Email Automation or Marketing Automation? Aren't they just the same thing? If not, what's the difference between the two and how do you know which one you need for your business.

Last week the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic and since the global situation is evolving pretty much by the hour. Exactly how should marketers behave during such an unprecedented time?

In the same vein as the panic buying and hoarding that continues to go on, I see some of my fellow marketers and business owners resort to some frenzied and frankly questionable tactics.

When it comes to promoting our businesses, it’s essential that we elevate yourself above the chaos and begin responding in a thoughtful and ethical manner.

Most of us have a sixth sense for businesses that are exploitative of people who may have lost or are on the verge of losing belief in survival of their business or future.

The vast majority I know in business and work with possess a strong moral compass. Unfortunately there are also plenty of charlatans who do the rest of us a great disservice. One example in particular is the area of life and business coaching. Unfortunately for each trustworthy coach that is out there doing great work for their clients, there are several that come across as superficial and, frankly, opportunistic.

But unfortunately the coaching sector is not the only example. I’ve seen plenty of very questionable practices over the past week in particular.

This is exactly why the certain sectors as well as the marketing profession gets a bad rap.

It’s time to stop the frenzy.

It’s time to stop reacting and start responding.

When did you launch you launch your current website? Some months ago, a couple of years? Has it been worth the money and the investment of your time? Do you even know?

When it comes to digital marketing there seems to be a widely held believe that a new website is the cure-all for lacklustre marketing results.

Does the thought of marketing your healthcare services fill you with dread?

If so, it is time "to get over it". Present day healthcare marketing, after all, is not about you. Consumers are now front and centre in a digital health strategy.

One in 20 Google searches are for health related information (source: Google) and 72% of internet users have searched online for health information in the past year (source: Pew Research).

The majority of these searches evolve around:

• symptoms & conditions
• treatments
• healthcare institutions, treatment centres and healthcare professionals

What is your professional services firm going to do differently in terms of marketing this year? Another financial year has just begun and it if you haven’t already (at your most recent partner meeting) reviewed your marketing metrics, then there is no time to waste.

Finding out which marketing activities have generated the most (and best) leads and which ones haven’t is a good starting point. If you know how each initiative has performed, congratulations, you are ahead of the game. I bet your firm is active in the digital or inbound marketing space and you’re gathering data and reviewing your metrics frequently to find out where your best leads come from and at what rate you’re converting web visitors into leads for your firm.

There is no longer any reason why your firm should not all be all over your marketing metrics. You would not devise a financial strategy for your clients without a financial goal right? Marketing needs to have quantifialbe lead generation goals that are aligned with you firm's partners' individual business development goals. 

Let's talk some more about that.