1. Have a strategic marketing plan. Don’t be scared by the terminology, this simply means having a road map clearly outlining where you want to go with your business and how you want to get there. By then breaking the plan into smaller, manageable stages you will achieve your goals and not be overwhelmed. Without one your business will run like you are on an endless backpacking holiday – aimless, short term and fun but as the dollars dry up you find you have to move back in with your parents to pay off the credit card.
2. Measure: Now that you have your plan put a few things in place to work out if your actions are working and to what extent. Monitor where your customers are coming from (website, referrals, print advertising) so that you can determine where to continue to invest your marketing dollars and their return on investment. With online marketing, this can be very simple, for example, Google analytics, website statistics and even Facebook page insights.
3. Know your target audience: the easiest way to do this is to imagine them as a person. Male, female, age, where do they shop, what kind of car do they drive, what’s their income, do they have a young family, what do they do for a living and how do they spend their spare time? Once you have a clear understanding of who they are and their needs and desires you can better meet them.
4. Social media/networking is not free: like any part of your business you need to invest in social media. For example, while it is free to set up a business Facebook page you need to allocated time to ensure that your page gives your fans what they need, is engaging and dynamic.
5. Research: linking back to measurement and getting to know your target audience you will need to do research at different stages in your marketing plan. Simple tools to help your business gather important insights are in store or online surveys (Survey Monkey), online analysis of your website (Google Analytics) or social networking page (Facebook Insights).
6. Strategic alliances: use your established networks and join with complimentary businesses to maximise both businesses impact. This could be through packaging services or products together, sharing advertising costs without diluting your brand or co-producing an event. Eg: cooking school and local deli.
7. Domain name: register your business’ domain name, and others that are very similar which you can then divert to your website. Be sure to include the .com and .com.au domain extensions of your website so if there is any confusion by people seeking you out they will still find you.
8. Rebranding: be wary of rebranding your business. Seek advice of a marketing expert and really consider the strategy behind rebranding. Is it that you just want to update a tired logo or are you looking at the bigger, long-term picture and rebranding is an essential component? Too often businesses completely rebrand and experience backlash from their existing customers and confuse their potential clients.
9. Email signature: this is a simple, yet highly effective marketing tool for your business, yet so often neglected and unused. Place a simple weekly reminder in your diary to update your email signature to make sure it is dynamic and adds value for your business and those who receive your emails. One week it can drive traffic to your latest blog, the other promote the latest products in store or direct your clients and suppliers to an interesting article.
10. Smart phones: step out of the dark ages and ensure your website can be viewed on smart phones. Hand held devices with Internet capabilities are mainstream and your site needs to be adaptable and accessible.
11. SEO is vital! If you do not understand the concept and technicalities seek out an SEO specialist or web design company that is proficient in this area. You can not afford to ignore it.
12. Consistency is key! Imagine McDonald’s branding, specifically the golden arches, were purple above their stores, blue on the packaging, a bland brown on their website. Imagine their staff uniforms looked like casual Friday everyday and their TV adverts were produced using a handheld cameras. This is not the making of strong branding displaying clear brand values and a long term strategy. Keep your brand consistent in every element where it is featured. Business is hard enough without confusing your customer.
13. Window dress: when was the last time you walked out of your store and looked at it? Not just the front, but now look at it from a completely different perspective - from across the road, three shops down to the left and from the windows in the opposite building four floors up? Do it today. Your window is one of your most important advertising spaces and should be a key seller from every angle. Make it alluring, make it stand out from the crowd, make it work it’s little butt off for your business!
14. Relationship management: the most cost effective marketing is to retain your existing client base, rather than seeking out new clients. This requires by building long term relationships with your clients and the simplest way to do so is to keep a database. Start with just contact details and from there build with relevant information such as their past purchase history and even note their interests for future reference. Actions such as a birthday card or a personal email to let them know about a free service due on their product or new product in stock are simple, inexpensive yet highly effective.
15. Media: keep copies of all instances where your business is featured in the media. This is fantastic content for your website/social media pages/blog and also a great source for testimonials.
16. Invoicing: your invoices are another great opportunity to communicate with your clients. While of course they play a pivotal role in you getting paid they also provide an instance when you must contact your client so why not pop a copy of your latest newsletter in the envelope, a flyer with exclusive deals for ongoing clients, or add a personal handwritten note commenting on something specific about the job you did for them or business.
17. Facebook page:Set up your business on Facebook as a business, not a person! Not only is it good to be abiding by Facebook laws (businesses should not be able to obtain people’s personal information nor privately solicit customers), there are several reasons to be  page and not a person. First of all, a page looks more professional. Second, you get counted by ‘likes’ not ‘friends’. Third, the statistics in the back end of being an administrator are invaluable to a business, you can tell what posts people liked the most, how many people saw it and even where they are from. If you are currently a person on Facebook and want help on making the switch, contact us.
18. Leverage: Use established time or events to maximise opportunities for your business. This could be things like Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Easter or perhaps local events. It is important to stay true to your business rather than appearing to cling to anything, so make sure it relates to your business as well.

Share