HOW TO DEVELOP A MARKETING BUSINESS STRATEGY

Before you start marketing any self-service business, it is essential to create a business marketing strategy. I have worked for multiple companies that do not have a marketing strategy, and therefore they are always rebuilding the department instead of just creating a plan. An effective marketing plan should include your goals and objectives, target market, services you offer, and marketing activities you\’d like to implement to achieve your goals. 

Since I have seen a lot of companies fail because they do not have a marketing plan I decided I am going to share with you X steps you should follow to develop a marketing strategy. 

How to develop a business marketing strategy

What is your market positioning?

To decide on what your market positioning is you need to know what your target market or niche is. Creating a marketing message that speaks to your target market will be more effective than one that speaks to the general population. When you specialize in an area of expertise, not only will it build credibility and trust with your consumers, but it will also help give you authority online.

Design a strong brand

When it comes to your brand there are a few elements you should have. This includes a mission statement, strong and readable long, and a brand style guide. Your mission statement tells consumers why for the business and what you can do for them. The mission statement is what builds a connection between you and your target audience. The style guide will be the final part of your branding and should include your visual identity and the values that surround it. This includes your logo and the ways it’s allowed to be used, fonts, images, and approved color palette. You’ll also want to have a few words that describe your brand values so people will be able to understand your business’s tone.

Build a great website

When you’re a service-based business, your ideal consumers are likely to visit you via your website. This means, your website is their first impression of you. You’ll want to make sure the website is easy to navigate, if you’re not savvy with the technical side of things then you should hire a web developer. Furthermore, if copywriting is not your strength, then your best bet is to hire a copywriting specialist whose copy will be better for conversions. 

Write a marketing plan

I know, I know – structure and accountability are not for everyone, but you definitely need a marketing plan. A marketing plan doesn’t have to be complicated, but it still needs to be there. It should include your objectives and what you want to achieve, activities that will help you achieve your goals, targets, and goals you’re setting and how will you measure and track performance.

Analyze your finances

Have you had your finances analyzed recently? If not, you may want to consider it, especially a SOX audit. You might be wondering what is SOX audit, great question let me give you the short version. An SOX audit is required by federal law, and analyzes IT area of your business and verifies that financial data is accurate within a 5% variance. Anything more can be warning bells to your auditor, and let’s be honest you don’t want to end up in an auditing nightmare.