Marketing Insight

Top tips to help grow your business through marketing

Which marketing will deliver the best results? How much should I spend? What return can I expect?

Whilst it can be difficult to give generic answers to these common questions, there are tactics which increase the chances of positive results from marketing. Sarah West of Full Mix Marketing looks at nine top tips:

1. BE STRATEGIC

Often mistaken simply for how you publicise your products or services, marketing affects everything you do and is often broken down into the 7 P’s – products, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence. It’s tempting to skip straight to promotion and assume the better you publicise your services, the faster you’ll grow. However, if your service is poor or your product is overpriced, promotion will only go so far. Customers don’t differentiate between your product, website or the person who answers your phone. Every element can affect their decision to buy. Successful marketing is about ensuring everything you do meets or exceeds their expectations.

2. SWOT THE OPPORTUNITIES

SWOT analysis involves looking internally at your business’s strengths and weaknesses - and externally at any opportunities and threats. Recognising your business’s strengths is often something you can capitalise upon. For example, if your business has a great reputation for quality, it could become the focus of your marketing. Improving weaknesses could be the fastest route to success. For example, if your website is poor, improving it could be key to online growth. Chances are you’ve already identified some opportunities for growth. There may be a gap in the market or a new type of customer you can target. Like weaknesses, threats can often be turned around. If your industry is threatened by new technology, be the first to embrace it.

3. BE DIFFERENT

A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is something which helps your business stand out over competitors. Some evolve naturally, but it’s often best to proactively select your USP from the key attributes your customers look for. In reality, your business may not actually do anything particularly but by communicating your USP in every piece of marketing, customers will begin to identify your business with the qualities you want to promote.

4. BE CONSISTENT, BE PERSISTENT

To be memorable, all your marketing needs to communicate the same message. Customers are likely to be exposed to your marketing in many ways, so keep your messages consistent for as long as it takes to develop the right brand reputation.

5. MAXIMISE YOUR ROI

An increase in your marketing spend should result in a corresponding increase in customers, revenue or profit – given appropriate time. When choosing your marketing activities, you need to evaluate the time, cost, and expertise needed and the likelihood of results. For example, e-mail marketing is low cost but requires the right skills. Whilst advertising can generate a high return, it can also be costly. Social media is essential for most businesses but can absorb time. It may be more effective to get more from your existing customers, rather than target new ones. The return you receive from marketing is often directly proportionate to the thought which goes into your strategy.

6. ALWAYS CREATE A BRIEF

Whenever you create a piece of marketing, create a written brief first. It simply needs to specify what you want it to achieve, who you’re targeting, the key message and what action you want it to encourage the recipient to take Without a brief, marketing is often evaluated on looks, rather than effectiveness. Once the piece of marketing is delivered, you can compare results against the brief and learn lessons.

7. BENEFITS, NOT FEATURES

Whilst the specifics of your product or service are important, your customer wants to know ‘What’s in it for me?’ Customers are more likely to see the benefits if you help them. Rather than the raw features, focus your marketing on the benefits your customers value most.

8. THREE CRITICAL ELEMENTS

Whilst marketing must be visually appealing, it has a job to do. Don’t let design overshadow the effectiveness of your marketing. Whatever marketing you deliver, it’s likely to only be seen for a few seconds. Keep text to a minimum, use headlines to create impact and choose images which convey a lot of positive information. Effective marketing should encourage a response. Include a call-toaction such as a reminder to get in touch or a tempting offer.

9. MONITOR, EVALUATE, IMPROVE

Greater results come as you refine your marketing. The more you can track your activities, the more accurately you can evaluate results, especially with digital marketing. A/B testing is a powerful tool. By using two differing versions of the same marketing, you can gauge which performs better. Need more help? Visit fullmixmarketing.co.uk