New Year, New Marketing Strategies!
3 Strategies to Kick-Start Your Marketing
By Brian Flook, MIRM, President of Power Marketing

As the New Year’s confetti settles and we settle back into the business grind of 2011, it is the ideal time to take a look back at your marketing strategy. What worked in 2010 and what didn’t work?

Now is the time to outline your marketing strategy for the new year. Our “Power Points” articles are designed to help you take a closer look at your business and poise you for future growth and success throughout the year. Here are three crucial strategies to follow in 2011:

Strategy #1: Define Your Audience.
You may have the greatest product in the world, but if you attempt to sell it to the wrong audience with the wrong message your message will have no strength. Ask yourself, “Is there an audience?” and “What do they want to know?” It’s tempting to build our marketing around what we think our customers want. That approach can often be wrong unless you ask. Defining a specific audience and identifying their most compelling needs is the best foundation for marketing success. Your company will be able to leverage the services that most appeal to your consumers and create messages that provoke them to action

Strategy #2: Plan It.
Every successful marketing campaign begins with a solid plan. Think about where you want to spend you budget this year to meet the needs of your audience, and think about consulting a marketing professional to help. You know your audience, now what do you want to say to them and how do you want do say it?

It’s easy to get caught up in being everything to everyone. Your audience, in theory, could be extremely broad, but you must attempt to narrow down your message to effectively target your market. Think about what your customers are seeking. You might be tempted to say “they want all that,” and you may be correct. But, there is within that list of possible benefits, one that best serves your customers’ needs.

When deciding where to put your message, consider this: Technology has compromised many traditional media. That doesn’t mean print is dead or that television doesn’t work; it means how you use those media needs to change. But call screening has certainly made telemarketing a weaker marketing tool. TiVo has reduced the number of people who view some television ads. Satellite radio means fewer commercials or none at all, so radio audiences have shrunk too. It’s much more effective to dominate several media rather than spreading yourself too thin across too many types of media. Identify the media that will most affect your specific audience, and work towards conquering those fields. Your Internet presence is very important today; call us to discuss how Power Marketing can improve your Internet marketing campaign.

Strategy #3: Take It Online.
Let’s face it — if you’re not online, you’re missing an enormous chunk of any audience. Print media isn’t dead, but it is very different. In my opinion, much of the value of print media today is to direct viewers online, where companies can provide more information, track and interact with their customers and potential customers.

In 2011, make a resolution to strengthen your online presence. The Internet is where your clients eliminate you or your competition, so if you don’t stand out or worse — don’t show up at all — you could be eliminated without ever knowing.

There’s one thing 2010 certainly taught us about online marketing: social media is here to stay. And no, you can’t control it. What you can do is understand it and understand how your customers are using it, and then attempt to break into the conversation. That’s what social media is all about — being, well, social. Many consumers feel most comfortable doing business with people they know and trust. Communicate with your customers about things they care about and build relationships online that lead to trust in your company.

It’s as true with social media as it is for every aspect of your marketing: providing valuable content is critical. People won’t spend time reading and commenting on a frivolous blog, just like they won’t waste time watching a dull commercial.

Keep these strategies in mind as you plan your marketing for 2011 — and stay tuned for monthly “Power Points” articles for more in-depth discussions of the information we’ve covered here and more!