Create a Marketing Strategy in 3 Easy Steps

I just came to the realization that all of my blog posts just dance around the topic I am the most passionate about.  And that’s strategy.  I’ve written about integrating your marketing, 3 easy steps to creating a marketing budget and I’ve talked a lot about building a brand.  So, today I decided that I’m just going to lay it all out there, straight forward, step by step on how to develop a strategy before you even attempt to spend $1 on any of your marketing.

Developing a strategy is by far the most important step when marketing your business.  The biggest mistake small business owners make is that they know they need to market their business, but they don’t know where to start.  So, what happens is that they get roped into these “deals” from ad executives from the local newspapers, and radio and TV stations.  They wind up spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on advertising but don’t really know whether it worked or not.  Well, let me walk you through a 3-part process to help you develop a strategy so you don’t spend any more money on advertising that doesn’t work.

Part 1 – Brainstorm:

This is where you throw out every possible thought that comes to mind.  Sometimes the crazier the better.  I have found that sometimes a member of the team will throw out some weird and wild idea that ultimately we end up using some or all of that idea.  But this is also the time to define some really key things such as your intended target market, your goals and your budget.

One of the most important keys to developing a strong marketing communications plan is to determine your target market or target markets and know what they want and how they want to communicate with you.  The trick is to discover what that ideal customer looks like in the most specific way possible and then go about building an entire marketing strategy around attracting more of these ideal customers. 

Part 2 – Budget:

This is where most of my clients get the most stressed out because they haven’t allocated any specific amounts to their business activities.  They are really just “winging it.  If you don’t have a plan this is where you can get into trouble with your spending and then it really will be too expensive. 

1.       To create a marketing budget for the year, set your budget between 5 – 10% of your gross annual sales.  When you think about it, $100,000 is sales with a marketing budget of 5% only gives you $5000 to work with for the year.  This is where the creativity comes in, knowing where to best allocate those dollars.

2.       From that budget, develop marketing campaigns for the year.  Then develop a budget for each campaign based on the yearly budget you have just set for the company.

Remember that advertising doesn’t have to cost you a fortune.  Leave the big marketing budgets for the big corporations who have the money to spend on it. 

Part 3 – Metrics

Now, you need to set metrics for tracking the direct impact of each campaign on its ability to help you reach your marketing goals.  If you have nothing to measure your marketing efforts with you won’t know whether or not your marketing is actually working.  Some common metrics include number of click-throughs on an online ad, number of new sales, number of new leads or percent increase in traffic to the store.  In order to be useful, metrics need to be measurable and quantifiable.  So, make sure you define them specifically with numbers and then break them apart into tiny segments that you can work towards achieving.  Review last year's sales records so you have something to which to compare this year's sales. Here is where good record keeping is essential. 

An increase in leads or sales over last year's numbers might indicate that your current marketing campaigns are actually working but don’t make the mistake of putting all of your eggs in one basket.  One marketing activity cannot be held accountable for your total business success.  So be sure to have a variety of metrics to track.

So, now you have an idea of how to create a strategy before you actually go about spending any money on your marketing.  For more in-depth information, download the video below.  This video is from a webinar I presented a few months ago and gives you a much more detailed step by step process to creating a strategy that works.

Strategy Before Tactics

I always love hearing from small business owners to find out how you do things.  I’d love to hear your input on creating a marketing strategy.  Tell me how you created your strategic marketing plan.

 

Consistency in your image is crucial

Communicating a consistent message is absolutely imperative to any business, from your marketing materials, to your on line marketing to the look of your business.  That includes the visual layout of the store, the cleanliness of the store and the attire of your staff.  Many small businesses just kind of wing it when it comes to marketing, not really knowing what to do when and not having a lot of money to play with.  But no matter what kind of business you’re in, the first impression a potential customer has when they walk into your business is an impression that will stay with them.  So what kind of impression do want to make?

·         Merchandise your products in a way that is appealing to your target market.  For example, a discount store can put racks of clearance stuff out front and centre because that is what that customer is looking for.  As soon as you put a clearance rack in a store that is geared to the wealthy and affluent customer, they’ll be insulted and walk out.

·         Make sure your company signage reflects your brand.  It doesn’t have to have your logo all over it.  It just needs to reflect the core values of the company.  I have a client that sells all natural products to a very elite target market who expect exceptional quality and service at any cost.  With this client, we needed to develop different sets of signage, some that could be used year round and some that could be used seasonally or during a particular occasion or event.  The signage that she uses everyday shows the products along with a description of the product and the manufacturer.  The other signage reflects the feel of the store with earth tone colours and pictures, without overdoing the “natural” theme or plastering her logo everywhere.

Creating that consistent image doesn’t need to cost a ton of money.  Get creative with decorating your place of business.  Better yet, make sure your place of business is clean and inviting.  Make sure your staff is dressed professionally and they greet your customers with a smile as soon as they walk in the door.  The last thing you want is for your customers have a consistently “bad” image of your company.

The Key to Driving More Customers to Your Business

What does every business need to do every day?  Sell something!!  If you're not making money, it's not a business; it's a hobby.  But of course that's easy to say when you have customers flowing into your business non-stop, but how do you attract those customers in the first place?  Simple.  It's called target marketing.

Marketing involves so many aspects that it generally scares a lot of small business owners because it seems so completely overwhelming, not to mention expensive.  It definitely takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get it right (and even some of us marketers who have been doing this a long time, don't always get it 'right'), but it really is possible to drive more customers into your business without working 20 hour days for the rest of your life.

The key to driving more customers into your business is to know who your customer is.  You can't be everything to everybody, and frankly you don't want to be.  What business are you in?  Do have a retail clothing store?  Think about the niche markets that currently are untapped in your area.  Are you looking to attract the young (teen to early 20's) crowd or are you trying to attract the middle age women?  Make sure your product line and your entire company image reflect that image so that nobody is confused about who you are.  Don't even try to compete with the big guys because you'll wear yourself out and not see any reward for it.  Stay true to who you are and focus on your intended target market.  It'll make your life so much less stressful.