As the year 2015 progresses, the message is loud and clear. Digital marketing is here to stay and is consistently becoming an important consideration of marketing budget for most companies. Companies now are spending equal amounts for TV and on digital. So what now? Well if your website is not fulfilling the latest developments or you are not doing Content Marketing or Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or else developing some strategy for Search Engine Marketing, you might well start doing so. However, buying into the hype of different digital jargons seen online or on social media without a true understanding of the results of digital marketing efforts may turn your marketing effort into a damp squib without the expected results. Here are the 3 biggest mistakes in digital marketing often made by most companies.Mistake 1: Poor PlanningOne biggest mistake that is made in digital marketing is the absence of an organized cohesive strategy, resulting in a waste of valuable time and money, not to mention the loss of opportunity. Before investing, you should plan the following for effective digital marketing:· Understand your market: A sound understanding of a brand’s competitors, customer demographics, geographical boundaries, existing distribution channel, and knowledge of market trends (both about the product and demographic).· Perform a SWOT analysis: Find your opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses.· Clear definition of your marketing objectives: What results you are looking for with your marketing efforts and what KPI’s and goals will you use for measuring success?· Have a budget: What is your budget for this marketing effort and what are the individual marketing channels?Mistake 2: Unrealistic ExpectationsIt should be noted at the very outset that digital should not be taken to mean instant results, especially with companies who are new to this digital marketing practice. In fact, it takes some time for digital campaigns to develop, optimize and improve to get the results you expect for. It is imperative that clients are given realistic expectations. Here are the average timelines per service offered:Pay Per Click Campaign: 90 days.Search Engine Optimization: 90 – 180 days.Social Media: 30 days.Mistake 3: Not Being InformedThe presence of new analytics software makes it easy to track and analyze every view, every click and every dollar. However, what is important is to be informed about how the marketing budget is being spent by the company. So if a marketing agency is working for a brand, important data points should be known to key stakeholders. Hence, if it is a PPC campaign, you should have the knowledge of how to log into AdWords and also be able to check the account history as well as follow any account modifications. This should be true with the different digital aspects. You should have a fair knowledge of the KPI’s, the terms and best practices.If you don’t have the time to go through learning materials, hire a consultant who could run audits and help in removing unqualified work. This will keep the primary marketing agency and staff on their toes and save you money.
3 Digital Marketing Mistakes You Should Be Careful About in 2015
How To Have Success In An Online Business
Developing an online business mindset is critical to the success of an online business. Your online business mindset truly sets the course of your business from day one.People join an online business expecting HUGE results in 2 point 3 seconds and that is NOT how a business of ANY kind is started and grown. A true business takes time to grow and build. There are no shortcuts of ANY kind. So in order to develop the right online business mindset, you have to take a step back and see the grand picture, especially online. Not developing their business mindset causes a lot of errorsWhat you see a lot are people who join an online business, they begin marketing it, and find no success. So then a couple weeks later, they quit that business and join another business, to find the same result. Those I call jumpers. The go from one business to another, only finding pretty much the same result. Maybe the have limited success with one business. But that was not the goal they wanted to achieve.But is that really what the problem is?Not only could it be that your online mindset is out of skew, but it also could be that one does not have the proper skills, know enough marketing methods or the strategies to use them. But rest assured that all comes from your core philosophies about online business.There is a psychological flow of how a mindset is developed, and it goes a little like this. Your core values or philosophies dictate your attitudes, how you feel or react to certain situations. Your attitudes then control what you do, or your actions. Then the actions you take control the results you find out of those action. Then your results dictate your lifestyle or your goals.Philosophy > Attitudes > Actions > Results > LifestyleMost times people jump in mid stream at the actions step and short circuit the entire mindset flow. Why, because they are too eager to get what they want…a different lifestyle. So they get in at the actions step and expect certain results. But as any business person knows there are bumps in the road that will derail you from growing your business. And because of that, eventually, because of bad results, they fall out of the online business entirely.What really has to happen is that they have to take a couple steps back and change their philosophies, their core values, to follow the flow properly. If you do not have your philosophies in the proper format, everything else that follows will fail.When you come into the flow at the actions stage, and you hit a bump in the road, and trust me there will be difficulties in an online business; the step before that, attitude, will dictate how you handle that situation.For instance, if you get in a business and you don’t get the results you want, based on your attitude, how likely are you to stay in the business, let alone be active at all?And that is the reason you see the “jumpers” out on the internet.So one has to get back to their philosophies or core values in order to have online success. Core values could be….Treat this like a business. This is not the lottery. Building an online business takes time, just like any other “real” business.Or since this is a online business, maybe I need to learn more about how to market online properly. Because online business is very much different than a “tangible” business. There are different ways to grow it for success.So if you do not see results in 2 seconds online, that does not mean that the entire online business industry is a scam. That attitude is a result of your core values or philosophies. If one had their philosophies in order, they would know that it takes time to build a business.So if things are not working right in your online business, don’t be to quick to jump to conclusions. Step back, analyze and re-tune your philosophies to get back on the success track.
Alternative Financing Vs. Venture Capital: Which Option Is Best for Boosting Working Capital?
There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.
In today’s uncertain business, economic and regulatory environment, qualifying for a bank loan can be difficult – especially for start-up companies and those that have experienced any type of financial difficulty. Sometimes, owners of businesses that don’t qualify for a bank loan decide that seeking venture capital or bringing on equity investors are other viable options.
But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.
Different Types of Financing
One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.
Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.
But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.
Sometimes, owners are enticed to sell equity by the fact that there is little (if any) out-of-pocket expense. Unlike debt financing, you don’t usually pay interest with equity financing. The equity investor gains its return via the ownership stake gained in your business. But the long-term “cost” of selling equity is always much higher than the short-term cost of debt, in terms of both actual cash cost as well as soft costs like the loss of control and stewardship of your company and the potential future value of the ownership shares that are sold.
Alternative Financing Solutions
But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:
1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.
2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.
3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.
In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:
It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
It may provide the business with access to more capital.
It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.
It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.
A Precious Commodity
Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).
Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.
Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?