Most small businesses know their business. They also excel at explaining how their business operates and probably have a supporting brochure that tells that story. This knowledge creates operational excellence. But, growth potential is found in identifying why customers buy, who is buying from the company, and how to connect with them; this is a reoccurring question for even the most passionate business owners. A marketing strategy is a foundation built on the answers to these questions, a strategy for success. Building a strategy can be simplified if it is broken into small components.

Moving past operational deliverables, a company must deliver a solution to their customer. Something of value beyond the basic needs, something with emotional or perceived value. Identifying the solution the company provides also allows the company to communicate the answer to common perceived risk, value, and reason for buying now. Defining the company’s solutions creates a focused base for all marketing actions which are the deliverables of a marketing strategy.

Begin mapping the course of your marketing strategy by profiling your audience into segments. Audience segmentation allows companies to distinguish which segments present the greatest opportunities. With profiling, a company begins to know their audiences, know what is important to them, the timing for buying decisions and key influencers. Alignment of what company solutions best serve which members of each audience segment makes it easier for customers to buy because they know you are talking to them and you understand their expectations. Applying these two core components to your marketing strategy eliminates wasted efforts in marketing actions.

Making marketing more effective may feel like spinning on a merry-go-round without using data to make decisions. Using the audience profile will allow you to select better marketing media choices (i.e. media choices: web, print, video/TV, events etc). Communicating one message, one way to every audience will likely give the same return as putting a one small bet on the same number on a roulette table every single spin. Use the data and research to create greater returns, not chance.

Ultimately, businesses are seeking better results for their marketing efforts. Planning, tracking and communicating to a focused audience in a way they best receive information is the core to seeing more impact for your marketing budget. Know your business, but also know why customers buy. Know your audience, track it and analyze it frequently. Focus your marketing plan and concentrate your energy to amplify results. Determine marketing actions and marketing spend by planning in advanced and focusing.

Playing on college football season, be a master of the fundamentals, know your strengths, build a playbook of marketing moves that play to your strengths, study the competition, and execute consistently for success. Build your marketing play book to win.

Kelly Vail

Growth Connections develops and implements marketing strategies. We are currently providing hands-on marketing strategy workshops for small businesses and solo-entrepreneurs. Request more information about upcoming workshops and receive a $100 discount on your registration.

As we run our businesses we are seeking to keep our competitive advantage and push the potential of our businesses farther. One simple best practice that has the greatest return is “know your audience.”  Simple as it sounds, it is one of the most frequently neglected marketing tools.

1,2,3 Easy. Capture your existing client data. Track your marketing and sales communication activities. Analyze the client data to make smarter business choices. Customize your approach to achieve more powerful results. Sounds like more work than the return. Where does it payoff?

Optimize Time. Save money by optimizing the use of your team’s time. Utilizing a centralized CRM (Client Relationship Management) system makes your client data consistent, easily accessible, and it streamlines the opportunity for the company to grow. Retention of data is essential not only for growth, but as your business experiences employee turn-over, the highest cost comes when the client data and relationship goes with them.

Measure Success. That which is measured gets done. CRM data systems provide metrics for line of sight to how the sales funnel and sales team is performing at any time. Performance is what counts. What marketing and sales activities are working and which ones are not? Eliminate what is not producing results, but use data to make the decision. Using a CRM provides visibility and historic reference to sales cycles and effective activities. Empower your employee’s success; CRMs are a valuable tool for creating a performance culture and assisting employees in knowing what is expected of them and how they are doing.

Customize Solutions. In a saturated, competitive market people choose to work with people they feel like understand them. Do you know your clients, what makes them tick, what cycles are they experiencing, what are the driving forces behind their decision making process? Sounds like a lot of data. Utilizing a CRM helps you track your client data. With more information, your business can provide a custom solution with specific timing and a message that emotionally connects with your audience’s experience. Sounds great for repeat customers, but when you know your clients, you also know your prospective clients. Your Salesforce is more powerful when the size of their dart board is focused, and they are equipped with strategic marketing tools to truly connect.

Marketing strategy can feel complicated, but as you unweave the web and put in place scaleable processes the results of your efforts show up in revenue. Save time, reduce overhead and optimize your spending are all numbers business owners can understand.

For a free marketing assessment and one hour consultation, contact Kelly Vail at kelly@strategicbranding.net and mention MB/I.