As an entrepreneur, marketing is a key factor in our company’s success. Instead of asking yourself “Do I need marketing?”, ask yourself “How can I market my business while getting the most for my money?”
With limited resources, marketing is often not a top priority. This is a mistake. Instead of seeing marketing as an expense, it should be seen as a way to generate more revenue. When marketing is effective, your business attracts new customers and receives more orders.
Before investing in advertising and marketing, it is crucial to identify the right marketing mix.
#1 Specify Your Business Goals
Outline your business goals and evaluate how your marketing efforts will support and reinforce these business goals.
#2 Outline Your Marketing Objectives
Retaining customers, attracting new customers, winning customers over from the competition, and building brand loyalty are a few examples of marketing objectives. If your business goal is to increase revenue, two possible marketing objectives include attracting new customers or building brand loyalty.
#3 Identify Your Target Audience
Your business goals and marketing objectives will determine who you are trying to reach. If your marketing objective is to retain customers, you will be targeting existing customers. If your marketing goal is to expand your customer base, you will be targeting new customers.
#4 Select appropriate channels
TV advertisements, radio advertisements, business cards, brochures, direct mailers, books, electronic newsletter, trade shows, events, and sponsorships are a few examples of marketing channels. The key is selecting the right mix of channels to reach your target audience.
The Marketing Spectrum
GrowthWheel’s marketing spectrum identifies six different marketing categories:
Advertising: Print media, handbooks, portals, outdoor media, TV, radio, and web banners.
Prints: Business cards, brochures, product sheets, and presentations.
Online marketing: Website, blog, webportal, directories and network services, and social media.
Direct Marketing: Direct mail, telemarketing, and customer visits.
Publications: Books, articles, electronic newsletter, magazines, and reports.
Promotion: Merchandise, trade shows, events, sponsorships, and samples.
As the marketing spectrum illustrates, there are many ways to market your business. There are traditional forms of marketing like printed materials and more modern forms of social media marketing. It is often best to find a balance between the traditional and digital forms of marketing. The right marketing channel will depend on your objectives and audience.
How can you market your business and get the most for your money? First, you need to identify your business goals and associated marketing objectives. Second, you need to identify your audience. Third, you can create a list of potential marketing channels. Then, research your potential marketing channels and calculate how many customers or orders are needed before the marketing pays for itself. With all this information, you are ready to execute your marketing strategy.
To ensure that you get the most for your money, you need to continuously monitor the marketing results. If one channel is more effective than another, it may be best to adjust the budget and dedicate more resources to the better performing channel. Over time, you can refine your strategy and dedicate your resources to the most-rewarding marketing activities.
If would like guidance on marketing your business, contact us to coordinate your GrowthWheel one-on-one consultation.