I would take your feedback on style or color, and come up with the home page design. As far as the actual design unless you have something you wanted in particular, I would come up with a design once I start the project. Since each new website that I create is so unique, custom and creative I would therefore have to start the project before knowing what I would do design wise because I am more creatively inspired in the actual process of creating the design.
This is why my process works exceptionally well. I am able to be creative without restrictions and then submit the home page design for review and changes. At that time we would make any necessary or needed changes to the site. When that is approved the rest of the website will be built out and completed.
The rule of thumb for a companies marketing budget is that 5 percent of your business revenue should be used for marketing. This of course depends on the business you are in. A consumer product company would spend more than a machine tool company, so 5 percent is a fair starting figure. This 5 percent marketing budget is then divided as needed to work best for your strategy to increase sales and build awareness of your brand. The chart above illustrates a likely assessment for many companies. For many companies, the trade show/event portion of the budget will be the biggest component. With that said, measuring the impact of the trade show investment with other marketing components, is key to continuing this investment activity. It’s not about the exhibit structure, but what the structure is doing to enhance a message and reach a targeted audience that leads to a sale, according to Llona Kitzing.
When setting your marketing budget, no one component of the seven is more important than the other. Your formula for which components you combine is up to you and each must work in harmony. Together they create an integrated marketing strategy.
Collectively, all components should contribute to creating a selling situation. In some cases, when you know exactly what you really need, human contact may not be needed. For example, shopping through the Internet to buy a commodity like a watch, an appliance, or a set of golf clubs, can work just fine and can be less time consuming, provided you know exactly what you are buying and its relative value. But when you are uncertain what you need or expect to receive, human contact is a very powerful tool to influence a decision to buy.
Of all the seven marketing strategies, only two components require eye– to-eye contact where emotion comes into play—direct sales and trade shows. Of all the seven components, trade shows are the greatest
expense and can deliver the greatest return when executed correctly. It must be noted that without the support from each of the other components, this human-contact element would be minimal if starting from scratch to sell your product/service benefits and its value.
A pie chart breakdown showing the components that make up the trade show portion of a marketing investment is another article of discussion.
Trade show marketing can be very expensive, but the return is great if executed and managed properly- especially internationally!
Larry Kulchawik
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