No matter what size your company is or what product line you maintain, there is rarely enough time in the day to accomplish everything, and there never seems to be enough time for planning. Typically, the day-to-day needs are the squeaky wheel that gets the majority of your time and attention.
Often, marketing messages and campaigns fall to the back burner when business is strong, but shoot to the front burner when business slows. This is a dangerous cycle for a business to live in because the most effective marketing campaigns have detailed planning, consistency and targeted strategy. These campaigns run a strong and steady course throughout the fiscal year, popping occasionally for busy seasons, events or targeted growth.
We all know that the first step in any business is to know your product inside and out. The second step is to know your customer. The third step is to introduce your customer to your product and help them understand why they need it.
Step three is where strategy and planned marketing come into play. It is arguably one of the most important steps in growing a business. You may think that if your product is good enough, it will sell itself. This is true, to a certain extent. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool that can help your business grow and gain a positive reputation. However, if you want to maximize your profits and grow your business to its highest potential, you need a strategic marketing plan.
Start by researching your customer’s needs and learning everything possible about them. What are their hobbies and interests? What brings them joy? What are areas of their lives that they need help in? What improvements or changes are they looking to make?
Once you understand the needs and wants of your customers, you will be able to understand how your product can help them. Marketing should always be about your customers and how you can help them, never about your company or what you need from customers.
After you understand how your product can help your customer, strategize on how to get the information to them. You want to focus your resources on the most effective communication channels for your target audience. How do your customers like to receive information? What type of messages appeal to them? If you are trying to target senior citizens, mobile marketing is most likely not going to be the most effective and will instead waste your resources. Radio stations, TV stations and print publications can all provide ratings and demographic information to help you make educated choices.
Once you’ve identified the best way to reach your customers, the next step in your strategic marketing plan is to craft your message. You need to find keywords that create a buzz within your desired audience. What words or themes appeal to them? What words or phrases can help your customer recognize the benefits of your product and how it can help them?
The final step is to roll out your plan. Stay the course, and see the plan through. Strong and steady, step by step, your business will grow. Continue tweaking the message to better fit the audience, and layer in new messages for new target markets.