Can you access any industry benchmarks on marketing spending for comparable companies? It would help to know, at least, conversion rates and performance during the first year. I answered a similar question some time ago and wrote the answer on my blog, including a template for the budget. - (What is a Marketing Budget? http://j.mp/1L9CXaj) I would be happy to help you with the marketing budget for your project. - Book a call.

You are missing whether LinkedIn and mailers are relevant to your target customers and also how they use these media, if your targeting was accurate. - (Buyer Personas http://j.mp/1LPsR1a) GOOD NEWS. Many CEOs of small companies are active on LinkedIn and even write their own content, but I can't help you without knowing which sub-segments you could serve better than anyone else. You can even use LinkedIn to rank CEO's and categorise them by industry, company size and frequency of use, along with other criteria. ---------------------------- SELECTING A MARKETING MIX The better tactical selection will depend on what type of companies your CEOs run, what they expect from a vendor like you and where your target customers are, even if this means websites, phones or apps. CEOs could be more receptive if they thought that you understand their point of view better than anyone else. Perhaps you could get attention from active target members by commenting on their content, (LinkedIn and anywhere else they write) because marketing is about your target, not you. MEDIA PLANNING - (Media Planning http://j.mp/1EByAbz) There are many other variables that will interact along your target's decision process, like influencers and competition. I will only comment, however, on your mix of LinkedIn adverts and a mailer. 1. (LINKEDIN) Your LinkedIn adverts could have been poorly targeted and designed, because you didn't learn your audience's media usage before hitting them. Perhaps your CEOs are more active elsewhere, like Twitter, Facebook or Clarity, This is why I need you to elaborate on your target segments or I can research it for you. ------------------- HACK! If you've still got a list from the mailer, you can check individual names on LinkedIn and interact with them. It would be wise to get a premium plan, at least temporarily, so that you can contact decision makers directly. You can still use the post office for thank you notes and seasonal greetings. -------------------- 2. (MAILER) If the purpose of your mailer was to generate sales leads, the list to which you sent your creatives should have been made of prospects who were most likely to be shopping, based on their past behaviour and not only on demographics, which is often the case when you buy a postal package, but do not control the list. There are many things that could have gone wrong with your mailer and LinkedIn ads each by themselves and many more by combining them. You can't either expect one round of anything to build you an empire, because sales are built on reach and frequency. 3. (OTHER MEDIA) Have you thought of other media, like events? - (Media Planning http://j.mp/1L9U2kw) Speed counts. Your competitors could read this answer and get to your buyers first. Your options are: 1. (SLOW!) Exploring the links above for content. 2. Calling me to start your next marketing plan.

I determine a period to analyse my performance, make self suggestions for improvements and corrections, and also to experiment with new tools. Then it's on to holidays after writing everything down. I work on improvements and corrections upon my return, before going back for another cycle with clients.

------------------------------------------ SEO AND ROI - http://j.mp/1N7JV5A ------------------------------------------- One brand can mean different things to different people, as long as it means profits to you. At least as a rule of thumb. If your situation is similar to the fictitious example under "LOOK AT YOUR BUSINESS MODEL" (below), my recommendation and that of the specialists I represent, would be to create different landing pages on the same site, because it would produce sales sooner, at a lower cost per customer. The top SEO specialist on my team says that she can exploit both opportunities simultaneously by optimising your website for different searches, by different users. The lead web designer told me that the SEO data would help her to design great customer experiences for each segment, based on your sales forecasts. This would make your site more likely to close sales, at your desired prices. We want to persuade YOUR prospects to buy at YOUR desired price. WHAT IS NEXT? Booking a call and feeding me real information so that my team and I can best serve your interests. -------------------------------------- LOOK AT YOUR BUSINESS MODEL - http://j.mp/1gHbqVC ------------------------------------- The answer to how many pages you need depends on which alternative gives you a competitive advantage. SEO is only one tool to exploit such advantage. Both alternatives are hypothetically viable, because you can either create a diversified brand or focused brands with more or less autonomy. 1- Are buyers and students different people? 2- Are your photos unique or stock? b- To what end does your target buy X or Y? c- Why does (or should) your target buy from you? 3- Are you already selling on Etsy and Pinterest? 4- What have been your most successful sales/marketing tactics, if any? 5- Where have you failed and why? ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- OVERLY-SIMPLIFIED FICTITIOUS CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS. -Visit link above for a complimentary business model canvas template. BUYER A (Few) -Innovators and Early Adopters --------------------------------------------------- Opportunities: 1 Moving inventory 2 Referrals 3 Enabling you to command a premium on Buyer B BUYER B (Many) - Early and Late Majorities --------------------------------------------------- Opportunities: 1 Sales of content 2 Sales of workshops 3 Referrals ----------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- Buyer A is a wealthy couple. They make shared decisions and invest in art for its social and financial value. They attend art events where they can network and be seen by other As. A few smart brands use them to influence Buyer B, because Buyer B looks up to Buyer A. Buyer B is a middle aged, professionally successful woman, influenced by Buyer A's purchases, but family priorities keep her from investing in art. Buyer B, however, is able and willing to pay for photography lessons from someone who is being endorsed by Buyer A, because they need a fulfilling creative outlet. WHAT IS NEXT? Booking a call and feeding me real information so that my team and I can best serve your interests.

