Hello Reader,

Episode 44 of the Wisepreneurs podcast introduces you to Dr Debra Zahay-Blatz, a marketing professor at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.

What I wanted out of the conversation was to provide my listeners with some practical insights into the core marketing concepts and how they apply to your business.

Understanding the Core Concepts

Marketing: Dr Zahay-Blatz defines marketing as delivering value to your customers and capturing value for your firm. It’s about understanding and meeting customer needs in a way that benefits both the customer and the business.

Digital Marketing: Digital marketing leverages digital technologies to facilitate marketing processes, including social media, email marketing, SEO, and online advertising.

Branding: Branding is about making a promise to your customers. It’s what they expect when they interact with your brand.

“A brand is a promise. It’s what you expect when you interact with that brand.”

Strategy: Strategy involves creating a plan to achieve business goals, focusing on differentiation and value creation.

The Eisenhower Matrix and Business Priorities

While not part of the podcast conversation, I want to introduce the Eisenhower Matrix to encourage reflection on the broader aspects of running a business.

Please use it as a diagnostic tool to help prioritise tasks based on urgency and importance. It emphasises focusing on long-term goals, clarifying business aspirations, and understanding client needs.

The matrix highlights the importance of the “Important but Not Urgent” quadrant, which includes strategic activities that drive future success but are often neglected due to daily operational pressures.

The 5-Line Model and Its Relevance To This Topic

Again, this is not part of the podcast conversation, but it will help add context to your business and illustrate where marketing fits in.

I’ve previously discussed the Five-Line Model, a comprehensive framework that identifies all the categories that make up a business. This model aims to help you recognise the critical components of your business beyond just marketing.

By being aware of these areas and using the Eisenhower Matrix, you can identify any parts of your business you may neglect and need to address. This approach allows you to prioritise and allocate your time effectively, ensuring that all aspects of your company receive the attention they need for long-term success.

1. Revenue: Generating consistent revenue is essential for any business to survive. This involves using your expertise and know-how to solve client problems in areas that matter to you, thereby creating and delivering value to your clients.
2. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): The labour and equipment costs of creating your products or services. You can either produce this in-house (make) or outsource the production to another party (buy).
3. Cost of Selling: This category includes the costs associated with marketing, branding, and selling activities, including the time invested. Dr Zahay-Blatz emphasises the importance of effective digital marketing and customer engagement. Neglecting these activities can negatively impact revenue. Maintaining a consistent brand message builds trust and recognition, further contributing to business success.
4. Cost of Running the Business: This category includes managing administrative tasks such as billing, finances, and general operations. While these activities are crucial, spending less time on them can be detrimental compared to focusing on selling and production activities. Effective time management ensures that the business remains efficient and profitable.
5. Profit: Profit is the ultimate measure of business health, reflecting the success of your strategic goals and long-term aspirations.

Conclusion

The key takeaways from this episode are to stay competitive by better understanding what running a business entails and how digital marketing works and fits into your business.

Recognise branding as a promise to your customers, leverage learning as a competitive advantage, and use good data or feedback to align your strategies with your customers’ needs.

The Eisenhower Matrix can help you identify and prioritise tasks effectively, ensuring you focus on customers who drive long-term business success while managing immediate needs.
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You can find the episode here:
​https://www.wisepreneurs.au/digital-marketing-demystified-insights-from-dr-debra-zahay-blatz/​

Future Episodes of the Wisepreneurs Podcast—Continuing Marketing Mastery for Independent Pros

• Fiona Allman-Teen provides a non-tech guide to website mastery, the foundation of your online presence.
• Gill Andrews reveals how compelling messaging can transform an underperforming website into a client-attracting powerhouse and
• Kate Toon shares insider tips on optimizing your site to rank higher on Google searches and expand your visibility.

If you want to improve your marketing, this series will provide a wealth of practical, expert-led strategies to help you survive, grow, and thrive.

Stay curious, stay healthy, and keep thriving

Nigel Rawlins
Wisepreneurs
​https://wisepreneurs.com.au/​

​Check out all the Wisepreneurs Podcasts​
​https://www.wisepreneurs.au/​​

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