Are you looking to amp up your marketing?
Great. But now what? Where are you going to start? Well, I suggest before you press “go” you do the following three things. This way you’ll be sure to stay on track when you do start your marketing campaign.
The following three practices are crucial if you want to get started on the right foot.
1. Think strategically and don’t work in crisis mode
I work with a lot of small company owners and at the beginning of any project they tend to focus on everything but creative strategy.
They are usually focused on tactics. Meaning your marketing exercise is treated as a one-off campaign that needs to get done yesterday.
This mindset is never good.
If you’re treating marketing as a crisis it’s time to take a few steps back and think about strategy first. In fact a great marketing motto to live by is strategy before tactics every time.
Marketing should be a creative, sustained, incremental process. Marketing should also be created as an ongoing system that keeps working for you.
When you toss the “how quickly can I get it done?” mindset in the can you are ready for step 2.
2. Position your business for success
Why are you in business? Who is your ideal customer? What exactly do you do for them?
Have you articulated all of this in a short positioning statement?
In essence, have you sat down with pen and paper and articulated exactly why someone would do business with your company?
This is what I mean by thinking strategically. In order for your marketing to work you need to create a short, clear statement that defines your business.
If you haven’t done this yet today’s exercise is simple: Focus on exactly how you want people to see your business. What does your brand represent?
This is when you start to clearly articulate what you do. It makes it much easier to build a marketing framework that speaks to, and attracts, the right people.
You will also create a world where marketing decisions are much easier to make.
3. Interview your best customers
Marketing usually involves a few decision-makers and that’s it. But if you want to create a marketing system that works it’s important to talk to people, especially your best customers.
Here’s what I’ve learned after many years in the marketing business: Interviewing is a skill that brings rewards in the form of rock solid branding, great marketing, and an uptick in business.
Problem is, many small companies don’t even consider it.
When you start talking to customers amazing things can happen… you’ll hear details about your company you may not have considered, and get testimonials you can use on your site and on a ratings and review site. Even some constructive criticism that might help you improve your business.
I think that most happy clients are happy to tell you how well you helped them. It’s time you started taking advantage of your most valuable resource, your customers.
Get busy and get marketing.
Do you want to bring your brand to life? Taking a few minutes to complete my brand audit will help you think about your current marketing efforts and what might need to change. It will also help me suggest several ways to improve your branding and marketing now: http://mcbreenmedia.com/contact/brand-audit/
After you complete the form, we’ll contact you to schedule a time to go over the results and see how we can help.
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The post Want to Create a Marketing System for Your Small Company? (Do These 3 Things First) appeared first on McBreen Marketing.