Guest Blog Written By:
Richard Sowa, Founder and President of Wise Owl Group (www.wiseowlgroup.com) 847-264-0298 rsowa@wiseowlgroup.com
A common question is, “how do I get my product or service known?” In many cases, the thought is to create the produce/service and the customers will come. Well, this isn’t the Field of Dreams and this approach is not one I would bank on. Also, others get behind one type of marketing activity and think the sales will sky rocket. Unfortunately, rarely does this happen, as the method selected may not appeal to your entire potential audience. Each business is different, meaning that marketing strategy will have to differ too. If all websites used the same marketing techniques, no businesses would be successful. Businesses struggling to find their unique marketing strategy might want to consider contacting a Small Business Marketing Company to put them on the right path. With the correct marketing in place, businesses should see positive improvements.
So how should you determine the best strategy? To develop a strong marketing strategy, you have to go through some soul searching first:
- Customer level (Who?)
- Budget level (How much?)
- Activity level (What, Where & When?)
First, be specific about who is your customer. Is this person B2B, B2C? Is this a specific function in a company (i.e. IT Manager) or member of the household (i.e. Mom)? Too many great products or services get presented to a broad audience. Get down to the best possible customer or prospect that you believe cannot live without your solution and your journey for success can start.
Once you figure out your ideal customer, you will be able to determine what methods are most appealing and obtaining the appropriate contact information is required. For outbound marketing, you can rent countless lists to use for mail, email, phone, etc. that fits your ideal description very closely. These lists can provide all the relevant data to make the communications happen. For methods like TV, you can pinpoint the regions that possess your ideal audience. However, outbound marketing doesn’t always work. Sometimes people find advertisements and such annoying. This is where inbound marketing comes in. It is just as important as outbound marketing, if not more, but can be more difficult to nail. If you need help with inbound marketing then it’s worth checking out HubSpot. If you are a business owner, it’s essential that you know what HubSpot is. At this point, you might be asking “Can HubSpot Help My Business?” Well, the answer is yes, definitely.
Next, the money question… it is difficult to determine how much to spend. It is always recommended to spend between 3-10% of sales (actual or projected). Getting your product/service discovered is not a cheap endeavor, but highly rewarding when correctly planned and executed. Even activities deemed free (i.e. passing out flyers) are not free when you attach an expense to your time or calculate the price of collateral production.
Make sure you determine an amount you are comfortable spending. Keep in mind that marketing is a continuous process. So your budget mindset should be long-term, like paying a mortgage. Marketing will require producing activities, collecting results, adjusting the strategy and doing it all over again. This commitment to communicating with customers and prospects on a consistent basis will provide the best opportunity for the success you are looking for. McDonald’s provides a brand and offering well ingrained in all of us, but that doesn’t stop them from advertising to stay front of mind.
Finally, the ever important activity list…yes campaign, not a single activity. When done well, this is determined by the prior two steps. What methods appeal to your audience? A household solution may gain response via ads on TV, mail, newspaper, etc. A business solution may gain a response via ads on email blasts, mail, sales call, etc. When developed with a focused approach, a powerful plan can be achieved.
Back to “one size doesn’t fit all;” you have to get comfortable producing a plan with many simultaneous activities. Like in your life, what appeals to you may not appeal to your neighbor. For this reason, you will have to send the same message in many forms to get noticed, for example, create yourself a social media presence that you aim to keep growing, alongside the social media presence, create your business website and perhaps even start a blog that could entice readers that can turn to customers! Another benefit to this approach is it takes about 6-10 exposures before your brand/product/service gets noticed. So developing a multi-activity marketing campaign allows you to overcome these obstacles. Many different marketing methods can be tackled by using the same company. This printing company perth has excellent marketing techniques, including business cards, flyers, and multi-page booklets. One of these methods may just push your business from off the ground.
In the end, leveraging a marketing organization to help you determine the correct mix for you can be a great way to developing this plan. First, that and why they exist and just like you are an expert in the product and/or service you would like to sell, let marketing experts help you develop a plan. You still are the ultimate decision maker on how you will advertise and where your resources will be directed.
If you need help with planning a marketing strategy, contact us at rsowa@wiseowlgroup.com or visit www.wiseowlgroup.com and we’d love to help!
