Starting a new business is so exciting and overwhelming that many entrepreneurs forget about marketing and advertising. They can also get discouraged when they realize that it’s hard work to inform people about their product or service. However, it’s a necessary step for business growth.
What is Marketing?
The general definition of marketing is that it’s a series of activities associated with selling the products and services your company creates. Advertising falls under the umbrella of marketing, as does consumer research. One informs the public of your company’s offering via a variety of methods and the other involves research to find out what consumers want and need. Product design is yet another form of marketing. It allows you to match what your company has to offer to the needs you determined your customers had via market research. Keep in mind that the sale itself isn’t marketing but rather the result of it.
Creating a Plan for Strategic Marketing
To implement an effective marketing plan, we encourage you to follow these steps:
- Conduct a market research campaign to determine the demand for your product or service and then observe the market for sales patterns among companies that provide similar offerings.
- Create new products or services according to consumer demand and develop an advertising strategy for introducing them to the marketplace. If you have never completed the latter, consider hiring outside help to get started.
- Keep in touch with customers with upselling and cross-selling opportunities as well as invite them to participate in your company’s loyalty program. If you don’t have one yet, now is a great time to create a program that encourages existing customers to stick with your company.
You don’t need to panic if the need for your product doesn’t appear to be there because you can create it. Keep in mind that making your potential customers aware of what you offer creates a need in them that they didn’t know they had. When people assume that something is scarce, it creates a psychological need to have it. Stress that you’re offering a limited edition of your product or service and that you don’t know when it will be available at the same price again.
Another thing you can do to increase interest in a new offering is to let your most loyal customers know about it first as well as invite them to participate in the launch or development of the product.
Don’t Forget to Interact with Consumers on Social Media
When someone takes the time to comment positively or negatively on your company’s offering, show that you value their time and opinion by commenting. You can thank those who comment affirmatively and ask those who complained to give you another chance to do better. Just be sure to truly take in the person’s feedback without becoming defensive. Once the word of your company’s responsiveness gets out, you can think of it as a free way to advertise.
Marketing and advertising is important, even when you have a limited budget. At Business Partner Alliance, we provide targeted coaching, consulting and business advisory services to help small and medium sized business owners achieve new heights. We put our passion and experience to work to help business people achieve their goals. Let’s meet for coffee to see how we can network together.
Emory Ware