Every business strives to get ahead of the competition. They slash prices, have sales, run PR campaigns, hire new salespeople, and more. But some businesses manage to pull ahead and others fall behind. There are many factors that go into this. However, there is one component that will help you get ahead of the competition, no matter what other factors are in play.
This is the simple question: How well do potential customers understand your brand?
Or, to put it another way, how effective is your marketing?
The spray and pray approach to marketing simply does not give consistent results. Putting a marketing message out on every known outlet in hopes that it will go viral does not work as often as many businesses would hope. Instead, there are very specific steps that we use in our marketing consulting which make sure your message is effective and strategically placed.
Survey, survey survey
Before a business sends its message out into the world, that message must be surveyed and tested among potential clients. You may be surprised to find that your favorite message does not resonate with your public. We have seen this happen time and time again during business consultations.
Test the message carrier
Once the marketing message is created, you must find out which outlet is best to carry the message. This can be as simple as creating a Twitter website card or as complicated buying ads on Facebook, Google, YouTube, television and bus benches – and doing A/B testing in each medium.
Strategically place the tested message
Now that the message has been surveyed and the outlet has been tested, it can be placed strategically where it will get the most results for your marketing dollars. This may mean your marketing campaign is less expensive than you think! Additionally, the testing has given you the opportunity to leak your campaign before it is truly launched. This can create buzz and help your message spread farther than it would without the testing.
Keep track of effectiveness
This marketing strategy is laser focused on results. Once your advertising is purchased and your message is placed, be sure to keep an eye on statistics and metrics that indicate how well your campaign is doing. This may mean correlating your marketing statistics with sales statistics and discovering additional weak points in the campaign – or finding fragile spots that need to be shored up within your business.
Marketing is the most effective way to expand your business, build a loyal client base, and get ahead of your competition. We have helped many businesses build compelling and productive marketing campaigns and then grow sustainably into the increased product demand. Contact us today and we will provide you with a free business evaluation.
