This blog is the 2nd in a series of 3 which looks at marketing planning and campaign design.
In terms of the mix of activities that you can do, there is a well known formula in marketing that 2+2=5 and it’s been proved time and time again that if you rely on just one marketing activity then you are less likely to gain as great a benefit than if you were to do a number of different things. In order to build awareness of your company, you want your customer to see you in lots of different places. The marketing tools that you might want to consider include;
PR (public or media relations)
This includes sending press releases out to your target media maybe about a new product you are launching or a new contract you have just won, or even a new appointment to your team. There is no guarantee that your story will be picked up but there are a few guidelines that you can follow to increase your chances. Whilst the world of print has a limited amount of column inches available, the online media world has no boundaries. Many of the printed publications these days have an online version too so it’s important that you write your press release to maximise its effectiveness online. Editors also love pictures so if you can include images they are more likely to look at it than if it’s just plain text.
You might also write articles on topics that you know your target media are covering and these can often be repurposed as blogs so you can get online coverage too.
PR takes time as you need to continuously look for stories and find ways to sometimes make something that is quite dull sound exciting. Good PR is great for building reputation and generally raising awareness of your area of expertise.
Probably the most expensive, and often the most difficult to measure. Most adverts have the same purpose as PR – to raise awareness and to build your brand reputation. A good advert will intrigue the reader with an eye catching image or headline but also have a strong call to action – you want to make the reader do something as a result of seeing the ad. That could be to call you, or to visit your website to request something, or be entered into a prize draw. To be effective adverts need to run regularly over a given period, one off ads will often not deliver the desired results. Finding the right media to advertise in is really the first and hardest challenge!
As an alternative to media advertising you could also consider sponsorship, maybe of a local event that attracts your potential customers or maybe the event brand is one which you want your company to be associated with, for example, a charity event. Sponsorship packages tend to offer a range of opportunities you can leverage.
This is where your customer knowledge can really be useful as most direct marketing activity can be highly targeted and often personalised. Personalising your communication with your customers can significantly improve your response rates. There are two main types of direct marketing; direct mail – where you can post out brochures, flyers or letters to your customers, and there’s email where you can send an e-brochure or email with a link to your website or even a regular e-newsletter. The advantage with printed mail is it has more visual impact whereas email has the advantage that it is cheap and you can track what your customers click on giving you an insight into what they are interested in. There is quite a lot of regulation around direct marketing so it’s worth checking that out before you start.
If direct marketing is right for your business then you will need to build a database of contacts – you may already have this in place, if not then you can either research your target market and build your contacts up yourself or you can rent data lists. Rented lists can be expensive and you should choose your lists carefully – try to find ones that are very specific to who you want to reach i.e. interest groups rather than the large generic directories. When you are preparing the pieces you want to mail or email, think about having different pieces for different target groups – this could be a single piece which you can overprint yourself with a specific message. It is often better to have smaller more targeted pieces rather than sending out large generic company brochures.
The one that most people hate; picking up the phone. Whilst cold calling is generally ineffective, telemarketing can be useful as a way of following up other marketing activities such as a direct mail or email or an advert. This will give you an insight into the customers’ reactions to your offer and also provide you with an opportunity to research their needs a bit further to help with future campaigns. If you really don’t want to do it yourself, then there are companies that will do this for you but make sure you pick one that you feel will represent your own company values.
The large majority of people these days use the internet as their first reference point. Whether you like it or not, if you don’t have a website then you are not taken seriously. More importantly, your website needs to present the right image. You also need to make sure that your website can be found by people looking for your products and services, so getting your “SEO” (search engine optimisation) right is vital. As well as your own website you can also look to build relationships with other organisations that offer complementary products and services and create links between your sites. You might also want to advertise on relevant websites.
Social media is the latest addition to the marketing mix and one which is growing in importance. A key benefit is it is free so it provides a great communication tool for you to present your articles, blogs, press releases and any other comments you want to make on what’s going on in your market. You can also use it to drive traffic back to your website. You might want to consider joining online groups that talk about issues that relate to your business – try finding groups where your customers are so you can see what issues they are talking about, then use that information in your own marketing campaigns.
Incentives / Sales Promotions
These are generally short term campaigns that you can use to clear stock or to launch a new product. You might want to offer discounts or a free gift or other reward if your customer buys a certain product or service from you. Make sure that they are genuine promotions – don’t fall into the trap of offering permanent discounts and promotions as you will quickly lose credibility.
Face-to-Face
We all know that in the majority of cases people buy from people so any opportunity you get to sell your products and services face-to-face will reap more rewards. However this can be very expensive not only in the direct costs but also the cost of taking you out of your day-to-day business. The face-to-face options include networking meetings, speaking opportunities at relevant events, as well as attending or exhibiting at trade fairs and conferences. To be effective these can require a lot of preparation time to ensure you get the maximum benefit.
Word of Mouth
Probably the most effective marketing tool available but unfortunately the one we have the least control over. However you can offer incentives to your customers to refer you to their colleagues, friends and other associates to encourage them to spread the word about how good you are. Try and get into the habit of asking your customers to give you a testimonial so you can use it in your marketing communications – it might not be a direct word but testimonials are also a powerful tool to build credibility and trust.
As you can see there are lots of marketing tools at your disposal. An important part of your marketing planning process is to decide what combination (and I stress combination) will work best for you both in terms of meeting your objectives but also your budget. Having selected the tools you want to use, then the next stage is to formulate your campaign plan.
If you have found this information useful, you might also like to read “Marketing Planning for the SME” and “Marketing Campaign Design for the SME”. If you want to find out more about how Blue Topaz Marketing can help you with your marketing campaigns visit http://www.bluetopazmarketing.co.uk/
