I like to actually doodle/draw my thoughts and, in a recent team chat, we were discussing a “friend” (not a client!) who was about to plough all his substantial monthly promotional budget into SEO. Every penny!  We love a bit of SEO, of course, but we were minded to begin by looking at his surrounding corporate picture to make sure that this spend would bear an awful lot of fruit – and seeds for years at that!

But the rather empty website didn’t really work and was certainly not optimised, the content was old and dreary and didn’t answer the fundamental question – what can we do for our customer? The brand was not visible, and the social media channel icons led us down empty streets. You get the picture?

In this case, there was no point investing in SEO until the website framework and content was there and brilliant! Same with the relevant social media channel content. Same with the media reputation and testimonial studies. If you start promoting your wares and values, you must ensure that every single incoming communication path is covered – and professional.

You don’t know where the next big customer will see you – and from where they will further research you before making contact. And how will they make contact – quickly?

Before long, we had drawn a Jenga tower and each block was a “marketing” discipline. For every client, the mix and balance is different.  The final framework is, of course nodding to a budget, but that’s not the main consideration today.  The structure, with timing, of the plans is the main starting point. The marketing world is full to bursting with brilliant tools but none stands alone.  And you don’t want the tower to collapse!