Please…don’t spend money on any marketing or advertising until you do this one thing.
Marketing. Many business owners are overwhelmed by the thousands of tactics out there to promote our businesses. Social media, website, email, print, TV, and the list goes on. Still other businesses think marketing is easy. Just hang a sign out front, post, post, post to social media and business will come.
In my work, I see so many companies spending valuable time and money on promotion without really knowing what they should be saying about their business or to whom.
While successful marketing is not easy or effortless, it does not have to be complicated or expensive either. It does require having a well thought out strategy so that any resources you devote to marketing your business will be well spent.
I always tell the business leaders I work with “Don’t spend a dime on advertising until you have a marketing plan.” And this comes from me, the owner of two magazines that requires advertising sales to survive. I see so many companies large and small spend money on advertising or social media marketing without knowing what they should say in the advertisements.
The truth is, I would rather see a business forgo advertising in my magazines and instead, spend their precious time and hard-earned dollars getting a full understanding of their goals, who they should be trying to reach and then developing a solid message that will resonate with that audience. These are the foundation of the marketing plans I write for my clients.
Successful marketing requires a consistent approach with a full understanding of your current customers, customers you aspire to gain and where your business is positioned in the marketplace, among other factors. Taking the time to consider these important elements will give you such a tremendous competitive advantage as well as save you thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work, stress and overthinking as ot which marketing tactics to buy on any given day.
Below are a few points to get you started:
- What are your goals for the business?
When I begin working with a new marketing client, I start by asking them “How big do you want to get?” I ask this because I know that if they work with my company, their business will grow. They need to understand this and have a specific goal in mind. I was helping a small startup business a few weeks ago. I asked the owner, “How big do you want to be.” She was stunned by my question. I followed up by asking “Are you prepared to hire another employee? She said, “Oh no! Not right now.” I said “Great, now we know what to focus on and how much to devote to marketing.”
So what do you hope to achieve this year?
Are you happy with the size of your company but interested in keeping that steady flow of customers?
Do you want to increase sales by 20% this year while keeping costs down?
Are you looking to open a second location?
Marketing should be done whether you want to grow or not, but these are important questions as you decide how much time and effort to devote to promoting your business.
Take a few minutes to jot down your goals for the next 12 months.
- Who is your typical customer? Who is your ideal customer?
Having a solid understanding of who is most likely to buy from you (as well as refer their friends to you), is extremely important and often overlooked. More importantly, do you have a keen understanding of your ideal customer? Based on the goals in #1, what type of customer will bring you the most business whether in quantity or quality? What type of customer will give you the most satisfaction in your work?
Note: The Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) should be taken into consideration when thinking about your customers and also about how much you spend to bring in one customer. The return on investment (ROI) for the resources you spend on marketing should take into account the CLV of every customer you gain through marketing.
- What is your message to that customer?
Now that you understand your customers, you can craft a message about your brand that will resonate with your idea or typical customer. What are their struggles and pain points? What problem do you solve for them? How can you communicate why your brand is the one they should choose or the company they should support?
Note: A company or brand message is not something we create to tell the world how great we are. It isn’t a chance to list all the products or services we offer. Your message should be about why it matters to the customer. Why should they care about your business? What does it do for them? Selfishly, we only care about a product or service if it helps us solve a problem or take care of a need. Once you realize this and tailor all your marketing messaging around solving this for the customer, your business will accelerate.
There are several other steps in creating a solid marketing plan for business. I touched on what I feel are the most important and often overlooked considerations.
So, before you spend another hour posting and commenting on Facebook or spend another dime on advertising, take the time to consider the above questions. And if any of this resonates with you, I would love your feedback. If I can answer any questions for you, I am happy to help.
If you\’d like to take your marketing to the next level, sign up for 9 one-to-one sessions with me.