MARKETING

TOOLKIT
& Planning Guide
MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

02 DIFFERENTIATION
Adopting the ActionCOACH M i s s i o n , V i s i o n a n d C o r e V a l u e s
(14 Points of C u l t u r e ) is not enough t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e y o u r b u s i n e s s .

Develop the specific unique selling proposition for your organization

that reflects a relevant need in the marketplace that your FIRM

addresses.

Creating a Marketing plans without this key differentiation exercise

will result in less effective campaigns.

Step 1: C r e a t e a M i s s i o n & V i s i o n specific t o y o u r b u s i n e s s

Step 2: C r e a t e Your Own L i s t o f C o r e V a l u e s a n d C u l t u r e P o i n t s
Step 3: C r e a t e a U n i q u e S e l l i n g P r o p o s i t i o n S t a t e m e n t t h a t i s c l e a r and relevant

BRAND STANDARDS
Brand standards will help everyone in your organization know how

the brand is treated and represented in all mediums.

Step 1: Business Name

Try not to limit the name by location only. Consider the

competitive set, marketplace and future applications of

the name. Choose a name that is easy to recall, spell and

meaningful. Avoid being too trendy or obscure. Make sure

the name reflects your mission, vision and core values.

Step 2: Logo or Co-Branded Mark

Make sure the co-branded mark works well with the

ActionCOACH e s t a b l i s h e d s t a n d a r d s , colors and fonts.

Step 3: Memorialize your Brand standards

Ensure you have applicable options for full color and black

and white treatment of your brand and its related mark.

Step 4: Email Signature

Avoid pictures, link and extra images in your signature that

could cause your email to be restricted or end of up SPAM

or Junk Folder.
MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

0 3 DIGITAL FOOTPRINT
Stay consistent and make sure the URL and Social Media handles

you select for your BUSINESS ENTITY follow the business naming

convention you have established.

Step 1: URL/Website address

Choose a URL that is easy to remember and easy to spell.

Step 2: Email Address

Whenever possible link your email address to your Website

and ensure that you have a contact email on all your

correspondence.

Step 3: Social Media Handles

Follow the formatting of each platform to create your

handles or profile names. Be aware of capitalization

limitations or requirements. Avoid adding complexity such as

_ or symbols in your handles.

Step 4: Enable Social Sharing

Ensure that all social media posts, newsletters, blogs have

social sharing icons to make it easy for your recipients to

share the content.

Step 5: Create a Blog o n t h e s i t e t h a t c a n b e i n d e x e d

Step 6: Create a Newsletter Template
Step 7: Create an Email Template f o r y o u r m a s s m a i l e r
Step 8: Use Free SEO t o m e a s u r e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f y o u r w e b s i t e

WEBSITE MUST HAVES

Testimonials
Unique and cool design
Video short and long-format
Speed & good load time performance
FAQ page
Useful content
About Us page
Mobile-friendly
Contact Us page
Easy to navigate, simplified menus
Clear & Updated Footer
Lead magnet and strong calls to action
Internal Links & External Links
Humanity and personality
Blog
Visual interest, licensed photography
Unsubscribe or OPT Out links
Bold Colors
Privacy and Terms & Conditions
San Serif Fonts
Social media links
White Space
Updated and non-duplicated content
 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

04 SYSTEMS
There are variety of marketing systems to put in place to ensure

your strategies are effective.

Choosing the right system for your business is about balancing

short-term usability and long-term growth needs.

Step 1: C h o o s e a C R M ( O n t r a p o r t , H u b S p o t e t c . . . )
Step 2: C h o o s e a M a s s M a i l e r s u c h a s M a i l C h i m p o r Constant

Contact (if not available through your CRM)

Step 3: (optional) Social Media Scheduler (ie; Hootsuite)

New Tool:
Calculate your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
https://www.adroll.com/return-on-ad-spend-calculator

AUDIENCES
Create audience personas to target the types of

client groups you want to attract. Each segment or

audience type should have a unique marketing

strategy, apply specific tactics and have it's own

execution plan.

