Strong and effective marketing strategies start with a solid foundation. Like anything, outlining exactly what you need, your expectations, and your budget will help you build up an unshakable plan that will deliver. Here are some tips to help get you started:
What are your business goals?
With your business already standing on two legs, you most likely have a business plan in place. Strong marketing strategies are made even stronger when accompanied by an equally strong business plan. Take some time to review the business goals that you’ve outlined in that plan and generate marketing objectives based on those goals. If you’re stuck, you can always use the classic SMART objectives method:
Specific – state clearly what you want to achieve
Measurable – set tangible metrics so you can measure your results
Achievable – set objectives that are within your capacity and budget
Relevant – set objectives that will help you improve particular aspects of your business
Time-bound – set objectives you can achieve within the time you need them
Aligning your business goals and marketing objectives helps you stay on track when it comes time to implement your ideas and track their performance against expectations.
Conduct quality market research
This may come as no surprise, but making sure that you do adequate research on your specific market will help you tailor your strategy to ensure the best possible outcome. An important component of strong market research includes developing a persona for your targeted audience. A persona is a fictitious ‘person’ that represents the entirety of a specific demographic; ideally one that you actually intend to target your products or services towards. The more you know about them, the easier it becomes to develop and deploy a successful strategy that will meet their needs.
Be aware of your competitors
While you are conducting your market research, you should also consider reading up on your competitors. Browse their websites and social media channels; read some of their content, then ask yourself some questions: What are they doing that seems to be working? What are they doing that could be better? Once you have identified some key things, get to work and brainstorm about how you could use them to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to experiment with existing strategies and tactics—especially if they seem to be successful.
Create a content plan
Content marketing has become one of the most effective marketing tools in recent years. eBooks, case studies, blogs, podcasts, webinars—the list goes on. Using these types of content to market your products or services is becoming increasingly more effective. Today, people are consuming more content than ever before, so if you can steal their attention for even just a second with a polished and engaging piece of content, it’s effect on your business can be invaluable.
If you’re still unsure on where to start, or would like the help of an expert, we have your back! Simply fill out the contact form on our website and we will be in touch.