The Creation of a Great Marketing Strategy

In these trying times, there is hardly a small business owner who is not obsessed with this term: marketing strategy. A good marketing strategy can be the difference between success a failure. But before you can create a successful marketing strategy, you need to understand what marketing strategy really means.    

Let’s start with the basics. Your marketing strategy is a group of processes and techniques designed to allow you to direct your marketing resources where they will do the most good towards increasing sales and brand exposure.

Before you can plan your marketing strategy, you have to understand the individual directives.

Define your Business

What are your customers actually buying? What problems are you solving for them? If you are selling tools to help clients accomplish a goal, what is that goal? If you are solving a problem, how would you describe that problem?

Audience

Who makes up your target audience? Describe your perfect customer. Are they old, young, what income range do they fall in, what businesses are they in? What problems are you solving for them? Where are they?

These are all factors in determining your marketing strategy and making sure that your efforts are directed effectively. Who does it make sense for you to dedicate resources to communicate with? For example, an event planner might determine that their target audience is females between the ages of 20-40 with an income of $50,000 or more and school age children.

Brand Trust

Why should potential customers trust and remember your brand? How can you get your brand in people’s minds? Studies show that potential customers need to see your brand associated with your products or services at least three times before they begin to equate the two. You not only need a website, but also social media, blogs, word-of-mouth, mail, catalogs and more to instill that relationship and put your brand in front of your market.

What makes you unique

Unless you are a monopoly, you have competition. What is your competitive advantage that separates you from the pack? Why should your potential customers choose you over your competition? What are the main services, qualities or offers that put you at the top? Speed? Price? Customer Service? Unique products or services?

Are you cultivating your Google and Facebook reviews? Do you respond to reviews and include them on your website?

Consistency

Your brand and messaging must be consistent. Be consistent in every way and in everything you do. This includes the look of your collateral materials, the message you deliver, the level of customer service, and the quality of the product. Being consistent is more important than having the “best” product. This in part is the reason for the success of chains.  If you have not created a Branding Style Guide, now is the time to do so. Colors, Fonts, Logos must be consistent everywhere.

Communication methodology

Now that you have defined your perfect customer, your brand and why they should choose you over your competition, how do you reach them? You can’t just create a website and hope people will find it. Social Media presence is more than just having a Facebook and Twitter account, you have to be active with compelling content that attracts your target market. Paid advertising on Facebook and Google (SEM) will help you put targeting messages in front of your potential customers. This will also help you create followers who will share your messages to others. Digital Marketing, however, is not the panacea for a successful marketing strategy. Print Marketing is still an important element of your marketing campaign. Catalogs, Flyers, Direct Mail and even promotional items are an important piece of your Marketing strategy.

Action

Once you have followers, you need to cultivate that relationship. Regular posts, blog entries and other messaging will keep them active. You need to consistently inform your audience why they need your business, the value you provide and the problems you are solving for them.

You can utilize activities such as advertising, webinars, promotions, customer testimonials, or videos of your staff at work demonstrating the professionalism and attention to detail they provide to your customers.

Google prioritizes websites that are dynamic. Regular updates with new content will keep your website at the top of the search list. The best place to hide a body is on page two of Google search results. Brands stuck on the second page of Google or beyond for their primary, secondary and tertiary keyword phrases are mostly there not because of poor or lack of SEO, but because of lack of activity.

The Best Place To Hide a Body Is On Page Two Of Google Search Results

Metrics

How do you know that your marketing campaign is effective? First and foremost, you MUST ask each potential customer who contacts you, how they found you. Did they find you on Google through a search or click on a Google Ad? Did they see a Facebook Ad? Or are they responding to your mailer? This information is critical for determining which marketing methods are working for you. Are you looking at Google Analytics to determine how people are finding your website? Do you adjust your SEO/SEM accordingly on a regular basis based on this information?

Conclusion

There are no quick fix answers to creating a successful Marketing Strategy. You need to understand your market and use that knowledge to create an effective targeted strategy that delivers your message to your perfect customer. This takes a lot of time, effort and patience as you take the directives and turn them into an effective marketing plan.

Most small business owners are spending all of their time running their businesses and marketing isn’t given the priority it requires. Handing that task to Calliope Concepts will not only free you from having to maintain that task, but will ensure that it is done effectively and efficiently.