Editor’s Note: We ask PR and marketing leaders to tell us about people who’ve influenced their career, the best advice they’ve received and recent trends. This week we speak with Melissa Galland, marketing manager, Adair Homes.
“Once you stop learning, you start dying.”Albert Einstein uttered those words, but I heard them from my high school yearbook faculty advisor, Mrs. Gail Huibregtse. In this ever-evolving field, you will be unable to bring success to your brand or yourself if you aren’t keeping current. I devote time to researching ideas online, being active in marketing groups, reading, attending webinars & classes and maybe most importantly, being unafraid to ask questions.
My time with Pinnacle Marketing Group was a turning point in my career. The support and encouragement I received from the team inspired me to be more than I ever thought I could be. I loved the way I was invited to collaborate and share ideas with the team despite my very junior level at the time. This experience transformed not only my confidence, but also how I work with others. Now whenever I start working with someone new, I start by telling them, “My best idea ever plus your best idea ever is probably actually the best idea for now—soon we will come up with something even better!”
I’m watching closely the combination of content marketing and inbound marketing. This combination allows for a more customer-centric strategy, positioning companies and brands to solve problems and answer questions for customers. It’s not just about pretty photos or a catchy slogan—we are helping people. To develop the best content for this we must listen to what our customers are saying in person, on social media and in surveys. Extensive market research and a strong knowledge base also are critical. It is important not only to answer questions customers are asking, but if you can answer the questions they didn’t know they had, it will increase their ability to consider you a trusted advisor.
Our most downloaded piece of content is our Timeline Guide. We developed it after hearing customer feedback from multiple sources that they didn’t understand the building process. Some of the feedback was shocking to us. For example, while we celebrate when a project is completed ahead of schedule, the customer is frustrated with how long a project took. Now, when customers download the Timeline Guide they come into the building process better informed. It has had such a significant impact for those customers that it is now part of an email workflow to ensure all customers who have signed with us and have not already downloaded that piece of content will have a chance to read it.
Without a doubt, the platform I have found to be most effective is HubSpot. Our online traffic has been soaring since we started using it in November 2016. It’s so much more than the volume of leads when you are running a successful inbound campaign. We’ve noticed customers who come to us through these campaigns are more informed about our process and more excited to move forward. Now we are working to harness HubSpot’s power to offer continued support to customers once they sign a contract with us.
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