Did you know that one of the biggest trends in marketing for 2013 is mobile marketing? For businesses, it is important to understand what the most affordable and efficient marketing subcategories are. The basics categories of marketing are direct mail marketing, guerilla marketing, content marketing, social media marketing, and traditional print and media marketing. Outbound marketing, which is where the company sends messages out to their potential customers, was popular until the early 2000s. Since then, inbound marketing, which relies on interested customers finding the company, has gained popularity.

Inbound marketing includes social media, SEO marketing to make search engine rankings better and more visible, and optional email services the consumer can sign up for. Not only is inbound marketing less potentially aggravating to the customer, but it also has the advantage of having a much higher close rate than cold calls or mailed letters. So even though you might pay a little more upfront at times, you reap a far greater reward.

One way to help your company improve is to hire a franchise consultant. Franchise consultants specialize in assisting businesses on a number of levels. They can help you with improving brand image across your franchised outlets, they can give you advice on how to better unify or diversify your franchises depending on the situation, and franchise consultants can also give you feedback if you have been considering franchising but have not done so yet. Franchise marketing is an important aspect of business for franchise owners.

Another avenue for brand consulting is a brand marketing agency. These agencies have specialized knowledge in all marketing avenues. They will be a good source of information if you are thinking about tapping into newer categories like mobile marketing, or if you desire to increase the level at which you engage in social media marketing.