Do you really need a marketing strategy?
Of course you do. To be successful, large Fortune 500 companies or small one-man shops need to have a strong marketing strategy that is implemented consistently. However, your marketing objectives don’t have to break the bank and you don’t have to be a creative genius.
Having a solid foundation for your promotional efforts is the key element of any successful marketing strategy. Implementing consistently these promotional activities such as advertising, social media, direct mail or even networking will generate successful marketing leads and successful sales numbers.
Develop a strong marketing foundation to distinguish yourself from your competitors by:
- Defining your product or service: Knowing what your business does should be simple. Right? Can you easily articulate what your business offers to customers in a way they can easily understand? Clarity simplifies what you do or are promoting. And, it helps you when networking, marketing, or selling.
- Identifying your target market: If you don’t have a clear target audience in mind, your marketing campaigns are going to cost you a fortune. Marketing to everyone and anyone is simply a waste of effort, time, and money. Instead, focus your branding and marketing strategies on a specific group of people who genuinely have a need, want, or interest in your company or products..
- Knowing your competition: Competitive intelligence will get you further than a good sales pitch ever will. Things you can do are: know their products by researching on their website, visit with competitors personally. Keep your friends close… and your competitors closer. By analyzing your competition and monitoring them on an ongoing basis, you’ll know their behavior, enabling you to anticipate their actions and stay one step ahead.
- Finding a niche: Is there a market segment that is not currently being served or is not being served well? A niche strategy allows you to focus your marketing efforts and dominate your market, even if you are a small player.
- Developing awareness: It is difficult for a potential client to buy your product or service if they don’t even know or remember it exists. Generally a potential customer will have to be exposed to your product 5 to 15 times before they are likely to think of your product when the need arises. Needs often arise unexpectedly. You must stay in front of your clients consistently if they are going to remember your product when that need arises.
- Building credibility: Not only must clients be aware of your product or service, they also must have a positive disposition toward it. Potential customers must trust that you will deliver what you say you will. Often, especially with large or risky purchases, you need to give them the opportunity to “sample”, “touch”, or “taste” the product in some way. All businesses need to display honesty and credibility in order to gain the trust of customers.
- Being 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. Remember, being consistent creates: accountability, builds reputation, makes you relevant and maintains your message.
- Maintaining Focus: Focus allows for more effective utilization of the scarce resources of time and money. Your promotional budget will bring you greater return if you use it to promote a single product to a narrowly defined target market and if you promote that same product to that same target market over a continuous period of time.
DesignRez helps small and medium sized businesses map their path to success by providing marketing strategy development. For more information call 225-253-3289.