6 Questions for: John Londay

We often work closest with the marketing liaisons of our client companies to help make sure the work we put out is streamlined. These people help bridge the gap between our team and the brands, often helping us nail down product particulars and appropriate messaging so we don’t mess it up. John Londay is no exception. As Marketing Leader for YETTER and the Sales Tax Institute, John is Diane Yetter’s right-hand man when it comes to coordinating marketing and promotion.

I talked to John as part of our 6 Questions feature: a series of one-on-one interviews with people we work with who’ve made us proud. We get to work with John frequently and it’s always a pleasure, thanks to his archival knowledge of sales tax, The Bachelor and music. We are grateful for everything we’ve learned from him—in fact, we’re so grateful that we asked him to share some of his tips below.

1. You work closely with us for YETTER and Sales Tax Institute marketing needs. What do you like most about this partnership? Have you learned anything from us along the way?

Everybody on the BatesMeron team is a pleasure to work with—knowledgeable, responsive, and always ready with fresh ideas when I hit a wall creatively. I’ve learned a tremendous amount working with the team. Sales tax isn’t necessarily the easiest forum to engage people in, and BMSD has helped me find ways to get people as excited about our offerings as we are.

2. This last year we’ve made a more concentrated effort in online engagement, particularly regarding LinkedIn. What kind of results have you seen from zeroing in on this business-friendly resource? Do you have any advice for smaller companies when it comes to taking the leap on LinkedIn?

We’ve definitely seen more engagement with our customers and followers in LinkedIn since we’ve ramped up our engagement. BMSD has helped us increase our company followers and we can see that this is translating to traffic to our website. If you’re looking to get more engagement on LinkedIn, a good first step would be to join some groups that are in your area of expertise. Join in on conversations that you can offer some value to, and start discussions on topics that would benefit the group.

3. We spent a lot of time working together on a yearlong marketing plan, why is it important for companies—big and small—to outline a strategy this way?

If you’re going to make yourself and your team accountable for the marketing initiatives you put in place, it’s vital to have a well thought-out marketing plan with concrete, attainable goals and due dates. On top of that, you’ll want to monitor those goals on a monthly basis. Take the time in the beginning to outline exactly what you want to do in a well thought out way then it’s just a matter of executing those goals.

4. How do you make sure the Sales Tax Institute gets noticed on social media?

To make sure people are paying attention to us online and getting value out of our presence there, we present a mix of informative non-promotional posts, links to valuable resources that we offer on our website, and posts promoting our course offerings. We don’t just want to promote our courses. One of our big drives is being the first place people think of when they need sales tax information or education.

5. What have you learned about user experience when it comes to web, email communications and more? How have you adapted the company’s marketing strategy to accommodate those lessons?

Email and content marketing are a big part of our marketing strategy at the Sales Tax Institute. When you’re in regular contact with people who have joined your mailing list or follow you on social media, it’s most important to always be offering valuable new content that they are looking for, whether that is blog posts, information on your website, or course offerings. That’s one of the biggest keys — making sure that you’re providing good content and monitoring to see how your followers are reacting to and engaging with that content.