When it comes to marketing at your business, not all activities are created equal. Some will drive growth, and some will just burn through your resources. If your marketing efforts often result in non-performing ad hoc activities, you’re losing out on opportunities to connect with the right prospects and bring in quality leads. In that case, it’s time for a review of your marketing approach.
Today, marketing is about building customer relationships and trust — not just to grow your company, but to survive and flourish. You want an approach that will reach a specified, definitive market and that leverages modern marketing technologies and methods that will help you be agile and responsive to your customers and their needs.
Here are 11 marketing strategies to consider and build this year. Use this as a checklist to gauge where you are now and what areas need improvement.
All too often, companies seeking to grow their marketing approach begin with external activities such as increasing their ad spend. This plan works if your internal systems, product and strategy are operating well. If not, it can be a waste of resources and counterintuitive. It’s always best to ensure your internal processes are on the mark first, then set a strong marketing strategy, then execute externally.
Another common pitfall occurs when companies seek a growth model that focuses exclusively on gaining new customers and increasing sales. It’s natural to want new customers, but only if you already have a strong retention and advocacy plan in place. The goal is to have a wide-open front door and a very small back door — a strong retention strategy is the key for long-term growth.
How well do you know your customers? You may know their demographics and maybe their psychographics, but do you know what they do in their free time, for example? Understanding your customers deeply will allow you to speak to them more authentically and frequently — and to speak to them when and where they are listening.
Traditional sales funnels start at awareness and end with a sale. But the sale should be the midpoint of your customer’s journey, not the end point. After the sale, smart companies excite and grow their customer relationships and then develop customers into advocates and even promoters to amplify their company’s reach and voice in the market. Referrals exponentially increase sales conversion, so building the relationship past the sale point of the funnel pays off.
Have you ever worked for a company where sales and marketing and customer experience are siloed teams? If you have, you know it really takes a toll. The next decade will focus increasingly on the customer journey and front office transformation, so it will be critical to integrate your front office so that each team can support and raise the effectiveness of the corresponding groups.
Imagine if your sales team never needed to make cold calls because the marketing team’s lead generation efforts consistently delivered warm, informed and ready-to-act leads. You can start making this possible by taking the first step toward front office integration. Evaluate the current processes, roles and responsibilities of your teams and note which processes stop at a silo wall and which seamlessly blend into the next team’s area. Then you’ll get an idea of where you can create fresh connections between teams for better outcomes.
Many customers will never visit your corporate headquarters, but all customers will visit your website. A well-designed and maintained website acts as your company’s “digital core” — the hub for prospective and existing customers to connect with your company and solve their problems. How is your organic digital search score going? This is the least expensive option for helping customers find you and all that you offer.
Digital marketing and advertising is one of the most strategically important business developments of the 21st century, but only when it is performed purposefully by a savvy, experienced team. Once you have your ideal customer profile completed and their customer journey mapped out, you’ll have a good idea of where to place your digital advertising bets wisely for the highest budget return.
The marketing rule of 7 is the idea that a customer needs to be exposed to your product, service or message seven times before they are ready to make a purchase. That’s a general guide, of course, and it could be more than that depending on various factors, such as how saturated your market is or how targeted your marketing efforts are. Studies prove that advertising consistency in the marketplace builds trust with potential customers. Consider how and where your brand needs to be consistently seen and heard over and over in a meaningful way.
Customers are busy running their businesses and simply do not have time to stay informed of changes in the marketplace. Instead, they rely on trusted partners like you to provide an honest and steady stream of content to keep them well-informed. Content-based marketing is the fastest way to build customer trust and appreciation. Customers want the content that you have — it’s a valued asset and often they’re willing to trade their contact information to get it.
The SaaS industry developed marketing formulas (customer acquisition cost, lifetime customer value, churn rate, etc.) out of necessity. Early SaaS marketers noticed that customers subscribed to their products quickly but could leave as fast as they came if they didn’t like the product. Today, the use of formulas has spread far beyond the tech industry. Have you calculated your customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, churn and other SaaS metrics, and do you know how to improve them and your bottom line?
With all the new advances in digital marketing, what about the traditional marketing activities that still work for you? In many cases, the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” can be appropriate. The ideal marketing mix is the combination of tactics that works for your business. It’s likely that an upgrade of your digital approach combined with traditional methods is a great choice. If events, great PR and even some clever guerilla tactics work, mix them into your digital transformation.
In today’s volatile marketplace, it’s more important than ever to have a strong strategic marketing plan that results in measured success for each marketing activity you invest in. You also want your efforts to bring you a holistic understanding of your customer to drive loyalty and long-term business growth. By implementing the strategies above, you can strengthen your current marketing program and begin to drive growth in new and exciting ways.
Contact our strategic marketing outsourcing experts to learn more about how to drive growth faster at your business, as well as other ways to take control of your operations to stay profitable and sustainable.
