Author Archives: StratoServe

AIDA sales funnel and the buyer’s journey to purchase

Businesses tend to wonder about the effectiveness of their advertising spend in terms of what they actually sold that could be attributed to advertising.To understand how advertising works its useful to look at the hierarchy of effects AIDA sales funnel credited to Advertising Hall of Fame member Elias St. Elmo Louis in 1898. No that was not a typo and check out the history of this kind of thinking called Hierarchy of Effects in the article by Barry (1987).

This post was originally published on April 22, 2014. We have many readers asking about the connection between the AIDA sales model and the Digital Customer Journey or Digital Buyer’s’ Journey. We are delighted to update the original post on March 5, 2021. We hope that this will help all businesses come back after COVID as customers go through their AIDA process online.

AdWords for Engineering Companies: start with B2B Buy-Task thinking

Engineering companies are often unsure as to how digital marketing is relevant for them. Frequently, they rely on the sales-force alone to clinch contracts. This can be challenging without digital marketing support. Engineering companies that are in B2B markets need to think in B2B Buy Task format as they structure their Google AdWords campaigns.

[ Note: This post was originally published on May 20, 2016 and due to the great interest of our dear readers this post is updated on March 3, 2021. We have added an example from aerospace from high tech manufacturing. The earlier example food manufacturing remains. In 2021 though, modern food processing facilities tend to be comparable to aerospace in terms of automation, digitization. We hope that this post will inspire readers from manufacturing to redouble their marketing efforts as we come out of COVID 19. ]

How much should I spend on Google AdWords ?

How much should I spend on Google AdWords? is a question that we get asked very often. Earlier this blog provided a strategy answer.

[ Note: This post was originally published on October 28 , 2014. Due to the great interest of our dear readers and many changes in the digital landscape the post is updated on March 2, 2021]

Since we are happily at the vaccination stage of COVID-19 we can expect that life will return to normal in the not too distant future. However, we all realize that buyer behavior for both consumers(B2C) and businesses (B2B) has changed forever. With the huge adoption of online research and buying with COVID lockdowns and stores closed the public has become far comfortable with online commerce.

Segmenting,Targeting and Postioning vs.Google AdWords Account Stucture

The Segmentation,Targeting and Positioning (STP) topic in Marketing is one of those early marketing topics. Once you have figured out what your market offering (product) provides as “value” to your prospective customers- you need to start figuring out your market segmentation, targeting and positioning(STP). Here is a way to think about STP vs. the Google AdWords Account Structure:

[Note: This post was originally posted on May 7, 2015 and is updated on February 24, 2021 due to the interest of our dear readers. An additional section on “Funny Competitors” is added to cheer up our readers as we come out of the pandemic!]

What are your customers searching for? – The Search Terms report in Google AdWords

The search terms report tell you exactly what your customer typed on the Google search bar. The search terms are matched to the keywords you have purchased and a[Note: This post was originally posted on March 22, 2017. Since then there has been great interest on the topic from our dear readers. However, we realized that Google has now deployed (since 2020) enormous machine learning into how ads run. Also, we thought we need to clarify the customer journey more clearly for all clients. Thus the post is updated as of February 17, 2021]particular ad is shown.

Your website does not rank on search engines-your web pages do

A big misconception in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the confusion between web pages and entire websites. Search Engines look at web pages individually and not entire websites. Your entire website does not rank on Google but your web pages do. When SEO wizards claim that we can make your website rank on the firstContinue reading “Your website does not rank on search engines-your web pages do”

Why are impressions free in Google AdWords advertising?

Contrast the PPC model to all other traditional advertising  models like TV,Radio,Newspaper, Billboard or even Direct Mail. You pay for impressions (or potential views called Cost per Mille – CPM ) without really knowing if your prospect actually saw your ad.

What Advertising Media should you use? Media by ELM Appeal

If you are an advertiser, then you need to consider how your customer is likely to process the advertising message that you want to give them. The Media by Appeal graphic with this post is a simple way of looking at what media is best for your message

Derived Demand: Why B2B Marketers Should Care

Every B2B product has a consumer who ultimately pays for it. This is Derived Demand.

Not caring about the final B2C Customer is a big B2B Marketing Mistake.

B2B 6: Do you like being judged? Marketer tips for Supplier Evaluation

The sixth and final step in the B2B buying process is supplier evaluation by the Buyer Organization. And frankly, no one likes being judged! But evaluations are a must in every aspect of life – if we are to develop,improve and evolve.So too with supplier evaluation. As a B2B marketer it’s good to have a growth mindset. Because it keeps you and your organization nimble and agile no matter what the changes in technology and globalization.

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