Don’t put the cart before the horse The 7 steps to successful marketing for small businesses
We’re all marketers • How we present ourselves • Logo and corporate identity • Business cards • Premises and signage • Product packaging • Website
We’re all marketers • Promotional activity designed specifically to generate income • Advertising • Sales literature and brochures • Events • Email campaigns • SEO • Telesales • Direct mail and door-to-door
Quick and easy to do it badly • Lack of expertise • Lack of time • Doing it on the cheap • Without getting to know our audience • Who they are • What they want from us • How to appeal, engage and motivate them • Without understanding our competitors • So we can make identify how to encourage our audience to choose us instead?
But it’s not hard to get it right • Do it well and you make money • Do it badly and you just spend it • Apply 7 simple steps of effective marketing
1. Specific marketing objectives • Aligned to your current business objectives • Marketing helps you achieve them • Strategy before tactics • Two simple strategic models • AIDA Model • Ansoff Matrix
Targeting different stages of the customer journey
Awareness • Brand recognition • Who you are • What you do • Becoming synonymous with that in the mind of your audience • Maintain high profile with your audience • Coca Cola spent nearly £4bn US dollars on global advertising last year • Carlsberg spent 90 million Euros alone of their European ATL Marketing Budget sponsoring Euro 2016 • Cognitive stage
Interest • Audience engagement • The problem you solve • Your offer • The features and benefits • Affective or emotional stage
Desire • Audience motivation • Why you? • Competitive edge • USPs • What makes you different? • Why now? • Time of day • Time of life • Trial v Adoption • Special offer • Price discount • Multi-purchase discount • Urgency • Limited time only • Limited stock • Move customer from ‘liking it’ to ‘wanting it’ • Another affective or emotional stage
Action • What are your goals? What do you want people to do? • Contact you to find out more • Visit website • Sign up • Join us at an event • Give us your contact details • Arrange an appointment • Buy now! • Behavioural stage
Illustration • How the customer buying journey affects your marketing plan
Javerwocky in Stamford • Everyone aware of coffee • Everyone aware of high street competitors • High interest category • Low-risk, easy access product • Urgent but not important • No need to sell the product • Need to sell Javerwocky
Javerwocky in Stamford • Objectives • Challenge the trust and confidence in higher profile brands on the High Street • All with massive marketing budgets and established brand profiles • Strengths – local business run by genuine coffee enthusiast • Strategy • PR • Word of mouth • Competitive edge over national high street chains
Javerwocky in Stamford • Tactics • Invite Stamford Mercury restaurant critic for lunch once a month • Local newstory PR • Encourage trial through discount days • Meal deals • Coffee blogspot on nerd websites • Facebook group • Coffee connoisseur roast of the month • Proper barista style service
Cornerstone Insurance • Many small businesses unaware of their insurance needs • Unaware where to get advice and products • Low interest category • Unaware of competition • High-risk product • High cost • Important but not urgent • Need to sell the product more than Cornerstone as preferred supplier
Cornerstone Insurance • Objective • Raise awareness among small businesses • Challenge inertia – act now! • Strategy • Partnership with Federation Of Small Businesses • Companies House database • Online noise • Event management
Cornerstone Insurance • Tactics • Email campaigns to FSB membership • Product and sales literature • Website and SEO management • Event calendar • Linked In small business groups • Wider small business online networking • Becoming an online spokesperson on small business insurance
Ansoff Matrix
Javerwocky in Stamford • Poaching customers from Costa, Nero and Blacks on Stamford High Street – greater market share = Market Penetration • New shop in Peterborough = Market Development • Cakes, sandwiches, coffee beans to takeaway, coffee pots and utensils, etc. = Product Development • If you decided to sell Jam in Stroud = Diversification!
Cornerstone Insurance • Lots of time in financial services is spent on customer acquisition and renewal = Market Penetration • Maximising the lifetime value of customers and getting your money back on customer acquisition costs through cross-sales of other insurance products = Product Development You can see how these contrasting marketing objectives would be met by very different marketing plans
2. Identify and segment audience • Who’s out there • Where are they • What do they want • Research • Analyse trends and buying behaviour • SWOT analysis • Where are the rewards for your strengths
3. Get to know your audience • How to reach, appeal, engage and motivate them • Focus groups or interviews • Customer focus not product focus • It’s about them not you
4. Establish your USP • Unique selling proposition • Cornerstone of your brand positioning and personality • Point of difference over competition or alternatives • Why pick you? Why you’re better at this than anyone else • Make it relevant to your target audience • Make sure it will appeal, engage and motivate them
4. Establish your USP • Aldi = price over quality • M&S, Waitrose = quality over price • Tesco, Sainsbury’s = convenience, access, competitive • Javerwocky = independence, expertise • Cornerstone = accessibility, providence, trust, confidence
5. Establish your budget • Good marketing is an investment not a cost • Good budgeting is the discipline that enables you to • Target your spend • Prioritise activity • Seek economies • Keep a lid on your spending • Evaluate the ROI of your marketing investment
6. Identify media channels • What reaches your audience • What is representative of your offer and brand • Don’t try and sell knitting patterns on Snapchat • Javerwocky again • 3 different audiences • The kids on Saturday • Local business during the week • Retired on market day • You’d reach the latter in Thursday’s Stamford Mercury • You’d reach the kids on local online chatrooms • You reach local businesses through online business forums, discussion groups and networking groups just like this • Most cost effective outcome • Maximum ROI
7. Creative execution • “Don’t draw your crossbow before you know where, who or what you are attacking” Mark Ritson, Marketing Week editor • Don’t put the cart before the horse • Too many people are tempted to dive straight in here • Like getting in the car and starting to drive before you know where you’re headed
Design • Define your “elevator pitch” • Javerwocky – the most independent, authentic and expertly prepared coffee in Stamford • Defines your brand personality • Javerwocky – playful, individual, independent, alternative • Cornerstone – gravitas, sincerity, expertise • Brand identity and logo to deliver that in a way that will impact, appeal and engage your target audience • Be consistent! • The key to successful advertising is repetition repetition repetition!
YUCK!
Copywriting • Speak your customers’ language • "If I am selling to you, I speak your language. If I am buying, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen [then you must speak German ]“, former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt • Demystify complex products – clarity, simplicity • Assume new customers know nothing • Tone of voice • Contrast the man from the now famous Ronseal “Does exactly what it says on the tin – BOSH!” ad with the girl from the My Little Pony ad – different execution for different products that appeal to different audiences
Copywriting • Solve problems • “Consider the world from your customers’ point of view: How does what you sell improve their lives? Shoulder their burdens? Ease their pain ?” Charles Saatchi • Your value is not in what you do – your value is in what you do for others. So, don't just talk about your product's features; talk about the benefits they provide for your audience • Customer focus over product focus • Benefits over features
10 most powerful words in marketing • Free • Exclusive • Easy • Limited • Get • Guaranteed • You • Because • Best • Compare
Be consistent! • Copy is your brand voice! • Generate a few key positioning statements to feature in your communications • Strapline • Half a dozen key sales messages • Feature in all communications • The key to successful advertising is repetition repetition repetition!
Clear call to action! • If objective is to raise awareness and encourage trial, it’s pointless if you don’t tell audience what to do next if they want to find out more or where to buy it if they already want to. • It’s available exclusively from this website or something.
Thanks!
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