Plans should be at least 3-month long and have

weekly monitoring of results. Use the data to guide

your campaign adjustments.

Step 1: C r e a t e a u d i e n c e p e r s o n a s
Step 2: C r e a t e U n i q u e s t r a t e g y f o r e a c h p e r s o n a
Step 3: T e s t a n d m e a s u r e
Step 4: U t i l i z e d a t a t o a d j u s t c a m p a i g n s
Step 5: C h a n g e o n e o r t w o e l e m e n t s a t a t i m e

Data Sources: Google Analytics*, Google Search

Console*, Google Keyword Planner*, CRM

Segmentation Data, Email Open/Click Through

Rate/Bounce Rate

* Google tools require the use of a Google Email Address that

needs to be set up at the same time as your website goes LIVE
MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

0 5 PROGRAMS & TOOLS

To make marketing easier utilize free and low cost tools to

make content creation easier. Most of these resources offer

FREE or Trial offers to get familiar with the tool and help you

evaluate which plan or level is best for your business. Most are

month-to-month and do not require large upfront investments.

Step 1: Get a Licensed Image/Photo Library Account

i.e.; Getty Images, iStock Photo, PicMonkey

Step 2: Content Creative Tool

I.e.; Canva; Snip It, Acrobat Pro

Step 3: Landing Page Creator

i.e.; Unbounce, Lead Pages

Step 4: File Sharing Tools

i.e.; OneDrive, Dropbox

Step 5: Teamwork Facilitators

I.e.; Microsoft Teams, Google Sheets

Step 6: Virtual Meeting Options

I.e.; Zoom, Go-To-Webinar

Step 7: Video Creator

I.e.; Lumen 5, Vimeo or Zoom

Step 8: Event Management

I.e.; Eventbrite, Constant Contact

SOCIAL MEDIA SIZES

 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

06 OBJECTIVES
Marketing has to be focused on moving a "suspect or

MARKETING GOALS: stranger" through the customer experience process. As

your potential customers become more aware of your

Broadly speaking, the
ability to solve their problems, they become much
goals of marketing can
more receptive to a 'selling' messages.
be broken down into five

main areas: 1. to raise Selling to a stranger or visitor is often a poor strategy.

brand awareness; 2. to

generate high-quality Customer's become promoters or 'raving fans' once you

leads; 3. to grow and delight them and consistently exceed their

maintain thought expectations.

leadership; 4. to increase
Marketing objectives are a brand’s defined goals. They
customer value; and 5. to

empower your customers outline the intentions of the marketing strategy, and

to become brand provide clear direction for team members to follow.

ambassadors.

Our official slogan is a

Clear Marketing objectives are a pivotal part of a
registered trademark.
marketing strategy. Without defined goals, a brand will

struggle with achieving desired results. Objectives tied to

key results (OKRs) allow the entire organization to work

collaboratively to achieve results.

MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

07 CONTENT TYPES
Content types are the different touchpoints with which prospects,

leads and customers are able to interact with a brand.

Content should be tailored for different platforms and delivery

methods and targeted to specific segments and personas.

Content Types Include:

Blogs Videos Infographics Surveys/Quizzes

Posts E-books Print Materials Testimonials

Ads Checklists Podcasts Webinars/Events

Workshops Conferences Live Streams Quotes

Interviews E-courses Case Studies Newsletters

Emails Text Press Release White Paper

Memes GIFs

THE FUNNEL
The Marketing Funnel allows you to utilize different content at

different parts of the customer's journey. The customer's journey is

divided into different levels. As the customer progresses through

the funnel they become more aware of a brand.

BASIC MARKETING FUNNEL

ssergorP remotsuC

Awareness Prospects

Evaluation
Leads

Conversion
Customers
 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

09 CONTENT MARKETING
At every stage of the Marketing Funnel offering the

appropriate content type is key for maximum impact.

