The term ‘marketing’ is often used to encompass anything you do to get business through the door. Many many think of advertising on TV or in the local papers when it comes to marketing, but the actual marketing process covers many areas, or at least it should if you want to get the best from your marketing budget to elevate and grow your company as it should be.
If you’re looking to get help with your marketing, you may be lucky enough to find one such as Exciting Futures that offers bespoke advice and services and a range of handy expert guides to get you started. Before you start any marketing program however, you’ll need understand why marketing and getting the process right is essential to the growth of your business.
The marketing process must
· Understand the customers you have, want and strive for. Only by doing this can you ascertain what you are already doing well and where you need to change tactics.
· Set a basic strategy. A strategy will help you decide if you are looking to grow by selling to more customers, selling more to the customers you have, or would benefit from extended or reduced products or services focus for your business or at least the campaign you are planning.
· Work to a plan. You need a scope to follow that sets a budget and identifies what you will use to measure success or failure as you progress and in the future.
Following the basic steps above will give you valuable data about how successful your marketing has been and information that can help structure and drive future campaigns. This is important as the one thing you can not do is stand still. The only way to grow your business is to get the marketing right. No matter how great your company, product or service, if you don’t tell the right people in the right way about it, it won’t stay great for long. Only by continually marketing and getting the message out to the public can you be sure that your business will remain at the forefront of people’s minds.
During the lifetime of a business, you will need grow your customer base, which is essential as it is inevitable that you will lose customers over time too, so you must attract new ones. You will see increased sales when your marketing is effective, but equally, if you do not follow rational marketing processes that are right for your aims and business, you can see a lot of money spent and wasted.
Drive awareness and growth
· Optimise your website and social media. Use relevant SEO and metadata to drive traffic to relevant information and products. Learn about business marketing and enlist the help of appropriate experts where needed. After all, you may be great at making your products or directing services, but marketing takes skill and time that many business owners do not have, so don’t be afraid to spend money learning and seeking assistance. It could just save you money in the long run.
· Use the free listings on sites such as Google My Business and Google Maps and business directories to drive traffic to you.
· Be clear on what you are trying to achieve and think carefully about how you will approach customers. Timing is critical. You won’t sell a Christmas tree in April, so whilst this may seem an extreme example, your marketing process must be relevant to what is in people’s minds at the time. Think about your customer journey and habits, how they interact with your brand and the channels that draw them to you. The customer journey must align with your goals and marketing that answers their pain points, gives clear calls to action and lands where they look most will be effective if you understand your customer type.
Every day can be a marketing day
Use everyday opportunities to bring your business to the forefront. Be social media active, keep it relevant, tell a story and answer pain points. Show a little of behind the scenes, perhaps, show your journey to become carbon neutral and organically drive traffic through interaction to support your planned marketing campaign.
