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Many business owners rely on their “gut” when it comes to making business decisions. That’s all well and good when your business is small, and you could afford to make a minor misstep. But as your business grows, so should the ways in which you plan for continued success.

The best place to start is by creating a planned marketing strategy. The key word here is “planned” not off-the-cuff or from-the-gut. Once you put together an effective marketing strategy, you’ll be in possession of a roadmap that will enable you to define your business goals, and develop the activities necessary to achieve them.

 The best part is, it’s not really that difficult to create one. Here are five rather simple steps you can take:

1.   Describe your company’s unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP is what sets you apart from your competitors. If you attempt to develop a marketing plan without one, you most surely will fail.

2.   Define your target market—

• Are your target customers male or female?
• How old are they?
• Where do they live?
• What do they do for a living?
• How much money do they make?

3.   Work up a list of the benefits of each of your company’s products or services.

4.   Think about and describe how you plan to position them.

5.   Select your marketing methods— print, electronic, direct mail, public relations or, better yet, a combination of them.

Once your marketing strategy begins to take shape, be sure to have a budget developed for your marketing plan. Remember, marketing should always be treated as an investment. If you want it to be successful, you must look at it as such. Oh, and be sure to revisit your marketing plan at least once every quarter. When you do, ask yourself questions like—Are you on target? Do you need to revise it? Etc. Now get planning!

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante

The American Marketing Association
defines brand loyalty as:

• “The situation in which a consumer generally buys the same manufacturer-originated product or service repeatedly over time rather than buying from multiple suppliers within the category” (sales promotion definition.

• “The degree to which a consumer consistently purchases the same brand within a product class” (consumer behavior definition).

Here’s another way, a real world way, to size up the concept of brand loyalty: marketers often make the mistake of thinking that selling to big companies is the best way to grow sales and profits. To that we say, phooey!

The truth is, study after study has found that it actually makes more dollars and cents for businesses to market their products and services to small- and mid-sized companies. Why? Because small- and mid-sized companies are far more loyal to brands with which they’ve had a positive experience.

Owners and managers of both small- and mid-sized businesses routinely report that they maintain long term-relationships with vendors and suppliers once they’ve had a favorable dealing with them. Better yet, many of these same folks go on to reveal that they’re more likely to form lasting relationships with vendors and suppliers that tailor their marketing programs toward businesses of their size.

Not so surprisingly, many top, i.e. successful brands such as Dell, Kinko’s, FedEx, Intel, Southwest Airlines, American Express, Cisco Systems and UPS recognize this, and aim many of their marketing messages squarely at small- and mid-sized businesses.

What do brands like these and others get for their efforts? Loyal customers that help to grow sales and profits. What do those other marketers that mistakenly dismiss potential customers for not being big enough get? Unfortunately, customers that are likely to leave them after just a sale or two.

Best of Days to You,
Audrey Ferrante

Prediction One
With deal sites like Groupon, Quanza and LivingSocial growing like gangbusters, 2011 was hailed the year for the Daily Deal. What about 2012? Well, it looks like some of the smaller deal sites will drop out or be swallowed up by the big guys. What’s that mean for you? A lot fewer Daily Deals jamming your inbox. From here, that sounds like a pretty good deal.

 
Prediction Two
Email is here to STAY. While many consider email old school, it still does one WHALE of a job communicating. It may not be bleeding-edge, but it’s a tried and true marketing communication channel. When all is said and done, email still produces positive, cost-effective results, giving marketers an efficient way to connect with customers and prospects.

Prediction Three
With marketing channels growing in number and complexity, tracking results will become more important than ever. Your investments, both in technology and marketing, require you to gain a better understanding of which areas of your marketing mix are more effective than others. To get a sense in the coming year, and in subsequent years, you must set goals and put in place strategies that are aligned.

To ensure that your marketing efforts are more predictable, we suggest no matter which media channels work best for you, remember to always make sure your marketing message is clear, to the point and always includes the best way you can be reached.

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante