How to Market Your Business
By: Steve Cranshaw
Attention Business Owners:
Marketing your business is crucial to its success. How you get in front of your customers can be daunting and there are so many different avenues to take. So how do you reach your target audience? We will breakdown these questions and more to help you understand the various approaches you can take to make you and your business known to your customers and clients.
Before we dive into marketing tactics and your first Super Bowl ad (ok… in due time with the Super Bowl ad) you need to be able to answer yes to this following question: Do you have a brand?
If you answered “no” or “yes, I have a logo” you need to read our blog post “How to Build a Brand for Your Business”. Without a brand strategy, your marketing strategy could miss the mark.
What is Marketing?
Marketing by definition is “the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.” As a business owner in a world where few companies have little to no competition, you need to promote your business and promote it well. Marketing allows you to increase the likelihood your business will be found by your target audience where they are and where they consume content.
There are dozens of methods and numerous platforms to market your brand and your business and this could seem overwhelming, but don’t let it be. But because there are so many options, this allows you to pick and choose the best options for you and your businesses needs.
In summary: Marketing is making your business known and your business’ voice heard by an audience, most notably your target audience.
Why You Need to Market Your Business.
You own a donut shop and you make the best old fashioned donuts with recipes and techniques that have been passed down from 4 generations of donut bakers. It’s great that you know you own a donut shop and that you know you make donuts unlike anyone else, but how do you let your customers know? With marketing and advertising.
Without marketing you are relying on others to find you. But by promoting your business with marketing and advertising you are taking a proactive approach to be discovered. Having your business and its voice heard will begin to build trust with your customers - one of the most important aspects of furthering a relationship with your target audience.
In summary: You need to market to be seen by your target audience and increase the reach your business has.
Marketing Strategy #1 – Email Marketing
Most businesses, even those starting on day one, have a list of email addresses they can utilize to tell people about their business. Emailing is a great way to get in front of your target audience and to entice them to learn more about your services or products.
Email marketing can also produce great metrics like: who is opening your email, who is clicking on links (and which links specifically) along with numerous other insights that only email marketing can deliver.
In summary: With strategic, consistent and planned email campaigns you can put yourself in front of your audience simply by entering their inbox.
Marketing Strategy #2 – Social Media Marketing
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok. The list goes on and on of social media platforms that exist - so use them to your advantage! You need to have business accounts (yes business accounts - they are free) to promote your business and you need to be posting consistently to them. This will help grow your audience and is a quick and easy way to keep them informed about you and your business.
Social media is a great place to add to your brand’s voice, but you need to be present or your audience will think you are taking them for granted or that you forgot about them.
In summary: Build your brand in these social and informative platforms and you will build trust in your customers, both existing and new.
Marketing Strategy #3 – Digital Ad Campaigns
Because so many social media platforms exist and users freely offer up valuable information about themselves (including: age, location, interests, etc. etc.) you are able to target your potential customers better than ever before. With a very reasonable ad spend (we are talking $10 a day with short time frames, in some cases) you can effectively have your ad seen by those who fall into specific criteria that you select.
Social media isn’t the only platform that gathers User Generated Content. Search engines like Google also use insight gained from users (in search terms and queries) to help you to better position your ad and ad spend. When done properly advertisers make $8 for every $1 they spend on Google Ads, on average. So pick out some search terms and run a Google Ad against these and start showing up on page one of Google.
In summary: With a little research and a comprehensive ad campaign, spending money on digital ads is an effective way to get in front of customers in a purposeful way.
Marketing Strategy #4 – Traditional Marketing
In a world where digital marketing (advertising online, in emails or in other digital formats) has taken over, most other forms of advertising fall into the category of “Traditional Marketing”. This type of marketing can include print ads, billboards, physical mailings or newspaper ads, to name a few.
The one downside to Traditional Marketing is that it typically doesn’t provide as detailed or sometimes any metrics like digital marketing. Reason being, accurate tracking and engagement methods are difficult to come by.
In summary: Traditional marketing still has its place in today’s society and can still be an effective way to reach your audience and tell your message - though metrics can be difficult to create in this regard.
Market to Leave Your Mark on Your Audience
Marketing can be complicated, but it is a necessary evil for the success and growth of your business. So where to begin? Reach out to learn about the Custom Marketing Plans we can create that will help your business get to the next level of success.