By Jim Schakenbach
The digital age has ushered in a host of new and exciting tools for marketers, including interactive websites, streaming audio and video, blogging, webcasting, and wireless content distribution, to name just a few. It's no wonder companies often lose track of how to effectively organize their marketing outreach programs.
Often, companies will react to less than satisfactory sales or some other performance benchmark by paying for a glitzy website redesign or other expensive graphical overhaul when, in fact, far more effective results can often be achieved through less visible, but equally important means. I'm talking about focusing on the fundamentals.
What Are The Fundamentals?
I like to think of an effective marketing communications program as no different than athletic training. Before you can think about the glamour of the big leagues or the Olympics, you need to start with the basics. In marketing communications, that means spending some time and effort on mastering the less glamorous aspects of outreach that often receive little attention and less respect. These activities can include free industry directory listings, trade show guide listings, trade or professional association registrations, and industry web portal links.
These things cost more in time than in money, but can get your name and contact information distributed far and wide. The more "mundane" activities yield big dividends when potential clients looking for services turn to the industry directory on their desktop (physical or digital) or the show guide they grabbed at a recent trade show to come up with a list of vendors they'll want to check out on the Web. Most of these listings are free, they just take a little time and effort.
Members-Only Premium Content 
Want to read more? Try our Risk-Free 7 Day RainToday Membership Trial with access to:
- Free Webinars: Access all recorded webinars (full members attend all live webinars free).
- Free Tools and Guides: Receive all how-to guides and tools sold in the RainToday Store free.
- Research and Reports: Receive 20% off all research and benchmark reports.
- 1,000+ Articles: Access over 1,000 professional services marketing, sales, and leadership articles.
- Exclusive Premium Content: Access members-only interviews, templates, and case studies.