3 simple steps to help you stand out from your competition during difficult economic times.
When was the last time you jumped in the car on a whim and drove around where ever the fancy took you?
With the price of fuel and the pace of life these days, chances are it wasn't anytime recent.
When it comes to setting a marketing route and destination many small businesses appear to prefer driving without a destination in mind.
Without a road map the journey can take longer and cost more - with a strong chance you won't get anywhere worthwhile.
Even the traditional Sunday drive had a general route and destination in mind - with frequent stops for car-sick kids!
When economic times are tough it becomes even more important to plan and execute your marketing wisely.
Even during the good times, failure to plan often results in more expensive and rushed marketing efforts that are prone to error, are ineffective and lacking in measurability.
Effective marketing is not about one single ad, brochure or web site update.
It is about well planned co-ordinated efforts, all consistently reinforcing the same message.
When economic pressure is on, as it is now, one of the first areas to feel the pinch is a company's marketing. This happens in a number of ways:
- Pulling back on marketing altogether
We've seen it many times. Despite increased pressure on sales staff to perform at a greater level, investment in supporting marketing initiatives is scaled back. Greater results with fewer resources becomes the expectation.
The experts from Go-to-Market strategies report that "Studies show in past recessions, companies who continued to aggressively market themselves realized an average sales growth of 275 percent over the next five years, versus a 19 percent growth rate of those who significantly cut marketing expenses."
As competitor's cut back on their marketing initiatives to make short term savings, the smart money is on the company that takes advantage of the gap left to market themselves smartly for longer term success.
- Believing the broader your product and target market are, the more sales you will generate
Without the budget of a huge multi national, it would be impossible to market this strategy, or achieve adequate sales to bring a return on investment. Best results are achieved when you "define a target market segment where your product has the most relevance and the best competitive advantage"
How to do this?
Well if you don't already know, ask your best clients or customers why they buy from you. What is it about your product or service they like that keeps them coming back?
Write down their replies. Now check out your competitors' offers by looking at their yellow pages ads, website, etc. Cross out any features and benefits on your list that are the same as your competitors.
At the end of this exercise the aim is to have sat least one stand-out benefit that is unique to you. This becomes your competitive advantage - your USP (unique selling point).
But before you shout how great you are to the world remember that the key to success is targeting.
Go back to your clients list and build a profile of who your best ones are (gender, age, location, interests, etc). It is more of these types of people you want - they are your target market.
Now your USP/competitive advantage, in combination with your target audience, becomes the cornerstone of your marketing. Every marketing decision you make (from planning through to executing each marketing initiative - brochure, website, ad, etc) must be referenced back to these two defining factors:
- does it reach my target audience?
- does it convey my competitive advantage?
If it doesn't meet these then there is a strong chance you're waste your time and money on it.
One final thing. We all make mistakes.
And that is OK, so long as we don't repeat them.
So the third and final point is:
3. make sure all your marketing is measurable.
This can be as simple as using a unique email address, phone number, enquiry form or offer code on your website, ad or brochure so you know where every enquiry originates. Ensure all staff dealing with new clients/customers ask and record where they heard about your company.
This way you can spot the mistakes and remove them from your marketing. But you can also see the successes!
