Marketing Strategies
You know it’s going to take a marketing push to meet your sales goals this year. But your budget is tight and you’ll need to use your imagination to make it.
Where to start?
For many business owners, marketing doesn’t come naturally. They lurch from one tactic to another without a clear idea whether the efforts are going to pay off in higher sales.
It’s critical to create a marketing plan before moving on to tactics. And the first step in developing a marketing plan is to understand who your target customers are and what they want from your company.
A good way to gain a better understanding of your customers is to conduct a survey about your products or services. If you can’t afford to hire a research company, do it yourself by creating a short questionnaire and recruiting existing and prospective customers to participate.
It’s typically five times as expensive to make a sale to a new customer as it is to an existing one. So make sure you’re not neglecting the people who already know and trust you.
Consider, for example, taking your best customers out to dinner or golf and using the opportunity to ask them about how to improve your business.
You could also personally write to your top 10 customers to thank them and tell them they’re part of your new loyalty program or invite them to sneak preview your latest product.
The Internet provides you with an inexpensive 24-hour virtual storefront. You can build relationships with prospective customers by offering them high-quality content on your site such as blogs, how-to articles, videos and a newsletter.
You can also extend your reach by using social media. One word of caution however: If you’re not willing to devote six to eight hours a week of an employee’s time, you’re better off going with a simple, well-designed website.
Your building and surrounding land or sidewalk are great places to put up signs and banners. And don’t forget to use your vehicles as moving billboards. But remember: Your images and messages should focus on what you’re selling, not your company’s name.
A media story about your company is generally much more valuable than an advertisement because of the credibility it confers on your business. But in this era of media cutbacks, it’s harder than ever to attract journalists’ attention.
Keep in mind that they’re looking for a compelling story to tell. So help them by letting them know about your innovative product, unusual customer contact or high-stakes gamble that paid off. And keep at it—building relationships with the media will pay off.
Your employees are part of the community and have all sorts of contacts that could help you.
How about inviting employees and their extended families to a fun event at your business?
You may find you get new word-of-mouth business or hear about a potential new business partner. At the very least, your team will come back to work on Monday feeling energized.
By sponsoring a cricket team, hockey team, football team or participating in a charity drive with a cheque and a collection jar in your lunch room or by the cash register, you’re not only doing your part for the community, but also generating goodwill with customers and prospects.
Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensue discussion or debate.
Thank you …Doing business without a marketing plan is like driving without a map. You may get to your destination—eventually—but you risk making time-consuming and costly errors along the way.
You might be assuming there's demand for your product when there isn't, for example. Your services might be priced too low. Or you could be venturing into a market that is impenetrable because of regulatory restrictions.
Want to add word or two?
Marketing plan = confidence
The only way to start a business venture with confidence is to develop a good marketing plan—one that's backed up with facts and research.
The marketing plan also builds confidence with financial institutions, showing lenders that your business has a good chance of being successful.
Contrary to popular belief, a marketing plan is not a one-time effort destined to sit in a binder on your desk. On the contrary, it should be updated on a regular basis to reflect the changing needs of your business and customers.
Your comment ….?
Many companies start with a looking at their firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This involves identifying your competitors, understanding exactly how they operate and becoming familiar with their strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths are any competitive advantage, skill, expertise, proficiency, talent or other factor that improves your company's position in the marketplace and can't be easily copied.
Examples are a well-trained sales team, low staff turnover, high consumer retention or low production costs due to superior technology.
Weaknesses are the factors that reduce your company's ability to achieve its objectives independently. Examples include unreliable delivery, outdated production tools, insufficient marketing efforts and a lack of planning.
Opportunities are ways for your business to grow and be more profitable. These can include seeking new markets, managing technological change or addressing new consumer trends.
You need to look at how your company's main skills can be used to take advantage of these opportunities.
Threats are barriers to entry in your primary markets, such as a labour shortage, legislative hurdles or detrimental economic or political developments.
The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.
Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with your marketing.
Marketing is really just about sharing your passion.
Focus on the present… It’s the best gift you can give yourself.
Social media is about sociology and psychology more than technology