"Despite a misconception

that it's always a top-of-

funnel tactic, content

marketing can help reach

TOP OF FUNNEL: DISCOVERY TOFU people at any stage of the

funnel, and as those people

Blog continue their interactions

Social Media Posts with your organization, it

Videos helps widen the neck of the

Podcasts funnel farther down. And

Infographics because content is all the

words and pictures on (and

MIDDLE OF FUNNEL: CONSIDERATION MOFU
off of) your site, you have a

lot of options to tailor your

E-books, White Papers, Reports or Guides
content marketing message
Case Studies
to where your audience is
Tool Kits, Checklists or Tip Sheets
in that funnel."
Courses
(MOZ.com, 2021)

Surveys/Quizzes

Webinars

BOTTOM OF FUNNEL: CONVERSION BOFU

Competitive Comparisons

Customer Stories

Testimonials

Reviews

Demos

Promotions or Special Offers

BEYOND THE FUNNEL: RETENTION BYFU

Gated or Exclusive Content

Exclusive Offers or Promotions

Special Help or Dedicate support

 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

10 FUNNEL FUNCTIONS
At each level of the funnel the prospective customer

has to be enticed to move forward. Applying the

Five E's to guide the consumer through the process.

At each stage make sure your content matches the

strategy and inspires the action you desire in a

customer.

5 E's of Content Marketing

SEE Brand
Entertain
Awareness

LEARN Brand
Educate
Engagement

DO Lead
Enchant
Generation

BUY Enroll Customer

Acquisition

CARE Enlist
Customer

Loyalty

The Five E's allow you to concentrate on specific emotions you want to trigger in

your prospects. Matching content types with each level is critical for your

marketing strategies to be successful.

 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

11 STRATEGIES &
TACTICS
Referral Program
3 FOUNDATIONAL External Events, Networking and Virtual Touchpoints
STRATEGIES: Branded Materials
Public Relations
SOCIAL There are critical tactics to help market your business.

Create a robust referral program that everyone in

DIRECT
your organization uses. (SOCIAL)

Participate in external events like Chamber expos

ONLINE
virtual happy hours and tradeshows in your

community regularly. (DIRECT, SOCIAL)

Have several types of branded materials you can

share with prospects to keep your brand top of

mind. Pens, stickers, note pads and water bottles

are a great options to ensure your brand is visible.

(DIRECT)

Make sure at least one of your clients is a nonprofit

organization and offer your services pro bono in

exchange for public relations exposure. Ensure that

the nonprofit is actively letting their network know

you are working with them and ask them to display

your materials if possible. (SOCIAL)

Make sure that your digital footprint includes an

updated website, business focused social media

pages, online review profiles and photos are recent.

(ONLINE)

These strategies are foundational and should be

part of your marketing plan from day one.

In addition, here are some other easy and effective

means of building your brand's marketing presence.

Create a Google My Business Page

G e t a Yelp Listing ( C l a i m y o u r B u s i n e s s )

U s e F r e e MOZ.com S E O T o o l s ( k e y w o r d a n d page

analyzer)
 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

11 STORIES
"Storytelling enables marketers to develop a deeper

connection with the audience. Storytelling is a

fundamental human experience that unites people and

drives stronger, deeper connections. From the earliest

recorded history, storytelling was a method used by

cavemen to communicate, educate, share, and connect."

(Forbes.com, 2018)

5 Storytelling is a powerful method for learning. As

marketers, we should always be seeking to learn more

about the world we live in, the brands that we represent,

Things
and the consumers that we serve. One of the things that
every good is unique about stories is that they transmit knowledge

story needs and meaning. We learn from observations, first-hand

experiences, and by sharing those experiences through

stories. Storytelling can be a powerful tool that enables

marketers to understand what is going on in the

marketplace and what that means for the customer,

consumer, society, brand, and company.

