When it comes to starting anything, the key is to get started.
- If you want to work out, start TODAY with a few push-ups or a walk
- If you want to eat better, skip the burger for lunch instead of having one “last” junk meal
- And if you have an idea for a business, just start testing it now rather than spending months thinking, researching, and preparing
But once you get rolling, you’ll need to plan a little more. It may be scheduling your workouts, making a shopping list, or writing a simple marketing strategy to promote your business and get more customers.
And this is when things can get complicated.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. I want to simplify marketing strategies for you so that you can set one up for your small business and promote it with focus rather than feeling like you’re flying with your eyes closed.
A Simple Marketing Strategy
I often think in sports terms. I break down a strategy into three stages: prep, play, and review the tape. Let’s break that down.
❏ Preparation: Set your target customer, goal, and tactics
❏ Game Time: Make and publish the content
❏ Review the tape: Assess and get ready to do it again
Now let’s take a look at each one.
Preparation
Preparation consists of everything you do prior to a game. This includes practicing, working out, learning who you’re playing against, and putting on your gear.
In terms of marketing, you need to learn all about your target customer, set the goal of your strategy, and determine the tactics you will use to hit that goal.
Know your customer
This is the key to anything you do in marketing. Skip this step and your strategy is almost certainly doomed.
And when I say know your customer, I mean really get to know them.
Start big, what problem does your business solve? Then slowly narrow it down until you can build a single target customer.
Let’s say you run a camera shop. You give professional photographers a place they can count on for professional, high-quality cameras and photo equipment with knowledgeable personnel to answer their questions.
Continue to drill down as much as you can until you have a single person in mind as your ideal customer. Give them a name and you now know who to target.
Set your goal
Now that you know your target customer, let’s set a goal.
What do you want?
The goal of your marketing strategy will largely depend on the phase your business is in. If you’re just starting out, for example, your goal is probably brand awareness. You need people to find you and get to know you.
On the other hand, if you already have a network of followers and fans, your main goal is probably getting more sales or turning social media followers into paying customers.
Get SMART with it
“I want more people to know about my camera shop.”
On its own, this is not a goal but a wish. To make it a goal, you need to get specific, give it a value, and a deadline.
This is known as a SMART goal:
- Specific: Define what you mean by wanting more people to know you
- Measurable: Give it a value to let you know you’ve succeeded
- Achievable: Make your goal lofty but not nearly impossible
- Relevant: Align your business goals with your strategy and customer
- Time-bound: Give your goal a deadline
Your new goal may look something like this:
“I want my camera shop’s Instagram page to reach 1,000 Instagram followers by the December 1st.”
Time for tactics
Now that you know your goal, it’s time to start thinking about what you want to do to make it happen. These are your tactics.
Your job here is to think through what you want to do that directly helps you reach the goal you’ve set.
Continuing our example, determine how often you will post on Instagram and what kind of content you will make. While Instagram began as a photo application, these days video drives engagement.
If Instagram following is not your goal, your tactics will look different. You may focus on email marketing, blog posts, YouTube videos, or improving your local search presence.
Game Time!
You’ve done the work before the game. Now it’s time to make it all happen and just play the game. Start working on your tactics and don’t let up.
The part about not letting up is key. I’ve seen many business owners say they want to try social media, email marketing, or other new tactic just to do it for a week or two, then lose interest when they don’t get immediate results.
Successful marketing takes time. Push through your tactics for the extent of your strategy. Adjust as you go but don’t just stop.
Review the Tape
When the game ends, win or lose, you review the tape. This is when you identify what worked and what didn’t. This is the learning phase before you try again.
Try to spot the patterns. Were there posts or emails that worked better than others? What gave you the most engagement?
And of course, the main question is did you meet your goal?
You crushed your goal
Congrats! What do you want to do now?
You could run the same strategy again to see if you get the same results. You could also update your goal’s value so it’s a tougher goal in the next round.
Or you could refocus your efforts in another area. If you originally went for brand awareness online and you exceeded expectations, you might want to focus on turning your audience into paying customers.
You fell short of goal
Failure is not really failure if you learn from it. If you fell short of your goal, it’s time to think through why.
Do you need to change your content or your platform? Did you misjudge your target customer’s interests? Or maybe you misjudged your customer’s problem?
Identify what you need to change and start this process anew.
Whether or not you meet your goal, in the end, you assess the results and prepare to do it again.
Start Your Strategy
So that’s it. You can now plan a quick strategy and get it rolling.
Determine what you want to accomplish in the next months and plan it out. Identify your target customer, set a goal, develop your tactics and start making the content.
Making content and promoting your business takes time and effort. Don’t post and email aimlessly. Plan it out and give your efforts purpose and goals you can measure.
If you need additional content marketing help, contact me today to set up an introductory call.
Your friend,
Jose
