isn't optional anymore, but how do you determine what's providing the best ROI for your business?

Have you thought about your digital marketing budget for 2020 yet?

When looking at your marketing efforts, the main focus is probably on the results that were achieved. But what have your results actually gotten you?

If you're looking to spice up your summer months or enjoy a sweet treat, check out some of our favorite recipes from the team at AKC Marketing!

If you're worried about your content getting lost in the shuffle, it's time to learn how visuals can help your words stand out and above the rapid flow of content online.

Your ideal prospects are out there, waiting for someone to solve their problems.

You can't avoid social media and be a competitor in 2019. You need a strategy and to pick the best platforms for your content. Find out why a less-is-more approach could be the best social media strategy.

As your prospects move down the sales funnel past the Consideration stage, how do you lock them in to choosing your business? Without a strategy, you might be losing potential customers and not even know it.