1. A HERO Stories can take several content forms:

2. A GOAL Blog

3. AN OBSTACLE Social Media Post

Emails Series
4. A MENTOR OR
Newsletter Filler
SOLUTION

5. A MORAL

Story Telling is... Story Telling isn't...

Useful Information in a Any 10,000 article

narrative form Your sales goal

Something that motivates An advertisement

Something that sparks Boring

emotion Preachy

About a journey A sales pitch

About what your brand Impersonal

stands for Random

About your customers

Has a beginning, a crisis

and a resolution

A chance to interact
 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

12 DEFINING TERMS
A/B Testing
This is the process of comparing two variations of a

single variable to determine which performs best in

QUICK TIP order to help improve marketing efforts. This is often

done in email marketing (with variations in the subject

line or copy), calls-to-action (variations in colors or

verbiage), and landing pages (variations in content).

Blogging
This is short for web log or weblog. An individual or

group of people usually maintains a blog. A personal

blog or business blog will traditionally include regular

entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other

material, such as photos and video. Blogging is a core

7 ESSENTIALS FOR component of inbound marketing, as it can accomplish

AN ELEVATOR several initiatives simultaneously -- like website traffic

PITCH THAT GETS growth, thought leadership, and lead generation.

PEOPLE TO LISTEN
Bounce Rate
Website bounce rate: The percentage of people who
1. Be brief.
land on a page on your website and then leave without

2. Be clear. clicking on anything else or navigating to any other

3. Make it specific pages on your site. A high bounce rate generally leads

to poor conversion rates because no one is staying on

to your audience.
your site long enough to read your content or convert
4. Highlight your
on a landing page (or for any other conversion event).
benefits.

5. Identify the Email bounce rate: The rate at which an email was

problem and your unable to be delivered to a recipient's inbox. A high

solution. bounce rate generally means your lists are out-of-date

or purchased, or they include many invalid email

6. Make a
addresses.
compelling call-

to-action.
Buyer Persona
7. Extend an A semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer

invitation to based on market research and real data about your

existing customers. While it helps marketers like you

continue the
define their target audience, it can also help sales
conversation.
reps qualify leads.
 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

13 DEFINING TERMS
Call-to-Action
A call-to-action is a text link, button, image, or some

QUICK TIP type of web link that encourages a website visitor to

visit a landing page and become of lead. Some

examples of CTAs are “Subscribe Now” or “Download

the Whitepaper Today.” These are important for

marketers because they’re the “bait” that entices a

website visitor to eventually become a lead.

Clickthrough Rate (CTR)

The percentage of your audience that advances (or

clicks through) from one part of your website to the

next step of your marketing campaign. As a

mathematic equation, it’s the total number of clicks

BLOG BEST that your page or CTA receives divided by the number

of opportunities that people had to click (ex: number

PRACTICES INCLUDE: of pageviews, emails sent, and so on).

Word count 500-2,000

Cost-per-Lead (CPL)
Publish to social media The amount it costs your marketing organization to

Include visuals acquire a lead. This factors heavily into CAC (customer

acquisition cost), and is a metric marketers should keep

Include links and
a keen eye on
references

Content about what Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

1. Add up program or advertising spend + salaries +
your customers and
commissions + bonuses + overhead.
prospects are
2. Divide by the number of new customers in that time

searching for period.

Include relevant For example, if you spend $500,000 on Sales and

Marketing in a given month and added 50

keywords
customers that same month, then your CAC was
Be consistent and
$10,000 that month.

publish on a schedule

Responsive to

commentary

Include a form so The ActionCOACH

prospects can sign up Guarantee is a great

Unique Selling Feature.

for regular updates
 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

14 DEFINING TERMS
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
A set of software programs that let companies keep

track of everything they do with their existing and

potential customers. At the simplest level, CRM

DID YOU KNOW? software lets you keep track of all the contact

information for these customers. But CRM systems can

do lots of other things, too, like tracking email, phone

52% of consumers
calls, faxes, and deals; sending personalized emails;
mentioned that
scheduling appointments; and logging every instance
they felt more
of customer service and support. Some systems also
confident in online
incorporate feeds from social media such as

purchase decisions Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others.

after watching

product videos.

