Create and Implement a Marketing Campaign
Online marketing, traditional marketing… As a business
owner, you know that marketing is important to your success. But there are so
many choices, how do you know which methods are best?
The short answer is, it is impossible to know whether your
marketing and online marketing efforts will work until you try them. However,
there are a few tried and true methods that have a strong likelihood of being
successful.
Before you determine which methods of marketing and online
marketing to use, you’ll want to devise a system for keeping track. Some people
keep track of advertisements by setting up different email addresses or phone
numbers. Others only do one thing at a time. Whichever you choose, determining
how successful the campaign is can be a vital aspect of your future success.
What kind of business?
Your first step is to define what kind of business you have.
Depending on which business you operate, you will use different methods of
marketing and online marketing. For example, if you have a retail business,
you’ll want to market your business where consumers will see, such as in the
local paper. If you are a consultant who works with small businesses, you’ll
want to use techniques such as direct mail and cold calling.
What is your product?
When you create your marketing plan, you will need to
understand exactly what your product or service is. If you can’t articulate this,
then your customers won’t get the message either.
Answer these questions:
- What
are the features of my product or service?
- How
will the customer benefit from using my product or service?
- Who
is the competition?
- Why
is your product better than your competitor’s?
- What
exactly does your customer want?
Analyse the market.
In order to effectively market your product or service using
online marketing techniques and other forms of marketing you will need to
understand what your competition is selling. By doing this you can determine if
there is a place in the market for your product or service. There is definitely
a place if you understand exactly what sets you apart from the competition.
Who is your customer?
When creating a marketing plan, you also need to understand
your customer. If you don’t know, conduct the necessary market research to find
out. You can’t sell to your customer if you aren’t sure who exactly that is.
Market research firms exist to help you determine
information about the market and your customer. Their job is to gather enough
necessary data to help you put together your business and marketing plans. If
you can’t afford to hire someone to do the research, do your best to employ
similar techniques.
How will you promote?
After you do all the necessary research, you can determine
how you will tell your customer about your product or service. You can either
employ online marketing techniques or use more traditional methods. Which you
choose will depend on your business. Some like to use a mixture of both.
- Direct
mail
- Advertisements
- Press
releases
- Free
articles
- Newsletters
- Brochures
- Direct
email
- Cold
calling
- Commercials
Online marketing methods utilise the World Wide Web and
usually rely on having a website and email address. Spend the money to get a
good website done, or do the work yourself if you are proficient. Here are some
online marketing techniques you can use:
- Email
marketing
- Using
online networking sites
- Frequenting
forums where your potential customers visit
- Starting
an online newsletter
- Writing
a blog with current topics that will interest potential customers
- Posting
ads for your website and business through online advertising sites
- Offering
link exchanges with sites and blogs that attract your potential customers
- Writing
free articles for people to use on their websites and in their
newsletters.
Remember that no matter which methods you choose, you need
to have a solid method for keeping track.
Advertising Budget
The marketing and online marketing methods you choose will be
limited by your advertising budget. If you don’t have a lot of money, you will
need to use less expensive methods. This kind of marketing is called “grass
roots marketing.”
If you have a sizeable budget, you can choose the more
costly methods such as direct mail or taking out a long running advertisement
in a high circulation newspaper or magazine.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t usually mean that money is
wasted. Keep track of how successful your advertising efforts are and you will
realise that you probably make more money than you spend. However, this isn’t
always the case. The benefit of proper research is that the right methods will
become apparent as you get to know your product or service and customer.
When to hire someone?
There are times when hiring someone to put together your
marketing plan is beneficial. If you are a busy company with a small staff, you
probably won’t have the time to do all the research and preparation yourself.
By hiring a market research firm to analyse the competition and the market and
working with a marketing consultant can not only save you time, the expert
planning will probably pay off.
However, if you do decide to write the plan yourself that
doesn’t mean it won’t work. Despite all the research and preparation, there is
an element of luck when it comes to marketing. Whether or not an expert can do
a better job than you will depend on certain external factors that can’t
necessarily be measured.
Implementing your plan
Once you write your marketing plan, you can put it to
action. Use a software program that will not only keep track of any leads and
potential customers, but also one that will help you organise how you obtain
the potential customer. Avoid running too many advertisements and marketing
campaigns at once, otherwise it will be nearly impossible to determine which
methods work best. Finally, don’t be surprised if at the start of your business
you spend most of your time marketing. As you get more customers, this will
change.