Here’s 10 of them…
Marketing Tip 1
A written marketing plan will help you to focus and develop your strategy. This will ensure all staff members understand the company direction. A plan covers all essential aspects of taking your products to the market.
Base your plan on the following questions:
- Where are we now?
- Where do we want to be?
- What opportunities exist in the environment?
- How will we get there?
- Who will do what?
- How will we know we’ve arrived?
Marketing Tip 2
Regularly ‘scan’ your external environment for opportunities and threats that may impact you. Any change in your marketing environment can affect business opportunities. For example:
- In a ‘down’ market budget brands tend to flourish as people are more careful with their spending.
- New technologies may make new products available.
- New legislation may also shift consumer behaviour – ie the reduction in road licence fees for low polluting cars.
Marketing Tip 3
Getting to know who your customers are is the most vital step of your marketing. You must know their demographics, understand their behaviour and their requirements. The more accurate your information and knowledge, the more effective you will be at selling to them.
Marketing Tip 4
Business owners often fall into the trap of making the product they want to sell, rather than designing and presenting things in the way the customer wants.
Marketing Tip 5
How you conduct your business is almost as important as the product or service itself. Your business processes and systems are vital to your ongoing success. For example, make sure delivery is quick, returns are dealt with courteously, your staff greet customers with a smile. Surprise and delight your customers by going above and beyond the call of duty for them. Word of mouth is a powerful selling tool and this is exactly the way to generate it.
Marketing Tip 6
Placing a few ads here and there just isn’t enough anymore. Consumers are bombarded with hundreds of marketing messages every day of their lives and take less and less notice. You need to do something pretty special to stand out, so make sure your messages are clear and appeal to exactly the people you are trying to sell to.
Marketing Tip 7
Your staff are your most precious asset – look after them and give them the training they need to do their jobs well. Make sure they are motivated, have the tools they need and understand their role in the business.
Marketing Tip 8
Good presentation is a huge influencing tool, it generates trust, motivates your staff and makes customers comfortable with their decision. If your reception or shop front is messy, what does that say about the rest of your operation? Even if things are chaotic behind the scenes, never lower the standards of your customer facing areas
Marketing Tip 9
Don’t just set a price based on production costs plus a margin. Pricing is a powerful tool to achieve your goals – decide what you are trying to achieve and what message you’re giving out by setting your price at a certain level. High prices mean you’re likely to sell less, but can give the impression of a premium product. Low prices can allow you to break into or dominate a particular market, although this may mean low profitability in the short term. Ensure pricing is part of a greater strategy, and include this in your marketing plan.
Marketing Tip 10
Every complaint is an opportunity to turn around a dissatisfied customer – respond quickly and positively. Remember your brand is easily damaged, and the last thing you want is for people to be actively spreading bad stories about your business. A complaint that is dealt with well can often result in a loyal customer, they will have refreshed trust in your brand and the confidence to buy again knowing that if things do go wrong they will be sorted out quickly.
