Business - Marketing strategy consultant

How to get the best results from your digital marketing agency

(This month’s blog comes from our colleague, Charlotte who ran her own business and engaged marketing agencies prior to working with STO Consulting). I am in the fortunate position, having owned my own business for 3 years prior to being in marketing consulting, that I have been a customer of several digital marketing agencies. So I fully understand what the experience is like from the client’s point of view. The expectations, the optimism, and the feeling of being in safe hands when you are promised business growth and you start planning for a more affluent future.

What I learned about business in 2017

Well, it has been a busy start to the year here at STO Consulting. From obtaining a new client on 2^nd January to retained work with ongoing clients. But it’s also worth taking time out to stop and review.

2017 was a decent year for STO. Not world domination just yet – there is room to grow. But good, sustainable growth and a bunch of nice clients with whom I like working.

For completeness it must be said that there have been some negatives, but overall the positives outweigh these many times over.

What will 2017 bring for business?

It’s that time of year again when we start to think ahead and plan for the coming year.

Many of us will be optimistic about what can be achieved with renewed focus, twelve months ahead of us and new ideas to implement. So of course the challenge is to choose the right ideas and see them through.

Best ways to do this? Have a plan. Only do what makes sense for your brand. Allocate time. Allow yourself to work on your business undistracted by the day to day.

Customer retention: Do your processes attract or repel customers?

Getting customers is among the major aims of most businesses. Maybe you are lucky enough to have all you need or you can choose those you want. But you still need to keep them. Have you ever thought about your business processes and how these contribute to your success?

If customer retention matters to you, it could be valuable to do so.

The initial contact, this is where a lot of mistakes are made. If you try to use ‘clever’ tricks to get in touch with me, I won’t trust you. I’ll be constantly on guard for your next little trick. Even if you get away with it, dishonesty is a bad way to begin a customer relationship.