Are you a small business looking to increase your sales through marketing but don’t know where to begin? Developing a marketing strategy from scratch can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be!
Continue reading to learn five things you should know as you develop your small business marketing plans.
1. Define a Target Market
The first thing you need to know is your customer. Who is buying your product and/or service?
Promoting your company to a huge group of people will not only waste time and effort but also money. Instead, you want to target your campaigns to a smaller group of people that are most likely to buy your product.
Develop a list of characteristics that make up your buyer. This includes age, job title, income, gender, and more. Look at previous customers for guidance.
Look at their previous purchases. What are their pain points? These questions will help you develop a “buyer persona” that you can use to develop your target market.
2. Develop Marketing Goals and Objectives
Once you know who you’re marketing to, it’s time to figure out what you want to accomplish with your marketing initiatives. Be sure these goals align with your overall business goals.
An example would be to increase engagement across your social channels. Another is to increase your free trial conversion rate percentage.
These goals should be realistic and measurable. Feel free to create monthly, quarterly, or yearly goals.
3. Research Marketing Tactics
Now that you have your goals set up, it’s time to research the best tactics for your marketing strategy. There is a multitude of ways to market your company.
You can invest in traditional marketing including print or direct mail. In fact, 54% of consumers say they want direct mail from brands that interest them.
Or, you can invest in digital marketing, such as search engine optimization (SEO), or social media advertising. These channels have great analytics to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Don’t feel like you need to choose between traditional or digital marketing. Hybrid methods are a fairly common approach.
4. Establish Timeline & Budget
Your target market and goals are defined and you’ve chosen the right marketing channels for your business. Now, it’s time to establish your timeline and budget.
It’s important for your business to understand how much money you are spending on advertising and how much money is coming back. In the beginning, it is normal to spend more than you make in return. However, establishing how much you’d like to spend throughout the year will help you build upon your marketing plans and help your bottom line in the long run.
5. Advertise Your Product
Now that you’ve planned everything, it’s time to start! Remember that even though you’ve built this marketing plan, things change. As more data comes in, you have to remain adaptable so you can tweak your plans as you go in order to make your budget.
Whether you’re a skincare company looking to sell your newest product or a contractor about to start a new digital marketing campaign, effective advertisements should be an important piece of your marketing strategy.
Small Business Marketing Plans
Developing small business marketing plans can seem overwhelming at first. However, if you follow these five tips, you’ll be able to develop and execute your strategies quickly and efficiently!
