No matter the quality of a product offered, no business thrives without a well-thought-out marketing campaign. It can be difficult to know where to start, especially with the endless information circulating the internet. How much time should be spent on marketing? What should be included? Marketing isn’t a one-ingredient dish – it is a combination of efforts that create success.
Why is it Needed?
Marketing is one of the most important parts of a business. It allows potential customers to find a business easily, creates brand awareness, and lets them know what you have to offer. Your products and expertise won’t reach many people without it! A solid marketing strategy is used by both businesses and marketing agencies to generate potential customers to a website.
Understanding the importance of a good marketing strategy is handy, but if you are to bring in more clicks, then you must also know these 10 key ingredients.
1. Knowing the Company
This one may seem obvious, but it cannot be brushed to the side. Whether you are a marketing agency working for a client’s business, or you are the business owner yourself, you must know the company you’re marketing for through and through. There is no limit to how much knowledge will help. Some questions to ask are:
- What does the business sell?
- Who is the audience?
- What are similar businesses?
- What sort of tone should come across?
The deeper the knowledge, the better the marketing strategy will be. Avoid a surface level sweep, and dive in as much as you can to pave the way for a successful marketing campaign.
2. Networking
Networking is an easy way of enhancing your marketing system. By building and maintaining relationships, you will ensure the business is well known in relevant communities. Try attending speaking events where you can introduce yourself along with the business to others.
3. Online Content
Content creation is essential for user engagement and bringing more traffic to a website through the use of SEO (search engine optimization). It provides information about the business to the audience, as well as increasing the number of clicks the website receives. The better the quality of content, the higher the website will appear on search engines, so it needs to be consistent and well-written.
Content creation isn’t a task that can be blasted out without thought – no matter how many keywords you throw in, it still needs to be informative and engaging. This is where companies like www.clickintelligence.co come into consideration, as they provide quality SEO for marketing agencies and business owners. Whether your goal is to create a blog, show up on other blogs, or create an active social media presence, outsourcing is a cost-effective and efficient way of doing it.
4. A Great Website
A website is a representation of a business itself, so that should be taken into consideration when building or editing one. Imagine walking into a shop – you take into account the lighting, space, and the overall atmosphere, even if it’s done subconsciously. If a clothes shop has a bunch of t-shirts dumped on a pile rather than neatly folded or hanging up, it creates a negative first impression. This translates to websites. You want customers to click on the page and easily sift through each section. Take into account functionality, readability, clarity, and the loading times of each page to ensure the best customer experience. If you want to come across as professional, then first, make sure your website is professional.
5. Social Media
Much like a website, social media shows off a brand. Many businesses use social media to increase brand awareness and reach new customers, and when used well, this can be done with a lot of success.
Maintaining a social media presence includes posting consistent, relevant content and building an online community. It can also be used as a location for customer support and feedback, so if you reply to customers quickly and resolve any complaints efficiently, it will increase the brands’ reputation.
6. Knowing the Competition
Knowing the competition is an essential part of marketing. Research similar businesses and what they offer so you know exactly what you’re up against. Don’t be afraid to dig deep – have a look at their keywords, where they advertise, and any incentives they may offer. You want to prove to customers that you are the better option, and that comes from knowing just how good the competition is.
7. Keeping Customers Happy
When people think of a marketing strategy, many only concern themselves with attracting customers, but retention is just as important. If the customers don’t stay loyal, then the marketing isn’t working. To increase customer loyalty, you must keep them engaged, and ways to do this include using social media, email marketing, and, most of all, providing them with a high-quality service. If you do this well, not only will you retain your customers, you will gain more through your loyal customers’ word of mouth.
8. Attending Events
Just because technology takes up most marketing these days, it doesn’t mean that in-person advertising is dead. Don’t underestimate the influence of attending events and speaking about your business. Use confident, well-spoken speakers who can succinctly get your business’s message across to deliver a speech to potential customers and clients.
9. Online Videos
Online videos are another element of content creation, and when done well, they can bring a business a lot of attention. Videos are all over the internet – Facebook, Youtube, Instagram – and you should take advantage of that. Having a person speak about a business in a video increases sincerity and gives the audience a different type of content to share. There is also an increased chance of it going viral!
10. Incentives
Incentives are a great way of bringing customers in. You can offer things like free trials, discounts, and money off for friend referrals. If what you are offering is a high-quality service or product, then there is a high chance that they will stick around once the incentive wears off.
The importance of a strong marketing campaign should not be underestimated. By combining each key ingredient, you are left with an excellent strategy that will both bring in and retain customers.
