The most competent businesses in the world will suffer if they fail to market their goods. Even companies with a large social media presence and a loyal following will not generate profits if they fail to properly inform, engage, and notify their clients or customers. You need to be 100% invested in your marketing strategy.
The lines are becoming more and more blurred. A small business may not be able to get the prime time television advertisement spot during the Christmas period or during the Super Bowl. But, seeking these prime time television spots has become less relevant for the success of your business. Marketing is not always defined by how you categorize it. It can be defined by a complex web of information gathering, analytics, and targeted approaches used to engage your audience, connect with new potential supporters, and to do right by your current customers. It makes you wonder how a marketing expert from the pre-internet and digital media era would comprehend the vast array of marketing possibilities now open to you.
With all the potential paths you can take, you need to know how to create and make the most of your marketing strategy. To do that, here are a few things you should keep in mind.
You Should Know Your Endgame
You probably saw the word “Endgame” and couldn’t help but to think about the hit movie. However, when it comes to your business you have to know what your business’ end game is. This is what you should set as your goal and aim towards. No one in the history of marketing campaigns has ever managed to promote success by just seeing what happens. You should know your intended effect, and be able to measure that. SMART goals are important to follow here. If you are not familiar with SMART goals, SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely.
What would that look like in a marketing campaign? Let us consider:
- Specific – A marketing campaign should be forward-thinking. It should know what it hopes to achieve. It should be innovative and know how to engage an audience. For example – what is the lens in which you hope to promote your goods? Do you wish to use humor? Do you wish to sell a ‘sexy lifestyle? Or, do you hope to increase brand recognition with a drivetime jingle that turns into a much-discussed earworm? All of these approaches are specific because they suggest the means in which it should be conducted. However, specific also means attainable of a real goal. Do you hope to increase sales by 70%? How about jumping into an international market? Make this as clear-cut as possible, because the more abstract you are, the less likely you’ll be able to better your approach.
- Measurable – This should be relatively easy to understand. You should be able to analyze the metrics of your engagement. This can help determine how successful you have been. Perhaps you almost did meet your specific goal, but it wasn’t through the channels you had hoped. For example, perhaps you have achieved that 70% increase in sales but the sales increase wasn’t in the international market. Perhaps simple business news that you were branching out into the international market led customers to inadvertently remind themselves of your goods. You might have achieved a goal, but not in the measured manner you want. This is why measurement is so important – so you can improve for next time.
- Achievable – A goal should be attainable. I might set a goal that within six months, my small programming business will provide an operating system more popular than Windows or MacOS. While that could be a noble goal to attain, it’s unlikely to be attainable in this time frame. Of course, you should push yourself, but it’s always best to have an ‘acceptable target of success.’ Anything more is just a bonus, and anything less shows you have work to do.
- Relevant – It’s perhaps relevant to push your PR to become known as that ethical IT company. But, if this doesn’t translate to users or an engaged audience, was that push worth it? While operating on ethical guidelines is a moral good, if it’s not actually helping you stay profitable, is a relevant goal? It depends on your approach, and what you have outlined for your firm to achieve.
- Timely – No business marketing goal is worthwhile unless it’s timely. Marketing often follows trends. What might have been cool in the 1990’s is likely looked at as old news these days. Stay up to date with the culture around you; this benefits your relevance. However, timely also denotes the timeframe in which a goal should be completed. If a project takes forever to film, to write, to complete, and forever to deliver, you can start reaching a point of diminishing returns.
Use All Outlets
It’s essential to offer a more cohesive marketing strategy than you may have used in the past. You need to consider all the possibilities at your disposal. For example, matching your online targeted advertisements with sponsoring influencers, or using experts in SEO such as Chuck Cramer can help you align your marketing to one large and visceral punch. This will allow you to burst onto the scene, or return to it, with your strength intact. Not only will you manage to gain a larger and more imposing presence, but you can tailor your approach and visibility based on your goals at the time. These forms of marketing backed up by natural or tailored marketing will help you increase your engagement tenfold.
Think Outside The Box
Try to think outside the box when it comes to your marketing strategy. Deciding to use magazine ads to market your products can be effective but is this the best way to reach your audience? Will the ads be eye-catching and resonates with your audience? Will they show people you are absolutely a business to pay attention to? Or instead of a magazine ad, could you better reach your audience through expo attendance, affiliate marketing, pairing with other businesses for hefty promotions, or perhaps considering your own business behavior as a form of marketing? Many business owners are only thinking of social media but you can think outside the box and create a plan that works best for your business.
There are numerous ways you can market your business to reach and find your customers. In order to achieve success, you have to be 100% invested in your marketing strategy. Take the time to develop a plan and consider including these ideas. Become invested and watch your business raise its game to the next level. Here’s to YOUR success.
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Leadership and Life Coach. She is the Chairwoman and CEO of Infinity Coaching, Inc. where they help you up-level your skills so you can up-level your income. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides one-on-one and group coaching, organizational training, and personality assessments. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services athttps://infinitycoaching.net.
