Have you made a new year’s resolution to focus on key areas of your business? Do you struggle to find time to market your business because the day to day work takes over?
Here are our quick tips for SMEs to kick-start your marketing this year:
1) Update your business plan
Before you even think about spending time on marketing and PR, you need to decide what direction you want your business to take this year. You need to know what your business goals are and how effective marketing can help you get there. If you try to start building a website or posting on social media without clear goals in mind, you’re wasting your precious time.
2) Create your marketing strategy
Now you know what outcomes you need for your business and what products/services you want to promote, you need to figure out what marketing tools can help to achieve it. Plan out milestones, major events and targets on a calendar for the year. If you have the budget, working with a Marketing Consultant will help to clarify what’s possible and work out an effective marketing strategy.
3) Establish your brand, tone and message
A really strong brand identity which carries across your website, logo, print and social media accounts will help your audience to quickly recognise who you are and anything associated with your brand.
4) Decide on your tone and key messages
To establish credibility and drive engagement, your audience need to know who you are, what you do and why you do it (your message). The way you talk about yourself (tone) is key to helping your audience decide if what you do is right for them.
5) Start marketing
The key to effective marketing is planning, and by now you’re fully prepared to start putting your plans into action. Decide how much time you can afford to spend (or afford to pay someone to do it for you), and ensure that your activities are focussed, high quality and consistent.
6) Review, tweak, repeat (or bin)
With a couple of weeks’ marketing activity under your belt, you will start to see what’s working and what’s not. Repeat the activities that are helping to achieve your goals and either bin or refine the ones that aren’t. Tools like analytics and customer feedback will help you to identify this.
Our team of marketing consultants can help at any stage of this process (although sooner is usually better!), putting together a strategic plan or carrying out the day to day implementation of actions.
With a range of packages to suit any budget, there’s no reason that your business can’t have a marketing manager this year, without having to recruit a full-time member of staff. Drop me a line [email protected] or 07715 493843 for a no obligation chat.
