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A successful marketing strategy can be the difference between a thriving business and one that is just scraping by. An unsuccessful one is often a failure, not because of the marketing itself, but rather in the execution, says Bonfire’s Evan Dela-Grammaticas.

Let's take a look at some critical things that you need to consider when setting up a marketing strategy.

Why You?

What makes your business, product or service unique? I spoke with a client a while back and he just couldn't seem to grasp what a unique selling position (USP) was. His iPhone lay on the table in front of him while he kept on falling back to "I am the cheapest".

Eventually I leaned forward, pulled my iPhone out my pocket and said "Here we have two phones, both identical. One costs $500 and the other $700, which would you purchase?" It didn't take him long to say that he would go for the $500 phone. "Great," I said. "Now let me give you more information. The $700 phone comes with a five year full replacement warranty. Now which phone would you buy?" Again, it didn't take him long to change his decision to the $700 phone.

If all you provide to a client is a price, then the only thing they can make a decision on is price. If you bring something unique to the product or service, you allow the client to base a decision on something other than price.

What is your USP?

What are you hoping to achieve? The answer here is always to make more money, but let's look deeper.

We need to ask what you are hoping to achieve in the marketing of your business. The obvious answer is sales. Are you trying to get new clients through the door? Attract older clients? Get some brand exposure into a new suburb or area? Attract a different type of client?

Be specific on what you are trying to achieve with your strategy as different target markets may require a different marketing strategy. Attach a dollar value on what achieving the results will mean for your business.

Now we need to get clear on how we are going to measure the results of your marketing strategy. This is often one of the most overlooked steps in establishing a marketing strategy. People are so eager to get the phone ringing that they don't setup any processes to work out how effective their marketing strategy is.

Ask yourself the question "How much time should I give this strategy before I grade the results?" Be practical with the answer and if you are not sure, seek the advice of a professional before proceeding.

Now that you know how long you are going to trial the strategy for, work out how you are going to measure the results. Are you going to ask people who call in where they heard about you? If so, where are you going to record the results? You are going to need to answer questions such as:

  • How many people did my campaign reach?

  • How many visited my website as a result of my campaign?

  • How many people called me as a result of my campaign?

  • How many people became clients as a result of my campaign?

These answers will allow you to work out the cost per acquisition (CPA) of a new client. From there it is easy. If you are buying a client for $20 through marketing efforts and your profit on a new client is $50 then you can consider the campaign successful.

Products vs Strategies

A strategy is a combination of tools each bound together in the pursuit of a common goal. Both products and strategies have their place in the greater scheme. A product is simply a single tool which is used to achieve a specific simple task. For instance, a hammer is a tool and its task is to hammer in nails.

Wood glue, clamps and hammer can all be combined together to provide a much more secure join than just the hammer could ever provide alone. From a marketing perspective, one needs to have a solid understanding of all the tools, how they are used and what their strengths are before attempting to marry them up into a more holistic strategy.

Contact Evan at Bonfire Digital Marketing Agency.

So, before jumping in head first into any marketing activities for your businesses, first take the time to plan a strategy. This will give you a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how to effectively measure its success.

 

article first published in November 2015 in Paint & Panel magazine

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