It might seem obvious, but all marketing efforts should begin with a focused plan. Yet so many business owners and nonprofit directors don't have one. Why? It takes work! There can be a lot to look at when developing a comprehensive marketing plan. Competitive analysis, market research, distribution plans, target market, SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, branding, positioning, and your marketing mix (channels of choice) are all things that may be considered. Of course, this part of the strategizing is all very technical and scientific (even though most of it will be distilled down into a best guess). This section addresses a mixture of the science and the magic involved in approaching your marketing efforts.
Mark in your calendar a time each day to market yourself. Even as little as fifteen minutes a day of pure focus on marketing activities will offer returns.
Variation: Instead of a mere fifteen minutes, set aside an hour a day for either yourself or a member of your staff to work on marketing activities.
Set aside money for marketing efforts each year. Don't use it for anything else. Often, we have a tendency to pull our marketing funds from the same pool of money as our operating funds. This habit can reduce an organization's ability to market itself when the time is right. Be especially protective of your marketing budget; it is this investment that pays the bills.
Create a marketing calendar. List marketing opportunities you’ll have throughout the year so you know what you have coming up and can plan your time and resources accordingly. (Be sure to place key event reminders in your calendar so you'll be aware of the approaching events in plenty of time.)
You probably already have ideas and future plans for your company in your head. Put these ideas down in print somewhere. Include a section for collecting marketing ideas and opportunity information. You'll be amazed at the great ideas you lose track of as you get caught up in your day-to-day efforts.
In the client database you should already be maintaining, track who ordered what service or product and when. This will assist you when you reach out to those customers again. With this knowledge, you will have a better understanding of what they do as well as what has been important to them in the past. More important, you will be gaining a picture about who buys from you and why.
In your weekly, monthly, or quarterly enewsletter, don’t place entire articles. Instead, place only the first few sentences—just enough to generate interest and give an idea about the content. Then, place a link back to your website, where they can continue reading the entire article.
Explanation: This serves two purposes. First, you’re able to save your precious newsletter real estate for packing in more articles, news, or offers. Second, you’ll be able to track the interest in each article (and therefore, each topic being presented) as people click through to your site.
Use humor in regard to your product or service. Poke fun at yourself and get your message across at the same time.
Example: Dental offices are famous for providing dental floss during Halloween trick-ortreating fun. Instead, why not send your clients fake hillbilly teeth as a reminder to maintain good dental hygiene during sweet holidays? For promotional thrust, have your office's logo and contact info printed on any giveaways.
Make sure your customers can order from you online. If they can't order from you online, make sure they can order by phone or by fax. You're in the business of making it easier for your customers to do business with you! Your challenge is to analyze how easy it is for customers to get what they want from you. Have you ever tried to buy something from yourself? Go through the process. Have your staff go through the process. Survey your customers; how did they feel about their first experience with you? Compile your notes and discuss your findings. Then, fix what’s broken.
Offer to match your competition's prices. Bargain shoppers thrive on being able to bring in your competition's ads to have you beat the prices. There are a few things that work to your advantage here:
Your regular patrons will be less likely to be swayed away from you because of price.
The hunt for the lowest price is a process that engages the public and draws attention.
You never have to worry about keeping a tab on the competition's price strategy (but you do have to worry about being able to maintain the same price strategy).
Seek out your competition, and look for opportunities to play off each other's strengths. In making your competition strategic partners, you will be adding to the repertoire of products and services you are able to offer your customers. You may seek special pricing or a commission for driving business to one another, but ultimately, your goal is to help the customer.
Tell your story. Oftentimes, in our attempt to be consummate professionals, we are leery of telling our story (why you do what you do, what makes you tick, what ticks you off, and so on). As any seasoned public speaker will tell you, stories have a way of intimating us with our audience. A good story can work wonders for an ailing brand.
Tip: A good story is often sacrificed in lieu of political correctness, making it stale and dull. You can help your employees tell those inspiring, slightly off-center stories by encouraging a culture that assumes the best intent.
Example: Family values win. By the cash register, the store owners show a picture of their three beautiful children grinning at the customer. Below is a handwritten note that says, This is why our hours are what they are. The story is brief and clear, tells the customer about the values of the owners, and inspires loyalty through this intimacy.
How can you accomplish the same through use of story?Why is it, in this day and age, that there are still some stores and restaurants that don't accept credit or debit cards? This is the epitome of making it difficult for your customers to do business with you. There is nothing worse than to make it through an entire meal, only to discover the place only accepts cash. At this point, you will either end up washing dishes or hunting around the neighborhood for an ATM. This is ridiculous. If you're in business, find a way to accept credit cards. Expanding your ability to collect on funds immediately will pay dividends in the long run.
Tip: Some entrepreneurs are deterred from processing credit cards because of things like a 3 percent processing fee, monthly gateway fees, and so on. Here’s a reality check: I once had a client ask me if he could pay his installment for web design services with a credit card. The payment, the second of four, would have been over $1,000, which was a lot of money for me at the time. I had only begun that week considering the notion of accepting credit cards, so I told the client I had to decline the offer and wait for the check. “The check is in the mail,” the client said.
Well, that check never arrived. Turns out, that would have been the last payment I would have received from him, as his business folded in the weeks to come.
Still concerned about the additional monthly cost of accepting credit cards? A small raise in your rate or your prices will cover the cost. Look at the nature of your business. If you are in retail, offer high-ticket items, or have the need for recurring billing due to subscriptions, memberships, or regular donations, you are a good candidate to accept credit cards.