Engagement Rate
A popular social media metric used to describe the

amount of interaction -- Likes, shares, comments -- a

piece of content receives. Interactions like these tell

you that your messages are resonating with your fans

and followers.

Evergreen Content
When it comes to
Evergreen content is content that continues to provide

learning about value to readers no matter when they stumble upon it.

products, 68% of In other words, it can be referenced long after it was

consumers prefer originally published, and even then, it's still valuable to

short videos over the reader. Typically, a piece of evergreen content is

articles or website timeless, valuable, high quality, and canonical or

definitive. These posts are typically a content

posts,
marketer's best friend because of the tremendous SEO
infographics,
value they provide.
manuals and more.

Hashtag
Hashtags are a way for you and your readers to

interact with each other on social media and have

conversations about a particular piece of content.

They tie public conversations on Twitter, Facebook,

and Instagram together into a single stream, which

users can find by searching for a hashtag

 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

15 DEFINING TERMS
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing refers to marketing activities that draw

visitors in, rather than marketers having to go out to get

QUICK TIP prospects' attention. It's all about earning the attention of

customers, making the company easy to find online, and

LANDING PAGE MUST drawing customers to the website by producing interesting,

HAVES: helpful content. By aligning the content you publish with your

customer’s interests, you naturally attract inbound traffic

1. Great Headline that you can then convert, close, and delight over time.

2. Sub Headline
Infographic
3. Short Video
A highly visual piece of content that is very popular among
4. A Call To Action
digital marketers as a way of relaying complex concepts in a

5. Bullet points with the simple and visual way.

most important info,

offer details, or quick Keyword

tips Sometimes referred to as "keyword phrases," keywords are

the topics that webpages get indexed for in search results

6. Brand Highlights
by engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Picking keywords
7. Testimonials
that you’ll optimize a webpage for is a two-part effort. First,
8. Most or all of the
you’ll want to ensure the keyword has significant search
relevant information is
volume and is not too difficult to rank for. Then, you’ll want

"above the fold" on the to ensure it aligns with your target audience

screen

Landing Page
A landing page is a website page containing a form that is

used for lead generation. This page revolves around a

marketing offer, such as an ebook or a webinar, and serves

to capture visitor information in exchange for the valuable

offer. Landing pages are the gatekeepers of the conversion

path and are what separates a website visitor from

becoming a lead in the buying process.

Lead Nurturing
Sometimes referred to as “drip marketing,” lead nurturing is
At any one time consider
the practice of developing a series of communications
having 5-10 landing pages
(emails, social media messages, etc.) that seek to qualify a
one for each specific
lead, keep it engaged, and gradually push it down the sales
objectives running at the
funnel. Inbound marketing is all about delivering valuable
same time with lead
content to the right audience -- and lead nurturing helps
magnets and sign up forms.
foster this by providing contextually relevant information to a

lead during different stages of the buying lifecycle.

 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

16 DEFINING TERMS
Long-Tail Keyword
A long-tail keyword is a very targeted search phrase that

contains three or more words. It often contains a head term,

which is a more generic search term, plus one or two

QUICK TIP additional words that refine the search term. Long-tail

keywords are more specific, which means visitors that land on

your website from a long-tail search term are more qualified,

and consequently, more likely to convert.

Native Advertising
A type of online advertising that takes on the form and

function of the platform it appears on. Its purpose is to make

ads feel less like ads, and more like part of the conversation.

YOUR NEWSLETTER Page View

SHOULD HAVE: A request to load a single web page on the internet.

Marketers use them to analyze their website and to see if any

change on the webpage results in more or fewer page views.

