Marketing Strategy Archives – Sunwapta Solutions

7 Oct 2024

Planning Tips to Avoid the eCommerce Iceberg

By Doug Wagner|2024-10-07T17:26:07-06:00October 7th, 2024|Categories: Business Strategy, eCommerce, Sales, Working on the Business|Tags: business advice, business growth, Business Planning, business strategy, business success, Clients, Creating Value, eCommerce, Inventory, marketing, Marketing Strategy, sales, small business, success, Working on the Business|

Implementing eCommerce at scale is not for the faint of heart. Yet, with some good eCommerce planning it can be done in phases and reduce both stress and risk.

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Once you attempt to scale any part of the business, you must make that part of the process more efficient. Once you do, you will inevitably find that some other part of your business becomes the limiting factor.

This moving bottleneck problem is true for eCommerce as well.

eCommerce Bottlenecks

Suppose you have a decent retail component […]

16 May 2021

Lessons in Business – Communicating 21 Years of Quiet Success

By Doug Wagner|2021-05-16T19:35:54-06:00May 16th, 2021|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Marketing, Sales|Tags: adding value, advice, Brand Strategy, business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, Clients, Creating Value, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, marketing, Marketing Strategy, sales, small business, success, Working on the Business|

What do you say when someone says, “So, what does your business do?” Communicating what success looks like for your customers is key.

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We don’t sell anything popular like pizza or chocolate. We aren’t spies or secret agents. Or superheroes who wear capes.

For almost 21 years, we’ve run a software and business consulting company that quietly serves other businesses.

This line of business is not as glamourous and sexy as it sounds. Really.

It is complex.

How Communicating Usually Works

Unlike financial planners, real estate […]

23 Jul 2020

How to Fight the Right Fight – Pick a Rising Trend

By Doug Wagner|2020-07-23T00:08:39-06:00July 23rd, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|Tags: advice, business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, Creating Value, Entrepreneurship, Marketing Strategy, Pandemic, Rising Tide, Rising Trends, small business, small business owner, strategy, success|

“A rising tide raises all ships.” ~ John F. Kennedy

The tide is a metaphor for the overall economy. The theory is that if the overall economy is rising, everyone benefits. Conversely, if the tide is falling, everyone suffers.

Yet, is any of this consistently accurate? Does the tide affect every business the same?

Looking Closer at the Trends

To see the overall economy, you have to zoom way out. When you are at this level, you can’t easily see any details.

To find meaning – cause and effect – you […]

3 Jan 2018

The 5 Big Problems with Social Media Automation

By Doug Wagner|2018-01-03T19:05:21-07:00January 3rd, 2018|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing|Tags: Audience, Automated Responses, business advice, business strategy, content, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, Inbound Prospecting, marketing, Marketing Strategy, problems, Scheduling Posts, Scheduling Social Media, small business, small business owner, Social Engagement, Social Marketing, social media, social media automation, Social Media Engagement, Traditional Marketing|

Don’t get me wrong. The promise of social media automation is both alluring and useful.

Unless you have a dedicated social media team – a luxury few SMBs have – you have other tasks and responsibilities during your workday. As well, you might need the illusion of a 24/7 presence to address the different time zones and locations of your prospects, clients, and fans.

Scheduling posts is essential for most marketing teams, and we are not talking […]

22 Dec 2017

A Year of Reflections and Shining a Light on 2018

By Doug Wagner|2017-12-22T21:13:37-07:00December 22nd, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Marketing, Sales, Software Development|Tags: adding value, business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, Clients, Creating Value, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, inbound marketing, innovation, innovation engine, Lead Generation, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Online Marketing, Perfect Client, revenue engine, sales, sales enablement, sales process, small business, software development, strategy, success, Tax Checklist, workflow, Working on the Business|

Reflecting back over the last year, we’ve seen a number of local businesses close their doors and countless more struggle. It hasn’t been an easy year for us either.

Through tough times come some of the most valuable business lessons. The biggest one is to avoid facing tough times whenever you can. In my opinion, it is far better to be struggling with growth challenges.

