April Ford

All the late nights, crazy deadlines and high pressure is worth it when you get such kind words from clients like Richard.

"I have found the April Ford team to be one of the best agencies I have worked with in the last 25 years. They take a proactive approach and back it up with compelling and accurate communications. Best of all, they are there when you need them, with quick response times and transparent reporting. You will not be disappointed if you decide to engage them."

Richard Mier - HB Land

Get the right advice.

AF x

Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently? - Nick, Director & Founder at NJN Advisory

This was one of the most powerful, life changing questions I was asked last year.

Thank you.

AF x

Underperformance. It's a scary word no matter what way you use it, and when you make the call about a Google Ad account underperforming, it's a sign you need to dig deeper.

Here are 4 simple data points to look at to help you understand your ad performance. Now, I know they sound super basic, but they tell you a lot about a campaigns performance. They are impressions, clicks, conversions and cost.

Now, let's talk through some scenarios.

If your impressions are high, clicks are low, and conversions are nonexistent, there could be a number of issues you are facing. Firstly, your keywords may be too broad meaning your ad and service are not relevant for the search terms they show up for. Secondly, your ad copy may be lacking. This leads to higher impressions, but less conversions as consumers are finding more relevant results or competitor ads to be more appealing. To fix this, consider tightening up your keywords and updating your ad copy to better suit the keywords.

Let's say your impressions are high, clicks are high, but conversions are not coming through. First things first, check on the UX of your website. Does your website match the purpose of your keywords and search terms people are clicking on your ads from? Are you asking too many questions on your webform? Review your competitors, is their offer or price point simply better? All of these roadblocks equate to reasons why someone doesn't convert. Other reasons related to your ad account could be incorrect location targeting, competitors entering the market or keywords being too broad.

And what if, you have high impressions, high clicks, high conversions, but your cost is also high making the campaign ROI not viable? Now is the time to review your entire strategy. My tip here, first look at the history of the campaign, don't look at it over 30 days, if it's been going for some time, increase the window to 90, 180 or 360 days. Analyse it, were changes made that impacted the performance? Has demand dropped due to time of year or something in the economy or marketplace.

Whilst these data points are basic, they give a starting point of what to look at next to improve performance.

AF x

Quick q, do we love or hate pmax campaigns? Spill...

Innovate or die. It's brutal but true.

I spend my days researching better ways to do things. Technology changes so fast. Every day, there are new ways to do just about anything.

Need to see a visual map of your sales for the past 12 months? I can do that.
Want to ask questions about a large GA4 report without using excel? Easy.
Like to see all of your digital marketing data in one place? Same. And yep, we do that too.
Need call sheets for appointment setters? Done.

Get the right advice.

AF x

TECH DEEP DIVE ▶️ I recently had the absolute pleasure of rolling out Pipedrive for a client along-side the team of legends at Motii. My team and I work with a lot of CRM's, and advising clients to change their CRM's is not a light recommendation. However, with an ageing tech stack, and all eggs in a basket that just didn't function anymore, it was the right decision from a Marketing Consultancy standpoint.

Now, each CRM has different features, pros and cons, and choosing the right one really depends on the number one problem you are trying to solve. For this client, it was to centralise and record the entire customer journey for a premium purchase.

For this client, Pipedrive fit the brief. And because I thrive when solving problems for my clients, I thought I would share 5 things that I love about Pipedrive.

1. UX - OMG it is good. Like really good. It's clean, modern, and easy on the eye. With the right fonts for easy reading, and structure of data that just makes sense.

2. Automation - If automating actions like adding comments, updating fields, moving stages in a pipeline, email automation... and the list goes on, is important, Pipedrive has got you covered. I have especially enjoyed their labels function in automations to group contacts and deals for quick and easy reporting.

3. Leads - For high volume lead generation clients, having a separate area for unqualified leads is a game changer. Keeping your deals that are qualified separate from your leads keeps your sales teams' pipeline clean, making it super easy to plugin a Sales Assistant or Appointment-Setter to help get through the lead volume.

4. Insights - If your data input is good, your reports can be amazing. Use insights to build out reports for actions or tasks, sales pipeline, labels... basically anything you need. The best part is, if you have people that require reports, but don't necessarily need to log in daily, you can build a dashboard and share a link with them that automatically updates with fresh data, saving you $ in user accounts, and creating accessibility to KPI's for everyone who needs to see reporting. A special bonus point here as you can create unique links to allocate to different people, making it easy to remove access if you ever need to.

5. PDF Signatures - Say goodbye to additional tools like PandaDoc or Docusign. Need proposals signed, quotes, or contracts, this might be a way to track the journey of your document, including allowing multiple signatures, and tracking. It won't suit complicated documentation, but it's definitely worth reviewing as an option if you are trying to reduce your tech stack and centralise where you can.

