What happens in 15 years of marketing ?

In this age of slam-bam, rapidly accelerating changes – a LOT!

Back in 2004, I stepped away from the corporate marketing world to launch my own agency. One of the first things I did was to create a four-color, four- page newsletter to showcase my services.  I had no website.  Not that websites weren’t a thing back then, but most small businesses didn’t have them.

And search engines?  Do you remember Ask Jeeves, Yahoo Search and MSN Search? Google wasn’t yet on the radar of consumers.

All of my work was print – postcards, brochures, ads, etc., and I teamed up with the extremely talented Mary Ann Beane, who continues to do amazing work for M @ W.

And social media? Look at this little gem from the archives:

“Facebook is the second largest social network on the web, behind only MySpace in terms of traffic. Primarily focused on high school to college students, Facebook has been gaining market share, and more significantly a supportive user base.”*

And how about email newsletters – those gems we need to keep “cleaning out” of our inboxes?

The first electronic mail was sent in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson, a programmer working on applications for MIT’s Arpanet project (essentially the start of what we know today as the internet), according to Towerdata.

And amazingly, the first email marketing blast was sent in 1978 by Gary Thuerk who worked for Digital Equipment Corp. His email blast was sent to 400 recipients as a promotion for his company’s computers, and it actually resulted in $13 million in sales. Taking inflation into account, that’s equivalent to about $78.8 million today.

Email still has the highest return on investment per marketing dollar spent, according to the Data & Marketing Association. And while Facebook, especially, has whipsawed marketers with ever-changing rules about how to reach customers—and how much Facebook will charge for the privilege—with email, a company owns its own lists.

What hasn’t changed; the need to focus on clients and customers!  Know who your ideal clients and customers are, and go after them with a laser-like focus. Describe them, who are they, what are their interests?  Why is your product or service the best option for THEM?

For example:  Marketing @ Work’s clients are small businesses and non-profit organizations that are too small to afford a professional marketing on their staff, but they still need professional but affordable marketing services to grow their businesses. That’s what we provide!

In celebration of our 15th anniversary, we’re offering this free guide “How to Create an Effective Marketing Plan in 6 Simple Steps!”  To get your free copy, click here.