Five Essential Marketing Communications Concerns for Business Owners

Website * Social Media * Paid Advertising * Publicity * Brand Strength

The purposes of all five of these activities are to provide you with a competitive advantage.  

If you recognize the genuine value that these activities can provide you, and you don't have people actively working in these areas, then the following brief notes will help you build an informed perspective from which you can begin your considerations, then make better informed decisions on how to proceed in each area. 

The very first contact most people will have with your company is likely your website.  Is yours current, clearly explaining all of your present offerings?  Is it easy to use, easy for prospects to find the information they need in a minimum amount of time?  Does it encourage readers to take the next step and contact you?  How does it compare with your competitors?  How does it rank in search engines?

Social Media is intended to provide an interactive, ongoing dialog, different from other forms of communications.  Are your postings current?  Do they encourage dialog? Do they make readers comfortable with your company, so when they need what you offer, they'll contact you first?

Paid advertising continues to be an important part of most business's marketing communications.  Are your ads current?  Do they reach a high percentage of prospects, with a message that encourages those prospects to take action?


You probably have substantial publicity opportunities.  Local, regional, and sometimes even national media outlets want to publish information on companies like yours, but the message has to be informative, not direct selling.  Contrary to what many other people say, I do not believe that publicity is "free advertising."  Publicity will work well for you if you have something to say that will benefit the audiences reached by various media outlets.

How strong is your brand?  We all know companies with strong brands like convenience store chains, automotive manufacturers, and fast food franchises.  Here in the Philadelphia area, even some plumbing companies like Horizon Services have established very strong brands.  The question is, how is your company using branding techniques to build awareness and confidence in the minds of your prospects?


Each of these five areas are extremely important to you.  Neglecting just one can create a "weak link" effect, pulling down the rest.

I can help you to make great decisions, with confidence, whenever you face a question on any of these aspects of marketing communications.  When you work with me, you receive the benefit of real world expertise gained by over forty years of working in advertising and marketing.

Although these are the core issues of marketing communications, there are many more important issues that will require your attention in the coming months, such as gender and diversity issues.  

I look forward to working with you, but you need to take the first step today: Call me at 856-942-4434, or e-mail me at steve@thomcomm.com and let's get our dialog started!