Marketing your product is one of the biggest elements in modern business. In the modern era we have more ways than ever to get our names and faces out there, and that’s something both small and big businesses alike can take advantage of. However, this can be a double edged sword – more ways to promote your product means more chances to make mistakes, and a lot more competition to cope with!
Which is why you’ve got to be sure you have a good marketing strategy on your hands. Without knowing if you’ll even be able to reach your target audience, and get the impressions where you really need them, it’ll take a much longer time to get your company off the ground. And to help with that, we’ve collected the most important elements of a good marketing strategy below. Check them out to see if you’re missing anything from your action plan.
Story Stages
A Clear Target Audience
Do you know who you’re selling to, right down to their local demographics? If not, it’s time to head back to the market research drawing board! Having a clear target audience is the first step in the formation of a good marketing strategy. The more you know about who you’re selling to, the more selling power you have towards them. Make it cut and dry for yourself from the beginning and you’ll rarely have to rework the campaign you put out.
Whether you’re using first or second hand sources to collect your data, you’re on the way to securing your brand message, marketing needs, and advertising muscle. And whether you’ve had customers in the past or not, there’s always someone out there you can ask to give you an honest answer. Host a focus group, put a poll on your Twitter feed, and never underestimate just how much you can learn from a simple survey.
A Memorable Name and Image
A good marketing strategy hinges on having a memorable name and image. Your company needs to roll off the tongue, so to speak, to ensure you stay on a person’s mind. Take a big corporation like Apple, for example. Of course, they have a much longer history than your business does, but their name and image is instantly picturable. You can see the Apple logo in your head, and because of how well designed it is for purpose, you also see just what the company itself is about.
Take that example to heart here. When it comes to naming brands, you’ve got to be stylish in your own way. Think about what makes your company ‘you’ and spin it into a face for the world to see. Once you do, and you’ve made sure the same name and style can be found across the internet, you’ll be marketing from a much stronger base. Your customers will have an easier time of recognising you, and you’ll always have this firm foundation to return to.
You can simply spitball from there, relating themes and concepts back to your name and image in the form of advertising. Your marketing strategy is the power behind what you put out there, but only the ads you run will speak for you, so this pipeline needs to be stable for ideal results.
A Good Handle on Your USP
What’s your business good at doing? And what does your product offer that a customer couldn’t find anywhere else on the market? All good marketing strategies hinge on these two concepts – a customer needs to want to come to you, because you’re doing business in the way they want. They need to know you’re offering something unique and a bit different to what they’re used to, even if you’re not sure you’re really offering something better.
And that’s where the confidence in your product comes in. The more you know about your USP (unique selling point), the better you can talk about it in the posts you make for social media, the banners you make for websites, and even the TV advert you’ve forked out a fortune for. So think about it: what can you do that’s in short supply around here? Even if you can only offer a lower or more affordable price point, and a bit more value for money, use it as a focal point.
If you can’t come up with a proper USP for your product on your own, you’ll need to get your entire team together for a brainstorming session here. More heads are better than one, and if your colleagues are as keen and passionate about your product as you are, they’ll be likely to have seen a side or strength you haven’t taken into account. Take inspiration from your competitors as well, and don’t be afraid to simply say you do something better than the rest!
A Direct Connection to Your Customers
Most marketing strategies in the modern era focus on more than one medium, and for good reason! More than ever you can get a direct line to your customers without even needing to leave the office, and you should never pass up the chance to meet them on all available fronts. You’re trying to close the gap in the market here, and that won’t be done without a tandem use of advertising media.
So even though you’ve got sponsored posts out there and you’re running an ad campaign on Facebook or Twitter, get active on your own social media and put some calls to action where people can see them. Answer curious questions and critical comments, be funny and personable and always willing to help. Simply put, if you go the extra mile, your customers will be willing to go even further for you.
A good marketing strategy has a little bit of everything. Take some time to evaluate your current campaign to see if you’re going wrong anywhere above. Knowing your audience, having a strong brand presence, and being confident in your product goes a very long way.
