Marketing today matters more than ever. In order to separate your business or product from the crowd, you’ll need a solid and creative marketing plan. As your business continues to grow, the more important it will become to have solid foundations for your marketing.
Having a marketing strategy is essential to any business. It should tell people what you have to offer, engage your audience, and build your reputation winning the trust of consumers. To start building your marketing plan, you need to decide on how you want to be seen by the public and by your audience.
What is your brand?
Finding your business’ identity is the most important step in any marketing plan. Your identity is what your reputation is based on, and as a result, is part of what will attract customers and clients. This is the same reason that large companies spend fortunes on their branding. Your business’ identity begins with its name. Making sure you have a memorable and unique name that can grow with your business is crucial to your marketing success. On top of that, developing an effective logo is just as important, as your name and logo are at the forefront of your business. If you need help with putting a logo together, you can click here for one of our past blogs on selecting a logo designer. Once you have your brand, it is crucial to stick to it on all your platforms and materials. With a name and logo, you should develop the rest of your brand package, with your colours and fonts to help build your identity and establish who you are.
Who is your audience?
Once you establish your brand and business identity, you should find who your target audience is. To do this, you will need to know and understand who it is you are selling to and how you can reach them. Your target audience is likely connected by key demographics. You can start with broad groups. For example, if you sell running shoes, you can start with ‘active people’, or if you sell children’s clothes, your audience would be ‘young families’. You are looking for a broad definition of who a person might be based on their need for your product. Once you find your audience, you can adjust who you are targeting based on your sales results and looking at the market and your competitors. Defining your audience is essential to establishing your marketing because it will tell you who you are going to aim your marketing towards.
What platforms are you using?
Once you know who your audience is, and who your marketing is focused on, the next step is finding a way to reach that audience. There are several different mediums or platforms that might be a good fit for your business and audience, so finding the right one for you might take some time and effort. Depending on where you are and who your audience is, you might be able to use print, television, radio, or direct mail. Today, one of the most popular and cost-effective forms of marketing is online and through social media. Using an online medium is crucial for your marketing as people’s first search for a product or business often begins online. If you are creating an online presence, you’ll have to choose from the big 4 social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Each platform has its strengths and weaknesses based on who your audience is. When it's time to start posting, make sure to keep using your branding in every post because consistency is key to establishing your brand and building your reputation!