Now I have to point out, that setting up a new CRM when you have no data is pretty easy, but when you are moving systems, creating connections, etc. you need to align yourself with specialists like Motii to help. As the acting CMO for my client, I had the insight into what was required from an operational standpoint, partnering Motii helped bring the complicated tech stack together. A big thanks to Sam, Ben and Ben.

And yes, you either love or hate a CRM. And I am a Pipedrive convert and can publicly say I love it.

AF x

What do you need from your agency in todays post-covid, free money market? Strong leadership, data-based decision-making and commercial maturity.

Get the right advice from the agency that is focused on your performance.

Vale Charlie.
Always revered, never forgotten.
Charlie, you shaped the world and minds of those who occupy it.
"Always take the high road, it's far less crowded." Charlie Munger

Thanks for the reminder Ray.

I am just going to leave this here.

Financial Dispute Legal is one of Australia's most successful financial litigation law firms. Winning 150 cases and recouping over $30 million in funds for its clients in just the last few years alone.

Stop searching. Start growing. → www.aprilford.com

What strategies are the best-performing brands in Australia using to generate sales-qualified leads at mass right now? Learn five of the most effective tactics in our latest insight.

Stop searching. Start growing. → www.aprilford.com/5-lead-generation-strategies

Our advertising team is growing. If you are a Senior Digital Marketing Manager with experience in digital advertising management, we'd love to hear from you.

Our high-performing team delivers marketing and advertising projects to an extensive portfolio of clients Australia-wide. We are looking for someone with a growth and conversion mindset that fits our team culture and believes in our vision.

Read more details and how to apply here. → https://www.seek.com.au/job/69935011

Mega growth? That's an understatement. The ripple effect of ↑629% online sales growth has seen this brand open 23 new stores in the five years. Now the largest of its kind in Australia, the independent retailer and wholesaler continues to dominate its medical provider category. Just wait to see what we've got in store for the next five.

Stop searching. Start growing. → www.aprilford.com

Do you truly know your customers' needs and motives? Our intent-driven customer journeys create personalised and meaningful engagement, making the path to purchase smoother. We meticulously analyse every detail to reduce friction and effortlessly guide the customer from awareness to conversion. Make every step count.

Stop searching. Start growing. → www.aprilford.com

Defying the post-EOFY spending slump was no mistake. While many businesses are trying to recover, this national workwear brand maintained a heavy-lifting performance-focused Google ads strategy to maximise profits, clocking a 127% YOY growth from 2022. When others slow down, opportunity knocks.

Stop searching. Start growing. → www.aprilford.com

Want to increase your brand equity and stretch that all important dollar? Here are our three rules to live and die by.

1. Always be customer-centric.
Understanding your customer data is key to driving growth. Analyse, learn and adapt your strategy based on audience needs to ensure your strategy continues to turn a profit.

2. Simplify your lead funnel.
Too many questions on a lead form or asking for a deposit upfront could deter prospects. Remember, you want their details so you can nurture them and prove your value. Don’t overcomplicate it.

3. Test & optimise everything.
And we don’t just mean ads. Every step in your performance strategy presents an opportunity to test, evaluate and improve for better results. A healthy feedback loop leads to a healthy margin.

What rules do you live by for your brand's success? Let us know in the comment below.

Stop searching. Start growing. → www.aprilford.com

It's tough out there. Business owners are dealing with snake oil salesmen. Everyone wants more from less. It's a time when others start to falter; those with a growth mindset will get ahead in leaps and bounds. The question is, are you cutting back or willing to go harder? Determine your future in our latest insight.

Read Snake Oil, Jesus & A Crystal Ball now. → www.aprilford.com/insights-press-announcements/snake-oil-jesus-crystal-ball

Name one person on the Sunshine Coast who hasn't had Beefy's - Australia's Best Pies. We're stoked to be working with the iconic local brand again to beef up its strategy and feed more pie lovers with pastry perfection.

Stop searching. Start growing. → www.aprilford.com

Tracking your ROI is your crystal ball to see into the future. Identifying when you're ready to scale up or where to resolve issues starts by knowing how your investments are performing. Here's why it will pay off.

1. PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS - Are you hitting your goals? Keep performing at your best by measuring strategy effectiveness against ROI benchmarks to find weak links or add resources.

2. ADAPTABILITY – Market conditions and consumer behaviour will fluctuate. Remaining responsive and measuring your ROI is your ticket to keeping your returns steady.

4. SCALE & GROWTH – Tracking every business move on your path to growth ensures every level up is sustainable and profitable.

5. CALCULATING CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE (CLTV) – Tracking your ROI over time paints a more complete picture of customer value and the cost of acquisition.

6. ACCOUNTABILITY – ROI holds campaigns and agencies accountable, so you know exactly how each plays its part in contributing to your bottom line.

Stop searching. Start growing. → www.aprilford.com