With the end of the financial year fast approaching, now is a good time to take stock of which marketing activities are driving your company in the direction you want to go. Being a SME owner means that there are many things vying for your attention. Sometimes, focusing on your company’s direction can take a back seat while you focus on the needs of your customers and clients.
Don’t let another quarter slip by without honing in on how to get the results you want! Business as usual might be fine in the short-term, but you need to get focused on what needs to be done next to market your company and attract those customers and clients that you really want.
Here are 7 simple, effective and inexpensive marketing actions you can take today:
- 30 Sec Elevator Pitch – Does your elevator pitch effectively sum up what it is your company does and why a potential customer should choose your company over another that more or less does the same thing. If it’s been a couple of years since you last reviewed your Elevator Pitch and service offering, chances are it’s time for a quick refresh.
- Be Social – Being active on the social platforms where your customers are takes time, but is a relatively cheap way to get your brand front and centre. Post interesting, educational and helpful articles. Boost your profile by being active in associations and discussion groups that are relevant to you and your company. Consider paying to boost your posts and/or setting up an advertising campaign but make sure you strategically plan and continue to monitor and to optimise it.
- Campaign – Develop a woe to go marketing campaign – planning is key when it comes to a successful marketing campaign. Start with what you want to achieve (what you want the prospect to do) and work backwards. Map out each step from where your prospects first hear about the campaign (email, social media post, Facebook Ad) to the key message /your offer and the Call To Action (CTA) eg. Webinar, e-book, limited time offer etc. Then determine where they click through to, how they take action, what confirmation/ thank you follows, how you deliver the download/ service/product, how you measure and report. Lastly, think about post-campaign: how you will review and optimise your campaign to improve results. Don’t forget to plan how will you follow up with prospects to continue contact and build momentum. Campaigns don’t have to be complicated but rather than reactively doing marketing and not getting results by mapping out each step before you start by planning you can utilise every opportunity and maximise outcomes.
- Guest Blog – Increase your exposure to potential customers and clients by guest blogging. Do your research first to ensure the audience that will see your blog fits into your target market. Your blog is a chance to offer insights, best practice and helpful advice. Don’t be tempted to be salesy – just be authentic.
- Customer Testimonials – Ask your customers to write a couple of sentences that reflects the service they received from your company. How did you help them and what did they love about doing business with you? Putting customer testimonials on your website, landing pages, company brochures, etc. is a great way to boost your credibility and offer proof of your capabilities.
- Repurpose your Content – Good content takes time to produce, so make the most of the time you’ve invested in developing it and think about ways you can repurpose it. For example, a blog can be reworked and turned into many things, e.g. Tip Sheet, Infographic, e-book, White Paper, etc. Set up a download page that asks for their email address so you can build your database and promote the free download page through multiple marketing channels – social media, emails, ads, etc.
- Email Marketing – Update your email address contacts list and use it! Email campaigns are a great way to maintain relationships and sell more to your existing customers as well as nurture and engage new customers. Segment your email list to ensure that the emails you’re sending are relevant to the recipients – e.g. an email to existing customers might highlight a new product or service you’re offering or an email to potential customers might be a case study that highlights the core offerings of your business.
When it comes to marketing, you don’t need to have a big budget to be successful and these 7 practical ways to market on the cheap are a great place to start your marketing activities for the first quarter of the new financial year.
Be creative. Take time to plan. Find some time and energy to focus on the best marketing actions for your company – you’ll be glad you did.
