Loading...
Answers
MenuWhat has been your most successful marketing methods sorted from best to worst that has resulted in good ROI for your business?
What has worked best for your business in terms of bringing in the best ROI based on your data?
Using PPC, Affiliates, SEO, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Content Distribution, Blogger/Influencer Outreach, Press Releases, Joint Ventures, Viral Marketing, Referrals, Giveaways, Etc.?
Answers
The list would depend on your business, audience and overall problem you are solving. Many people focus on the tools, then create process around them and only after that do they pursue an audience.
This equation per se is wrong. The "secret sauce" if you want to call it that way is in your ability to start from the people, then create process of engagement and only then look for tools that allow you to execute your processes.
People > Process > Tools
This is the key. Anyone that start with the tools will be giving you the wrong information. Twitter may be a multi million opportunity for some and a complete failure for others. Radio may be the way some people are successful and that may be completely wrong for my audience.
Marketing is a form a communication and the basics of communication is that there is a message and a receiver. If you neglect the receiver your marketing will fail.
There isn't a "best" method...what works for others may not work for you.
The real question to answer is: "Where is your audience, and how do they interact with you?"
In my case, FB ads are pointless as my target market is not on Facebook. They are in their corporate offices, being bothered by staff. I have to reach them another way. So no matter how well FB ads may work for someone else, they're not right for me.
Authority blog posts and trade publication articles have worked best for my situation. But again, that may not apply to your business.
For Me, highly targeted Facebook ads. Also check out the new Facebook Lead Ads option for building your list, and also FB Livestream for more organic traffic and engagement.
Facebook makes it so easy to target your niche, which makes it by far the best ROI for PPC marketing and lead generation.
Email marketing, hands down. And not the 'ooh I hope they won't unsubscribe so I'll only email once a fortnight' - no, I'm talking about emailing every single day, sometimes even twice a day or more.
The trick is to not bother people, but to be helpful, supportive, inspiring, educational, personable, and fun.
Done right, daily emails are massively effective for building relationships with people, turning readers into buyers, and creating brand ambassadors.
You might think once a day is too often, but my open rates are a consistent 30%, and people love reading them. They write to tell me that they really appreciate the emails, and even say things like 'you're a blessing in my life' and 'I have breakfast with you every morning'. And, yes, people buy from me as well.
See http://martinstellar.com/posts to get an idea of the type of email I write, and if you feel it might work for you but you're not sure how to do it, I'd be happy to jump on a call and answer your questions.
I am a big fan of content marketing. Don't sell to your potential clients, become a resource for them. You will gain their trust, and when they are ready to buy, they will be excited to work with/buy from you.
I blog, email and share social media content on a daily basis, and I (almost) never pitch any product or service. I teach people how to do things for themselves. In the process, I help them learn something new, show them that there are things they didn't know they didn't know, and prove myself a valuable part of their community.
It's a longer version of a sales funnel to be sure, but I've found it to be a very successful, and even enjoyable, path to reaching new potential customers.
Doing presentations has been the most successful for me in reaching business owners as clients. Whether it is a 3 hour workshop on Effective Websites or a 1 hour workshop on Email Marketing, the business owners in attendance are convinced that I know what I'm talking about and that they can trust me. So becoming a subject matter expert is the ideal method for me
Related Questions
-
What is the most creative way to introduce myself (and therefore my service) to 100 key decision-makers without selling or pitching anything?
You've answered your own question. Reach out to your prospects with the question, such as "How would you...". Ask what people want then give it to them if you can with integrity and thoughtfulness.DI
-
How does my startup hire an affordable marketing expert?
I don't even know how to answer this. Do you know what the difference between McDonalds and the local burger joint that is filing for bankruptcy is? It's marketing. McDonalds is worth billions of dollars not because of the quality of their food, but because of their marketing. Marketing is not an expense. A janitor is an expense. Your computer is an expense. Marketing is an INVESTMENT. Would you shop around for the cheapest heart surgeon? Of course not. Because you would likely end up dead. Why, then, do you shop around for a marketing expert? Are you ok with your company going bankrupt? Is that worth the small savings to you? No. Of course not. Hire someone who is good at marketing. Hire someone who knows what they are doing. Buy yourself a Lamborghini with your profit the first quarter. Get a beach house in hawaii. Grab a yacht. Or, try to find your business the cheapest heart surgeon you can and then spend the next five years wondering why such a solid business idea failed in the first 6 months. I'm passionate about this exact topic because all those statistics you read about "70% of businesses failing in two years" are solely because of horrible marketing.AM
-
How to promote a paid iOS app to increase downloads ?
Your best bet to get traction quickly in USA is to advertise on mobile ad networks. You may need to advertise on CPM/CPC basis instead of CPI if you have a paid app so make sure you understand your user lifetime value and watch conversion rates closely so you don't overspend. That said, depending on what your niche/vertical is, there are many other ways to market non-gaming apps.SR
-
How has Uber grown so fast?
Obviously, they do the fundamentals well. Good brand. Good experience. Good word of mouth. Good PR. Etc. Etc. But after my interview with Ryan Graves, the head of Global Operations at Uber (https://www.growthhacker.tv/ryan-graves), it became clear that they are operationally advanced and this is a huge part of their success. I'll explain. Uber isn't just a single startup, it's essentially dozens of startups rolled into one because every time they enter a new city they have to establish themselves from essentially nothing (except whatever brand equity has reached the city ahead of them). This means finding/training drivers, marketing to consumers, and building out local staff to manage operations for that city. This is where Ryan Graves comes in. He has a protocol of everything that must be done, and in what order, and by who, to ensure the best chance of success in a new city. So how has Uber grown so fast? Essentially, they figured out how to grow in one locale and were relentless about refining their launch process to recreate that initial success over and over in new cities. No plan works for every city, and they've had to adapt in many situations, but it is still a driving factor for their success.BT
-
What are average profit margins in Ice Cream store business?
Hi! I am owner of an ice crean chain with 45 stores in Chile. We have stores in shopping centers, streets and also karts that you can put in events and parks. The average cost margin of ice cream (depends on the amount of materials you use in producing the ice cream) is around 40%. This is italian gelatto where you serve the ice cream without a specific measurement so your costs can vary due to the size of each portion you serve. About the brand you should focus on your unique value proposition and what kind of ice cream you are selling. We import the pastry from Italy and the fruits and milk from our country. Your ROI depends on your sales price and costs. If you focus on high market ice cream you can charge high and keep costs down.MF
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.