Part of being in business for 17 years is making […]

18 Oct 2017

80/20 David and Goliath: The Power of Ideal Clients

By Doug Wagner|2017-10-18T17:15:20-06:00October 18th, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales|Tags: 80/20 rule, Big Fish in Small Pond, Brand Strategy, business strategy, Clients, Customer Acquisition, David and Goliath, Entrepreneurship, Go-Giver, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, Lead Generation, Malcolm Gladwell, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Perfect Client, sales, small business|

Your prospects naturally compare your business to what they perceive as your competition. If you want to get leads and acquire customers efficiently, you have to choose your market and ideal clients carefully.

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It turns out how we feel about our achievements is relative to how we measure ourselves. How we perform in the future, is impacted by how we relate to the results of the measurement.

Harvard or MIT

If you graduate at the top […]

18 Sep 2017

How to Avoid Setting Your New Salesperson Up For Failure

By Doug Wagner|2017-09-19T12:25:35-06:00September 18th, 2017|Categories: Marketing, Oilfield Pulse, Sales, Working on the Business|Tags: business, business growth, business strategy, business success, CRM, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, inbound marketing, Lead Generation, Marketing and Sales, Marketing Strategy, Oilfield Hub, Oilfield Pulse, sales, sales process, Sales Teams, small business, small business owner, smarketing, Steps of the Sale, Working on the Business|

As you grow your business and hire a new salesperson, you are likely leaving money on the table. Are you making one or more of these mistakes and setting your team up for failure?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve met several people who were hired to work […]

25 Jul 2017

Does Your Business Deserve the Marketing Results You Want?

By Doug Wagner|2017-07-26T20:06:46-06:00July 25th, 2017|Categories: Branding, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Oilfield Pulse|Tags: Brand Strategy, business advice, Business Culture, business strategy, Convert Leads, Creating Value, Customer Acquisition, Entrepreneurship, inbound marketing, Lead Conversion, Lead Generation, marketing, Marketing and Sales, Marketing Results, Marketing Services, Marketing Strategy, Oil and Gas Industry, Oilfield Hub, Oilfield Pulse, Online Marketing, sales, Sales Support, small business, smarketing, Social Media Engagement, Systems and Processes, Working on the Business|

Are you holding both the business and your marketing team accountable for marketing results? Wise business leaders understand that effective marketing amplifies the message the company is already putting out – the two must be in sync.

Know What You Control

Three things that you control determine your perceived position in the market include your

Business strategy and how well you execute on it,
Company culture and the people who make that culture, and
Business processes and […]

11 Jul 2017

5 Powerful Moments on the Path to Get More Clients

By Doug Wagner|2017-07-12T16:20:31-06:00July 11th, 2017|Categories: Doug's Blog, Go-Giver Coach, HubSpot Agency Partner, Marketing, Sales|Tags: adding value, Bill Ellis, Bob Burg, business, business advice, business strategy, business success, Certified Go-Giver Coach, Chet Holmes, Clients, Dan Tyre, digital marketing, Dixie Gillaspie, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Get More Clients, HubSpot, HubSpot Agency Partner, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, inbound marketing, Inbound Prospecting, inbound sales, John David Mann, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Online Marketing, Perfect Client, sales, sales process, small business, small business owner, The Go-Giver, The Ultimate Sales Machine, Working on the Business|

Most small businesses start with someone who has an innovative idea, or at least the desire to build a business around what they do. In most cases, these entrepreneurs fall into sales out of necessity. You either figure out how to get more clients, or you fail.

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Our story started this way. Early successes led us to underestimate the power of mastering marketing and sales, both the skills and the […]

9 Jun 2017

5 Ways to Win Survivor Alberta – Business Edition

By Doug Wagner|2017-06-27T14:23:25-06:00June 9th, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Mindset and Motivation, Oilfield Pulse|Tags: Alliances, Brand Strategy, business, business strategy, Business Survival, Game of Business, Growth, leadership, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Mindset, Oilfield Pulse, Partnerships, Skills, strategy, success, Survive, Survive and Thrive, Survivor, Survivor Alberta, team building, Thrive|

The key to being the ultimate survivor in business in an extremely competitive landscape is to have a strategic plan. These five components will help you thrive.

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Before I stopped watching television, I used to watch Survivor. One of my favourite scenes was an episode where Rupert stole shoes and other items from the other tribe, and then they used the pirated loot to trade for more useful – and untraceable – […]