How to be Strategic with your Marketing

How to be Strategic with your Marke3ng

What We’ll Cover Today

1. How to develop clear brand messages

2. How to do the basics of marke3ng

3. How to further define target markets

4. How to be strategic with your marke3ng

5. What it looks like in ac3on







Define your brand identity. Get beyond your services list to what makes you different – an elevator

pitch could capture this.

Spy on your competitors: What do they say about themselves?

How are you different?

Focus on talking about WHY you are a better choice

 We can help you grow your business  We can help you streamline operations  We can help you expand your capabilities  We can help you make better products  We have the best customer service  We have the most experience  We have the lowest price (be careful with this)  We are local

GET BEYOND THE SERVICE LIST!

Paid marketing won’t work if you haven’t clearly spelled out why people

should consider your company.

Developing clear brand messages SECTION REVIEW







Have a professional website  This will serve as the central hub providing the

most complete information about your company and directing people to social media channels.

 Make sure it conveys your brand and messaging

 Is it on par with or better than your competitors in terms of design and quality of content?

Make sure your website clearly presents brand messages and services

 Don’t let your uncle’s neighbor’s son’s girlfriend do it – you have options!

 Ad Agencies/Web Development companies/Freelancers (will they be there for you after it is built?)

 You!

Low budget? Build your own website

 smallbusiness.yahoo.com, GoDaddy.com, Homestead.com, squarespace.com

 Big Commerce, 3dCart, or Volusion for ecommerce sites

 Benefit: low cost and can include applications like photo galleries

 Drawback: depends on your time and writing skills, cookie-cutter design

Make your site Mobile friendly Building a site with Responsive Design is now an option - or build a separate mobile website that can detect access by mobile phones

Create a professional handout  People don’t read

 Business cards or rack cards may be enough if you have a good website – primary purpose of many print materials today is to drive to web or social media

  Include testimonials, if room permits

 Use low cost VistaPrint.com templates

Hundreds of designs by industry

Hundreds of designs by industry

Network! Network! Network!

The 3 Rules of Networking Don’t heavy sell

It is like dating - ask questions about them! (But watch for openings to share info about yourself and your business)

Don’t worry about how many people you talk to, just make sure they are good conversations

Send out Press Releases

  Search “How to write a press release” online

  Has to be newsworthy – launch new products, announce events, new staff, new account, big project, awards

  A few times per year, if you are lucky

Use Social Media

What can you talk about?   Company announcements   New customers or completed projects   New staff or staff stories   Awards or achievements   Customer stories   Related business or community news   Unsure? look at what others in your industry

are doing

It is about ENGAGEMENT (and SEO)

WOW!

DID YOU HEAR?

AWESOME!

COOL!

Cross share content (and have your employees share too) to make it all work!

CAUTION: Don’t start anything you won’t continue long term

 Great free (or inexpensive) tools for this: • CrowdBooster.com

•  TweetDeck

• HootSuite.com

• My new favorite: www.bufferapp.com

Schedule ahead:

NutshellMail.com

Make your existing customers feel special  Quarterly phone calls or

e-newsletters

 Welcome notes, thank you notes, holiday cards

 Purchase level recognition with gifts

 Customer of the quarter gift cards

It costs

to get a new customer vs. keep an existing

2% 10%

Customer Reten3on Costs

Customer profitability tends to increase over the life of a retained customer

Ask for Referrals

Ask for testimonials

Have a professional website and a professional handout

Drive traffic and awareness through networking, press releases & social media

Nurture your existing customers

Doing the basics of marketing SECTION REVIEW







Identify & prioritize your target markets

They can look very different and need different marketing approaches and messages to reach effectively. Good marketing is not one size fits all.

Target market examples

  Existing customers   Board members/stakeholders   Homeowners   Retirees   Small business   Government contractors   Women

Then drill down even more

  Small businesses within a 30 mile radius, at least 3 employees, preferably in the following types of industries, chamber members

  Women, age 25 – 50, in the workforce

Adjust your message for each market

Define different targets and develop customized messages for each.

