There are many ways to market your business, and the key to maximising your efforts and marketing spend is to inject variety in your marketing plan.
The following are four tips on how you can diversify your marketing to increase market reach and impact.
If your brand hasn’t had a makeover in many years, it may be time for a new look. This can be one of the most creative and fun aspects of your marketing plan, but it should not be left to amateurs. Remember, your brand is the cornerstone of your marketing. Work with professionals to assess if it is time to vary your brand. If this is given the green light, seek their assistance to develop a strong logo and be sure to include it on all promotions and communications.
A frequently overlooked part of a marketing plan is charitable community giving. Goodwill marketing often has the longest and most lasting impact on the people you want to attract to your business. Consider adopting a charity or offer pro bono services. You may want to donate merchandise, contribute to fundraising auctions or sponsor an event for a local non-profit organisation. Most charities make a point to thank their sponsors publicly in their newsletters, programs and advertisements.
Consider creating a presence in Facebook to stay in touch with current customers and connect with leads. Remember, communication should be central to your marketing plan. Create a page for your business. This is free, easy to set up and a powerful marketing tool if used properly. Like and share content daily. This process can be automated. The content does not need to reflect your business product or service offering. Be creative and have fun. Share quotes, cartoons, photos etc. to engage with your Facebook community. Regularly run promotions from your Facebook page.
Today’s marketplace demands businesses have a one-page website. Start out small with one or two pages. Once you’ve experimented with the Web, you’ll be prepared to expand it with the appropriate information. Again, ideally seek professional assistance to maximise this marketing tool.
An optometry practice had been trading for over 20 years under a previous owner’s name as their business brand. The business offered a broad range of optometry services in line with most mainstream optometry practices.
The business did not stand out in the marketplace. With increased competition, the business was seeing sales decline and the need for discounts to compete within the market. This strategy was not sustainable. The business sought the advice of its Accountant to see if they could reposition the business and enable them to escape the price-cutting cycle.
The Accountant surveyed existing customers and assessed that most had no attachment to the brand being the business name. It was tired and lacked impact. The Accountant also looked at local competition and the business service offering to see if they could find a differentiator. They discovered that there were limited practices offering optometry services for children. This was an additional service offered by the Client. The existing business website was also identified as a pain point. Customer feedback was that it was confusing and clunky to use.
The Accountant followed a four-stage process to provide a solution:
Stage 1: Existing Brand review.
Stage 2: Evaluation of new brand and positioning options.
Stage 3: Build new brand equity and marketing plan.
Stage 4: Implement brand rollout/marketing plan.
The business was relaunched with a new brand and an upbeat youth-focused image. It had found its differentiator and now targeted this niche market (optometry services for children). Monthly sales exceeded sales under the old brand within six months. The business marketing plan is generating a return of almost $5 to every $1 spent on marketing. The business is now well-positioned for significant growth in the coming years.
Marketing assistance and advice may not seem to be an obvious fit for your Accountant. We can help you in this area in three ways:
As you would expect, we can also provide an external perspective and bring to the table knowledge of what works and what does not work from our varied business client base.
