7 Ways to Improve Your Marketing During Disruption - by Kevin Wilmore

There’s a well-known “ancient curse” that says, “May you live in interesting times.” Well, our lives have certainly become more interesting recently. Side note, despite what I’d always heard, there’s no proof that this “curse” is actually Chinese at all. Interesting.

As the world has scrambled to meet the challenges we face, business owners and leaders have also had to get creative and make many tough decisions in order to keep their companies viable. One set of decisions many business leaders wrestle with when times are tough is how, and how much, to market their business. In the paragraphs that follow I’ll share seven ways to improve your marketing during this disruption, and a couple of things not to do.

1 – Take the Time to Plan

Marketing is just part of your overall business plan and the best marketing is anchored in a solid overall plan.

If you don’t already have long-term goals, 5 or 10-year goals, sit back and give it a thought. Where do you want your business to be in 10 years? Be BOLD! 10-Year Goals aren’t the place for conservatism. Do you want to own your two biggest competitors? Open in 5 new markets? Retire? These are often called BHAGS – Big Hairy Audacious Goals.

Now that you know your long-term BHAGS, where would you have to be in 3-years, in order to meet that 10-year goal? What would that look like? How much revenue would you have to have? How many team members? Paint the picture in your mind. Write it down.

Next, repeat the same process to set your 1-year goals. What are the key metrics you need to track to meet your 3-year goals? How far along will you be in 12- months? Obviously, reality weighs pretty heavy on how we are setting annual goals right now. Be realistic, but don’t aim low.

Finally, what are the most important things you can get done in the next 90 days to ensure your business hits the 1-year target you just established? Now you know the top priority projects/tasks for your next quarter. Schedule around them and ensure you get them done. Prioritize them to the top of your list. When you’re successful, you’ll be just 39 quarters away from reaching your BHAGS!

2 – Network & Collaborate

Networking is a vital form of marketing for most small businesses. In today’s environment, interestingly enough, there are more opportunities to network than ever before. In fact, it’s less expensive and less time intensive to network now than it was before this virus topsy-turvied our lives.

So, create some new connections. Find business leaders with complementary businesses or competing businesses and collaborate with them. Maybe it’s a shared offering or just an exchange of ideas. Whatever the result, your odds of finding an opportunity for growth increase with every Zoom happy hour and entrepreneur virtual meet up you attend.

3 – Keep Investing

Marketing is not an expense. Marketing is an investment in the growth of your business. Right now, there are companies in your competitive set who are aggressively marketing and selling and taking market share. If you go too far into conservation mode, you’ll lose market share and mind share to those companies that you might never be able to regain. Once again, it’s all about having a strong plan, and executing that plan.

4 - Adjust Your Messages

Even though it’s important to continue to market, the message may need to change. Research has shown that most consumers want and expect companies to be operating and trying to make ends meet - it’s OK to talk about your business. That said, we’re living through a national tragedy. Tone and message are important. You can be opportunistic, without looking like an opportunist.

Focus on empathy and language. Make sure you are highlight the value of your offering and the problem it solves for consumers. – This might be an entirely new problem that didn’t exist 3 months ago for most people. In the end, find the Win/Win. You make sales/close deals and your customer is glad they found you.

5 – Direct Response Marketing is King for Small Businesses

Branding is important. That said, your business is not Apple or Coke. You probably don’t have billions to spend on building your brand. Most small businesses need marketing that drives real, bottom line results now. Brand awareness, familiarity and building credibility in the marketplace are great side benefits of a well-designed direct response marketing campaign. So is getting the cash register to ring!

Some of the most common types of Direct Response campaigns for small businesses are Direct Mail, Google Ads and social media advertising. Regardless of the platform, all direct response ads should include the following elements:

• There is a compelling offer for your targeted audience

• There is a call to action – Tell your audience how to respond. Call to Get Your FREE Gift!

• Clear Instructions – Confused Prospects Don’t Buy.

• Tracking and Measurement – One great thing about digital or print Direct Response advertising is you can track the response to the offer. Make sure you understand how you are going to track response before you invest.

• Strong Copy. – What makes your business different? What’s the value? What’s the motivating factor for your audience, there problem?

6 – If Your Website is Not Up to Speed, Your Results Will Lag

Think about how you shop. You see an ad, either online, in a magazine or flyer or on a billboard. You pull out your phone to check out the company’s website. If the site is horrible, the interaction is over. If the site is good, you learn more about the company/product. If you’ve been waiting to update your website, now is the time. It’s one of the most important investments you can make in your business, regardless of how you typically advertise. There are other pieces that play into your overall online presence, but none are as important to new customer acquisition as a quality website.

7 – Increase and Improve Your Online Reviews

Did you know that most people now trust online reviews more than they trust a recommendation from a friend or family member? Let’s go back to your shopping habits again. After you check a company’s website, or maybe before, you check their online reviews. No reviews or terrible reviews means no sale. There are a variety of ways and tools to help improve your online reviews. Prices range from free (time) to thousands of dollars. I’d encourage you to try this experiment. Google your category. How many reviews do your top competitors have? You need to have at least enough to appear credible next to them on that list or you will not be included in most consumer’s consideration sets.

Finally, as promised, two things not to do during a downturn

• Don’t Cut Your Advertising! I know, that’s a lot like Keep Investing, but it’s important.

• Don’t think, “But my business is different.” – All businesses require a steady flow of new customers to survive. In a “normal” year, up to 20 percent of your customers either move or retire. What will that percentage be this year?!

One last note of advice. Take action using a multi-channel approach and be disciplined about tracking your results/ROI. Not all marketing vehicles work for every business. It takes discipline and planning to track results and adjust message, placement etc. to drive a positive ROI. Find a partner, or a couple, you enjoy working with then plan, execute, measure, repeat.

Kevin Wilmore is the owner of The Inside Coup Austin.

505.553.0676| kwilmore@theinsidecoup.com