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 The term business marketing strategy
might sound like it is esoteric or stratospheric, so
let’s take the mystery out of it so you can devise and
implement your own business marketing strategy that fits
in to your small business plan.
Strategy comes from a Greek word “stratagein” meaning
“to be a general”. Think of a strategy as an overall
plan of action needed to win a war. The smaller, detailed
actions are called tactics. You can have tactical plans
which help you achieve your strategic marketing plan or
overall business marketing strategy. That’s simple
enough, isn’t it?
A business marketing strategy or strategic marketing plan
is an overall plan of marketing actions you intend to take
in order to accomplish a specific goal for your company.
Start with a goal: $2 million in sales this year; expand
into new premises by a certain date; double the size of
the company in 2 years… whatever the goal may be.
Something realistic but challenging. That's the
"war" you want to win. Guess who the general is.
Then work out a simple, overall plan of the major
marketing steps needed to accomplish that (for example):
1.Publish a newsletter for all existing customers and mail
out quarterly.
2.Work out 4 special offers in the year and promote them
to all our customers.
3.Set up on-line shopping and expand the web site.
4.Direct mail campaign promoting the web site to all
customers.
5.Get mailing lists of (target markets) and do a series of
3 mailings of postcards to them and follow up on and close
all leads.
6.Etc.
You get the idea. Don’t rush this. Do your homework.
What worked in the past? Read up on successful marketing
campaigns.
Your business marketing strategy needs to be laid out in
the right sequence and you should have some idea of budget
when you write it. “Run a series of 30 second TV ads
during the Superbowl” might sound like a good thing to
do but can you afford it? On the other hand, when you
build your business marketing strategy you mustn’t try
and cut corners. If you don’t promote heavily, it
doesn’t matter how good your product or service is, no
one will know about it and you will go broke.
What really works when it comes to marketing?
Many business owners don't have a good enough answer to
this important question. I learned by a combination of
study and trial and error.
From my own hard won experience have discovered that a
real marketing campaign will take into consideration at
least the seven points which are outlined below:
1. Target Your Market
Your marketing will produce the best results for the
lowest cost when you target prospects with the greatest
need for what you offer.
Identify the best people to send your postcards to. Design
your postcards to appeal to their greatest need.
If you are able to break down your target market into sub
markets you can then write postcards that specifically
speak to the needs of those people (an example is breaking
down your own customer list into customers who buy most
often, customers who spend the most money with you,
customers who have been your customers the longest and
then making them special offers based on the category they
fit into).
2. Create A USP For Your Business
USP stands for "Unique Selling Proposition".
It is a statement of what is different about your company
and its products. Your USP gives the reason people should
do business with you. It amplifies the benefit of doing
business with you and your company. My USP is POSTCARD
MARKETING EXPERTS.
Create your own USP and put it on
all your promotional materials, invoices, shipping labels
etc.
Use your USP to communicate the benefit of doing business
with you and why you are better than any of your
competitors.
3. Always Make an Offer
Make sure you ask your prospects and customers to do
something when they receive your postcard. By offering
them something you know they are likely to want and giving
them a smooth path to respond on, you are making it easy
and desirable for them to respond.
4. Create and Maintain a Database of The Customer
Information You Collect From The Responses To Your
Mailings
Most people who receive a postcard from you won't contact
you the first time they receive one.
But once they contact you, you must create and maintain a
database which allows you to repeatedly contact them with
offers to respond to.
Fifty percent or more of many businesses' sales come as a
result of following up with people who were previously
contacted, but didn't buy right away.
No kidding, repeat contact does drive sales. One-time
mailings can get response, but are bound to leave sales on
the table. Those sales can be picked up with repeated
mailings.
5. Take Away the Fear of Loss
People don't want to be fooled, plain and simple.
Unfortunately trust does not run high today between
customers and businesses in general. People have been
disappointed too many times by being sold one thing and
getting another.
A guarantee or warranty is a good way to reduce or
eliminate the customers’ risk of getting something other
than what they bargained for.
Guarantees and warranties increase response and sales by
reducing customer risk.
6. Expand Your Product Line
Getting new customers is more expensive than selling to
existing ones. By regularly developing new products and
services to sell to your customers and offering these new
products and services to them, you can expand your
business efficiently and easily.
7. Test Your Postcard Promotions
Track the effectiveness of your postcard mailings. How
many people responded to your mailing? What dollar amount
of sales resulted from those responses?
Is the money you are spending to attract new business
giving you a good return? What can you do to make your
marketing more effective? Change your offer, headline,
price, the timing of your offer. When you do track the
results and improve your response.
These are the points to follow when designing your own
marketing strategy. When you are done, you will have laid
out the steps needed to accomplish your goal using
existing resources to achieve a great marketing ROI
(return on investment).
After that, you simply have to get those steps executed
and that might require further planning but it is all in
the context of your main business marketing strategy.
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