5 Strategies to Build A Solid Marketing Foundation
If you are anything like most new business owners, your marketing strategy isn’t based on much actual strategy. Make some reels, send an occasional email, post pictures of your product… done. Unfortunately, this willy-nilly approach to marketing is unlikely to lead to business success.
While no one book or resource can make you a marketing expert, Allan Dib’s The 1-Page Marketing Plan, is a great starting point for learning marketing basics that will move your business forward.
5 Strategies to Build A Solid Marketing Foundation
1. Identify your niche target market.
I know you’ve heard this before, but it’s worth hammering home that small businesses cannot and should not try to market to everyone. You don’t have the marketing budget of a Coca Cola or an Apple, and you can’t afford to just toss your marketing efforts out into the world and hope the right people will find you.
If you target a tight niche, you will become a big fish in a small pond, and then it’s much easier to win customers.
Marketing to a smaller pool of people doesn’t mean that others are excluded as customers. It just means that your marketing time and money will be hyper focused on the people most likely to buy from you.
2. Use advertising to get people to execute a specific action
On a small business budget, you shouldn’t use advertising to build your brand. You need to focus your advertising on getting people to execute a clear action.
And this might seem surprising, but that specific action usually isn’t buying your product. Very few people buy on their first interaction with a business, so it’s better to focus your marketing on activities that create trust and offer people free value.
For example, you might direct them to download a report, register for a free event, or subscribe to an informative newsletter. Assuming your free offerings are high quality, you can begin to position yourself as a helpful expert that your target market will turn to when they are ready to buy.
3. Collect and Use Email Addresses
When you promote a free resource, while you may not be making any sales, you should be getting a very valuable asset - an email address.
Email addresses allow you to directly communicate with your future customers and unlike with social media, you control how and when your message is shared. With email, there are no shifting algorithms or new forms of media you must create to stay relevant. You’re in the driver’s seat.
Plus, when potential customers are first introduced to your webpage, on average 37% of them will be interested but won’t buy right away (while only 3% purchase immediately). When you get an email address from those “interested visitors,” you now have a direct line of access to convince them to come back and buy.
4. Build trust by being a valuable resource
Once you have added someone to your email list, you may think it’s time to sell, sell, sell. However, this type of aggressive messaging is more likely to lead to unsubscribes than purchases.
While your emails should occasionally feature sales opportunities, most of your messaging should give value to your email list. By sharing informative articles, how-to posts, or essential news updates, you will establish yourself as a trusted expert. You won’t appear as a sleazy salesperson - you'll become their advisor helping them solve problems.
This might seem like a lot of work, but truth be told - you should be staying on top of industry trends for the sake of your own business. Sharing what you are learning with customers is just one more step, and it will create huge credibility.
5. Make the most of your existing customers
Once you have successfully converted someone from interested to purchasing, keeping them happy and buying more is essential to business growth. It is much easier to get someone to buy from you again than it is to convert a new customer.
One strategy for making the most of your current customers is offering basic and premium packages. Most people will start at the basic level, but as they begin to rely on your product or service they will probably want to upgrade.
You can also offer ‘add ons’ for larger core products. Think accessories for electronics, bonus features for software, or matching earrings to go with a necklace.
And one of the best ways to keep customers coming back is to design a subscription or membership model. Once people have a recurring payment set up, they are less likely to shop around. They've made their choice, and unless your product quality declines, they are unlikely to leave.
The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Business Book Review
This is a fabulous little book. It’s a great resource whether you are just getting started or need a refresher to boost your marketing strategy. You aren’t going to get a deep dive into any one topic, but it does a great job as a marketing primer. I give The 1-Page Marketing Plan a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