1. Consistent theme or look

2. Subject line Pay-per-Click (PPC)

The amount of money spent to get a digital advertisement
3. News worthy content
clicked. Also an internet advertising model where advertisers

4. Ask for feedback pay a publisher (usually a search engine, social media site, or

website owner) a certain amount of money every time their ad

5. Relevant Links
is clicked.
6. OPT OUT option

7. Social Sharing icons Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The practice of enhancing where a webpage appears in
8. Visual Interest
search results. By adjusting a webpage's on-page SEO
9. Call to Action
elements and influencing off-page SEO factors, an inbound

10. Schedule marketer can improve where a webpage appears in search

engine results.
11. Date, Volume or Number

Smarketing
A fun phrase used to refer to the practice of aligning Sales

and Marketing efforts. In a perfect world, marketing would

pass off tons of fully qualified leads to the sales team, who

would then subsequently work every one of those leads

enough times to close them 100% of the time.

 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

17 DEFINING TERMS
Social Proof
Social proof refers to a psychological phenomenon in

which people seek direction from those around them to

QUICK TIP determine how they are supposed to act or think in a

given situation.

Workflow
A workflow is another way to describe a lead nurturing

campaign. It’s a set of triggers and events that move a

lead through the nurturing process. A workflow can also

WRITING A PRESS RELEASE serve other purposes, such as adjust contact properties

on a lead record based on certain conditions, or adding

Grab attention with a
a contact record to a certain list. Regardless of how you
great headline
use it, workflows can be a very powerful asset in an

inbound marketing strategy.

Include the Who, What,
When, Where, Why and
How i n t h e f i r s t
For more definitions and working examples visit
paragraph (the lead)
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/inbound-marketing-glossary-list

Keep it one page

Use the NEW Quarterly Marketing Planner to

Include interesting stats

and/or quotes organize and schedule your Marketing Plans for

90 days. This will help you memorialize your

Be grammatically activities and will provide reference as you plan

perfect your next quarter.

Include contact
The Quarterly Marketing Planner is
information and

company details
located on the ActionCOACH
Dashboard.
Use a branded template

for consistency which

contains your logo

###
 MARKETING TOOLKIT 2021

18 RESOURCES
QUICK Reference Guide: A l l o f t h e r e s o u r c e s
b e l o w a r e l o c a t e d i n t h e My Marketing Assets

QUICK TIP o n t h e ActionCOACH Dashboard .

EMAIL SIGNATURES
SHOULD BE SIMPLE, ActionCOACH Brand Standards
EASY TO READ &
INCLUDE: ActionCOACH Web & CO-Branding Standards

Basics:
Logo Files
First and Last Name

Job Title & Department

Content Calendar 2021
Full Address

Direct Phone

Mobile Phone
Marketing Made Simple (Custom Marketing Program)

Email

Company Website Marketing Roundtable Webinar Replays

Monthly Newsletter Templates & Content

Awards List and Logo File

Extras:
Powerpoint Templates
Social Profile Icons

Booking Links

Industry Disclaimer or

Legal Requirements

Photo or Logo

Pronouns

Eliminate:
Too Many Images or

Logos

Personal Awards

Images or
FILE TYPES:
Additional External JPEG- Digital Image or Picture

Links PNG- High Res Image without a background

PDF - Document File (can be edited)

Animated GIFs
SVG- Sharp Vector Image
Outdated, old content Digital photos need to be
GIF- Animated Clip
high resolution and at
MP4- Video file
least 72dpi
 OFFICIAL LOGOS AND SLOGANS:

HORIZONTAL FULL COLOR

BUSINESS COACHING UPPER CASE

STACKED FULL COLOR

BUSINESS COACHING UPPER CASE

GUARANTEE SEAL & BADGE

SLOGAN WITH SHADOW

THERE ARE NONE SHADOW OPTIONS ALSO

AVAILABLE

Download copies to a local drive you can access them easily

OFFICIAL LOGOS HAVE SPECIFIC COLORS

AVAILABLE IN THE BRAND STANDARD STYLE GUIDE
Questions:
email us at

actionmarketing@actioncoach.com

ACTIONCOACH.COM