You can use social listening to find almost anyone and anything on-line. Look for those people who already influence your customers and other entities in your niche or industry. You can begin by reading the custom-post below and continue by booking a call with me. Chances are that I know a few of the experts you are looking for, which could help you to launch faster. "Can This Entrepreneur Find Advisers for Their New Venture?" http://wp.me/p3tZZw-7MH

LOWER THE COST OF TREATMENT THROUGH 2-WAY WEARABLES Create an automated wearable that lowers the cost of treatment for healthcare providers and insurance companies alike. This applies to every niche covered by both kinds of businesses. Find out if there are enough patients who fail to comply with the treatments prescribed, who could be better served by tailored treatments and other insurance options. Check out this video plus article on treatment compliance, from the perspective of a chronic patient, (http://wp.me/p3tZZw-7Mm ) It is quite possible that someone will beat you to it, because it seems that you (or them) could reuse some existing technology, like the wearables that you listed under your question. Schedule a call after watching the video so that we can start working on your marketing plan right away.

* EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL REFERRAL PROGRAMMES * # 1: Linode You can earn credit towards future purchases if your referrals open and keep an account for 90 days. # 2: Dropbox Free additional storage for every referral. - Either programme might have expired by the time I publish this. ** COMPLIMENTARY AUDIO POST ** In an effort to be extra useful, I made you an audio post on affiliate marketing and included some tips, along with a slideshow on regulations. You don't want to spend your profits in lawyers. http://j.mp/1f1hub5 *** OUTSTANDING EXECUTION OF YOUR REFERRAL PROGRAMME *** Kindly book your Clarity call from our website, right next to your personal audio post and increase your company's customer worth. Thank you for the opportunity to serve your business.

A WORD OF CAUTION. Implementing NPS (a form of CSAT) is never simple or straightforward, because this number is based on correlations, which do not necessarily establish cause. Estimating the net promoter score amongst your target customers (including the ones who should reorder) can help you to "draft" a formal research, after which you could determine the factors or variables that influence customer worth, and also the likelihood that buyers will recommend your offer to their peers. USE MULTIPLE SOURCES OF DATA. Surveys are not accurate, but an evaluation made by people with little interest to help you, filled with biases and perhaps, lies. You should compare your findings to transactional data, both within your company and your industry, to determine whether there is consistency between your target's answers, and the shopping behaviour observed between amongst your current customers. I wrote you a tailored post on my blog, which includes a video that explains how to estimate your average NPS http://wp.me/p3tZZw-7EB PLEASE BOOK A CALL DIRECTLY ON THE SITE FOR YOUR FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS.

Read a basic book on the subject so that you can ask specific questions. Affiliate will depend on how your customers and those of your affiliates can benefit from the cross promotion. This book should get you started (I am not an affiliate of them) http://ow.ly/NJl7P

The most important attributes among successful high end brands are personal prestige and scarcity. High quality is expected, though status symbols aim at personal differentiation and are fueled by fashion and consumerism so they are not expected to last. Example: German luxury cars break down often and service costs as much as buying a small car to drive around while your ultimate driving appliance is sulking. These brands are still driven by people with clout among early adopters and late majority members, who also replace their cars often to enjoy the latest technological advancement, which is not available in the current version. This business model increases the frequency of purchase, which creates the illusion of reliability among other luxury car drivers who see BMW & MB fans renew their vows with their favourite brand over and over. Offering free maintenance, which actually means including the cost in the sales price, makes the cars reliable in the eyes of their owners, taking away a common objection. High end brands differentiate their customers from the general market by providing goods and communications which are consistent with what their target group and their influencers consider special, elegant and/or sophisticated. A high end brand must also be wanted by many who can't afford it, in order to make target customers feel privileged for being among the few who can enjoy <insert soft benefit that matters to your target customers> High-end branding is only possible where a few shoppers from the general market can afford something better than what is purely functional. These trends generally begin with an honest commitment to quality, which attracts higher-end buyers, who in turn want the accessories in their lives to remind them of who they think they are, even if they are the only ones who believe it, for as long as they can pay for their vision of themselves. Some high-end brands will even seriously reserve the right to refuse sales to anyone, which increases a brand's scarcity value. This is often the case in the high-end hospitality and retail industries. Before they know it, many high-end buyers become brand champions and defend the money they spent, because their reference groups tell them that they made a good decision. Versace and Gucci, for example, push elegance through Italian design, and positioned as a brand for people who consider themselves elegant. Of course, buyers don't need to be elegant themselves, as long as they can buy an "Elegance Kit" There have been cases, where normally high-end brands, like Versace and Gucci try to enter the mass market and fail in both fronts, because they cease to be by sacrificing what made them a high-end brand in the first place by cutting costs to meet one or more of the price points of the general market. Innovators and personal reference groups can provide good insights through a brand study. Unfortunately, not everyone takes the time to do this and many rely solely on having a technically superior product. Why is scarcity important? Because it makes most people envious, which validates a brand's superiority status, in order to raise and defend its price point. Remember that price indicates segmentation. Patagonia, just like Joseph said, is inspired by the rough end of South America, which explains, if you look around, why you will see so many weekend warriors of all ages wearing Patagonia jackets when they meet other weekend warriors outdoor during winter. (South Americans actually do this) Two of the better things about high end brands is that they benefit greatly from word of mouth in a smaller pool of target buyers, with less competitors taking away the attention that they crave.. There is also the fact that some of us like better quality, which was the original purpose of high end brands in the industrial era. HOW TO DEVELOP AND NURTURE THESE ATTRIBUTES. This should be indicated in your business model canvas and marketing plan. If you can't develop and nurture these attributes, you will never position your brand. I would like to answer any further questions through a call. Meanwhile, you can read these articles to illustrate my answer. Buyer Personas http://ow.ly/ByNHy Shared Brand Ownership http://ow.ly/ByNQn