Last week I did my Marketing Map seminar for the Toronto chapter of the Association of Independent Professionals – AIP. Donna Papacosta interviewed me after and posted a podcast online.

AIP Interview with Faith Seekings and Donna Papacosta

I’m very pleased how well received and very rewarding considering they are all communications professionals. Even though they’re in similar businesses, the Rapport Marketing Map gave them a new way to look at the time and money they are spending on marketing efforts. They said they found it useful for themselves and see how it can benefit their clients too. Due to time limits, we focused on developing the map itself.

The Marketing Map Basics

I’ve described how to do this before, but essentially: you start by determining the thing you want people to do that usually leads to a sale (ie: call for a consultation or fill out a discovery form). Then, with this thing at the centre, you plot out all the different marketing tools you use and see how well they all work together. Don’t forget these tools are not only your business card and website, but any public-facing, company representing interaction like how you introduce yourself, your blog and your team members.

Top Three Points

You would review your tools for consistency: look, feel, messaging, etc. Then, how well they lead to each other: a dead end tool such as a piece of swag with no URL on it is a waste of money if it doesn’t lead to the something else. Then finally, how well your tools lead people to take action we defined, that’s at the centre. You’d be surprised how many companies don’t tell prospects how to do business with them, what to do next. There are often small, easy changes that can correct any gaps you see after you look at your tools this way. When they all work well together, each has more value and better ROI.

This isn’t meant to replace a marketing plan, but it’s a great way to make sure your marketing budget is working as hard as it can.