CREATING A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE WITH MARKETING
Setting up a strategy
Our review will have uncovered any asynchronous aspects to our present marketing efforts. We have identified our product /service and its appeal to a focused consumer community. Our future actions will include creating the brand and communicating that to the market – persuasively.
These steps are highly relational and inter-dependent. Marketing relies heavily on cohesive plans. Briefly, your company’s identity is linked to your customers’ perceptions. A beneficial marketing plan is about your buyer’s persona - not just about your product/service offerings.
An effective marketing plan will include:
- Correct "persona" identification
- Accurate branding creation
- Communications tools aligned with branding
- Established Goal / timelines
- Measurement capabilities
In order to capture the benefits of your new marketing plan, you will also need to consider updating your selling methods. After all, the effectiveness of marketing should result in improved sales.
Branding and communications are covered below. Selling is covered on our selling technology page here.
TOOLS UPDATE
HTM Marketing can create or freshen up your present tools. We create original:
Web sites
Printed material
eMarketing
Networking
Sales strategies
We can affordably help with these services. Contact us today to get started.
Does your company appeal to its market?
Consumer Persona
Your company has a specific attraction to certain types of customer. The customer’s persona(s) were uncovered in the review process. While it would be nice to sell to everyone, marketing reality dictates we spend our efforts on speaking to probable prospects. We brand according to our target profiles.
Branding
The best definition of branding is your company's "personality". This includes color choices, company name, and perceived attributes - those human-esque adjectives like fun, serious, comfortable, or professional. Whether your company is new or established, it never hurts to review your "branded" presence. Read more about identities and branding.
Communication
Our prospective clients read certain magazines, trade journals, and watch and visit different types of media – both broadcast and online. They will tune out any communications that are incompatible with their interests.
What are the tools we use to communicate our presence? The "voice" is your communication approach toward both your prospects - and existing clientele. Communication efforts should be synchronized with the industry served and our company's persona. Read more about correctly communicating your Company's message.
Goals and Timelines
Good planning means you have defined action sets. You will have short term and long term goals. Remember that goals will be SMART goals. Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevent. Timely.
Metrics - Measuring Our Success
Improving communication skills will lead to our real goal of more sales. It will also improve retention of existing customers. Effective communication takes into account the client's needs first. Even though we think we sell products and services - customers actually buy us or not. We use the term "selling" for lack of better definition, but a preferred term is "buyer assistance". Read more about selling effectively.
Why isn't increased sales the sole metric?
Our gains need to be monitored on two levels for one simple reason - retention. Too many companies adopt new marketing behaviours that in the short term create improved sales gains. Long term, however, these new efforts can create existing client upheaval or damage profitability. Our target is sustainable gains.
Our tools to measuring success must include customer and community feedback - not just increased sales numbers. Just like good salesmen "hear" their prospects needs, a good marketing plan has "ears".
Using networking to hear our clients, prospects and the marketplace.