Further defining target markets SECTION REVIEW







AUDIENCE PRODUCT/SERVICE MESSAGE BEST WAY TO REACH

General Business Branding, print design, web design, marke5ng & social media consul5ng

We can help you be more strategic with your marke5ng so you get results

Networking, public speaking, sales reps, referral program, social media

Economic & Community Development Organiza5ons

Web design, retail recruitment guides, presenta5on materials

We can help your community aDract the aDen5on of site selectors and retailers

Industry Tradeshows, sponsorships, referral program, e-‐newsleDers, blog

Exis5ng Customers All services – with a focus on new services

Don’t forget we can help you with a wide range of services

Direct mail, referral programs, e-‐newsleDers, calls

List each Audience…

…and the service/product you want to

provide each

…and the message you

want to tell each

…and the best ways to reach each

Build your marketing strategy

What are your options?   Associations and advertising opportunities   Sponsorships   Newspapers and local magazine ads   Trade magazine ads   Online advertising   Networking – Chamber, WBCNA,

HASBAT, etc.

What are your options?

  Radio   TV   Billboard   Social media   Blogging   Direct Mail   Press Releases

  E-newsletters   Speaking

engagements   Promotional

products   Etc. etc.

How do you choose?   What can you consistently deliver? Is a

monthly e-newsletter realistic?   What can you afford?   Biggest rule: Have a presence in as

many places as possible within your budget: a small ad four times is better than a big ad once

  Spread out your visibility over time

Develop your 12 month plan and budget Do date/pricing research for print ads, events. Then plug in around those.

Determine the best approaches to deliver your message to

each target market, multiple times throughout the year,

within your budget

Being strategic with your marketing SECTION REVIEW







Red Sage Strategy for Economic Development Market

  Association membership in EDAA, NAIDA, and SEDC   Three to four conferences per year

  Booth and sponsorships at conferences, be a speaker whenever possible

  Rack cards – one for web, one for marketing

  Direct mail – database from association

  LinkedIn participation

  Quarterly E-newsletters

  CommunityResults.com

Materials for Economic Development

Red Sage Strategy for Small Business Market

  WBCNA, HASBAT, Energy Huntsville & Chamber participation in Decatur and Huntsville – regular networking

  Public speaking

  Ad in Decatur Chamber newsletter

  Weekly blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

  Commitment to update website and SEO

  Press Releases

  Award entries

Materials for Small Business

How do you know if your marketing is

working?

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the problem is I don't know which half.

- Lord Leverhulme (British founder of Unilever)

Ways to track results   Train your staff to ask all new callers – how

did you hear of us   Traditional advertising (radio, print ads,

direct mail) tie in a trackable offer – bring this in for a discount, mention this ad etc.

  Google Analytics, social media metrics, e-newsletter metrics

  How many people tell you they saw your ad   Sales volume or inbound calls volume

  Be consistent with your elevator pitch and core messages

  Do the basics well and consistently   Be strategic with target markets   Spread out your efforts with a variety

of activities over time

FINAL REVIEW

Bottom Line: You don’t have to be perfect.

You just have to be better than your competitors.

WE ARE DONE!






Download this presentation at www.slideshare.net/ellendid4

Please connect with me! www.RedSageOnline.com

twitter.com/ellendidier twitter.com/RedSageAL

facebook.com/redsage linkedin.com/in/ellendidier

Facebook = personal and friendly

LinkedIn – your online resume and business network

Ask for testimonials

Search for and actively participate in industry groups locally, nationally,

internationally

LinkedIn groups are a great way to monitor buzz and trends – and

contribute content

Create a page for your business

  Rapidly growing in importance   Gen-Y and tech savvy participants   Some industries more than others   Search Twitter and “research” what

people are thinking about things (or saying about your brand) – great focus group

  Post daily or multiple times per day

Twitter

Using # and @ to increase visibility

  Use @ to mention an organization or individual by name – this shows up in their feed (and is very desirable) @RedSageAL

  Use # to highlight topics to show up in searches such as #PromDress #Marketing #Huntsville

  Create your own #hashtag for an event or promotion such as #RiverFest2012 or #SageAdvice – use to create buzz at an event

# and @ in action

  Small (but growing) audience   At a minimum, duplicate the posts you

are posting to Facebook or Twitter – but best to build out like microsite – allows photo galleries, videos, services pages, more information than Facebook

  For some local businesses – may be best way to show up on page 1 of Google!

  Populate with positive reviews!

Google+

YouTube – seriously consider!

Blogging