Many small business owners think that just by advertising and spending money on snazzy creative they will attract new customers. However for many, when they do they are often unsuccessful and wonder why they are not seeing the return. As a business owner you want to make sure every $ spent works for you. So whether you are using traditional channels like print, radio, flyer drops or online and social media there are a few basic marketing 101 things every business owner need to think about:
Do you have a strong marketing foundation?
- Do you have a marketing plan or are you just doing stuff
- Do you adjust your plan if it is not working
- Do you have clear measurable objectives for advertising campaigns
- Achieve xx number of clicks, calls, $
- Do you measure your activity to see what channels are working
- Number of calls, number of clicks to website, sales etc
- Does your branding need a refresh – if it looks tired it won’t send a good message
- What does your messaging say about your business – is it clear?
- Is your website optimised so people can find you?
- Are you clear on who you are targeting?
Do you know your ideal customer?
Have you identified your ideal customer so you can focus your $ in the right place, rather than a scatter gun approach.
- Who are they, where do they hang out
- What media are they consuming
- What drives their purchase behaviour
- What are they searching for online - what key words are they using
Build a customer profile and focus on your ideal customer when choosing channels and messaging
Get to know your customers:
- Have you talked to your existing customers lately to find out what they like or don’t like about your service or solution so you can adjust your offering
- Do you seek regular feedback and develop conversations with your customers through social media or when talking on the phone
- Run an annual survey – customers love to help input into your business
Know your competitors
- Knowing what your competition is doing is essential.
- How are they priced, what are they doing better than you.
- How do you differentiate yourself from them
- Keep track of sales trends to help you identify if there is a change – this usually indicates competitors are doing something, or something is not right with your offering.
Key to success:
Building a strong foundation is key to ensuring that every $ spent on advertising results in new customers. Every business owner should set aside time every year to review their brand, messaging and their overall marketing activity. You could have the best creative and be spending lots in advertising, but if your pricing is wrong, you are targeting the wrong customers or your branding portrays the wrong image then it will not be as successful.