Well, this is not something that can be answered in only a few sentences. Most would say Social Media or something more towards the end of the buying cycle like Search Engine Marketing gives the best return on investment but every situation is different. Something that is best for one business or industry may not be what’s best for the next.

You should find a marketing expert/agency like Quantifi Media that is going to sit down with you and truly understand the objectives and goals of your business. The expert should know what you do, how you do it and WHY you do it so that a good quality marketing campaign can be built out with the right message to your ideal customer using the right advertising avenue.

It is important to understand there is advertising and then there is branding. Yes, all branding is advertising but not all advertising is branding. It is the difference between running a sprint and a marathon. Both are running but they have different goals. Using multiple platforms works best in both of these scenarios.

Word of mouth and referrals will always be an excellent free way to growing your business but there is only so much you can do with word of mouth, there is only so much you can do with referrals. Let’s face it, will you be able to grow your business to its full potential on just word of mouth and referrals? Of course not. You have to use multiple touch points along the path to purchase to create awareness, attract, engage, convert and close.

Growth comes from reaching your target audience using the right solutions along the path to purchase.

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional” - John Maxwell

Now, you got the great marketing plan to get the leads. That’s it right? WRONG. Don’t forget to ask yourself these important questions:

What is my system for handling the leads coming in?

Are all of my customer facing employees trained to handle customer service, lead processing, and sales correctly? (that includes you)

Do I have all of my post sale offline and online marketing assets set up correctly as well?

When engaging in the initial selling process, you should enthusiastically support your customer and let them know the purchase was in their best interests. If that is true, then the enthusiasm shouldn’t dwindle after the purchase. Instead, you should continue to support their decision and strengthen their resolve that they made the right decision. When you don’t have anything further to gain after you’ve made the sale, the customer trusts that you were telling the truth when you encouraged the purchase. Every single interaction should affirm the customer’s decision to make your brand part of their life, forever.