Do you have a marketing strategy? Would you even know where to start? I meet a lot of companies that are posting regularly on social media, putting out PR and updating their websites, but they’ve not asked themselves a few key questions first, like who are they targeting and why. So here’s my mini guide on how to build a basic strategy that might improve your marketing.
- Who are you targeting?
This is really easy for some businesses. They have a niche market and know exactly who they need to speak to. In that case, this question is already answered. Others, however, have a harder job. If you have a service that could suit any business or a product that could suit any person, then you need to think it through. It might seem good to have a vast market, but being seen as all things to all people means you won’t connect with anyone. The best thing to do is niche down. Choose just one or two segments of the market and target them. It might seem like you’re cutting out customers, but by actually speaking to a smaller segment, with everything aimed very much at them, you’re far more likely to grow sales.
- What are you targeting them with?
Do you have several products or services that you offer? Then think about which segment should be targeted with which products. It’s okay to narrow down parts of your offering so certain bits only relate to certain people. You could have different areas of your website, perhaps. The more focused you are, the more successful you’ll be
- What is your position?
Every company needs to have its position in the market. What makes you different or interesting or better? Are you the company that hangs on to tradition because your customers like that, or are you the business that is always looking to the future? Do you offer a more personal customer service than your competitors, or are you about speed and getting the job done, which you know your customers like? Whatever it is, find out where you stand in relation to your competitors and celebrate that.
Obviously your strategy could be far more complicated, but identifying a good key target with the right product and service, and connecting to them with a message of why you’re different/better/more approachable is a great starting point. Just sorting out these things alone will make your marketing easier to execute.
Lindsay Woodward Marketing is happy to talk to businesses about their strategy and offer advice. Give us a call if you’re struggling and we’ll see how we can help you out.
