Marketing Strategy and Tips

A well-designed marketing strategy is invariably the key aspect of a successful business. While big companies have countless sheets of strategies, small business marketing plans can fit within a few pages. Regardless of the number of strategies, they are still important for the business to have a direction and a purpose. Refer these plans every month or every quarterly to ensure you are on track.

How to Begin

The majority of your small business marketing strategy should include a whole year. This helps small companies to adhere to the plan more solidly. Planning for a few years can create confusion and haste to achieve goals, which can be detrimental for a small business. Much can happen in a single year, which is why it is better to focus more on a single annual term.

Take time to develop your marketing strategy; a few months at the least. The biggest challenge of small business marketing is determining what, why and how to do. Once you have a concrete plan set up, executing it is generally less challenging. A high quality strategy will prove itself when the business takes off.

Hiring a Business Consultant

Hiring an experienced business consultant is often a good idea. Although they can be pricey, they are worth the investment if it means big turnovers. It is especially a good idea to contact a business consultant when the company is a start-up or if you are looking to launch new products or target a different market than the usual. For example, if your company targets the healthcare market and you are considering the fashion market as a new venture, consultancy agencies are better equipped to design your marketing strategy to your new consumers. An experienced business consultant is able to apply previous consulting experiences; this fluency with different business models and industries can only be achieved by the venturing company’s manager after years of experience, while the consultant can give the same advice without wasting time on trial and error.

Involve the Entire Team

When creating a small business marketing strategy, involve the entire company team. Normally, you would expect to keep your plan hidden away and reveal it only to the top players, however get feedback from all sectors of your company such as manufacturing, personnel, customer service, finance and so on. Doing this is highly beneficial as every department will be able to give you realistic suggestions and advice on areas of their specialization. Otherwise, apart from shorter meetings, you may have unrealistic plans laid out.

These days there are a number of ways to market your business and one of the most effective ways to do this is through promotional mugs. They are ideal products for keeping your brand logo or message at the forefront of customers and clients.

How many times a day do you drink tea or coffee? For most people, the average is 2-3 times per day and with this is mind, it is no surprise that so many companies have invested in their own customised mugs to get them seen and talked about. Anyone would be happy to receive a free mug, say at a promotional event or client meeting. They are useful and practical for all types of people, and if they are used frequently in the home or office, they are also exposed more frequently.

If you’re a small to medium sized company starting out business, chances are that you have a small marketing budget and cannot afford for TV or radio advertising. Therefore you should consider investing in promotional mugs as an alternative way of increasing exposure and awareness of your business. With small inputs of time, energy and money, your business can make great leaps and strides in becoming a brand that people recognise.

You don’t have to stick to printing a dull and wordy mission statement on a promotional mug when you can be creative with quirky images to brighten up someone’s morning coffee break. The possibilities are entirely up to you, however the most important aspect is to ensure your logo or message is clearly visible. You can even include your address and contact information, such as an email address, website or phone number on the printed mugs so that customers, and in particular potential customers, can easily find and contact you, with the information already there.

There is a mug to fit any budget and you wouldn’t have to worry about wasting money to print on mugs because the benefits are truly rewarding. The most popular types of printed mugs are ceramic mugs, which are of great value and long lasting. Generally, when you order from a good wholesale supplier then they offer excellent value for money if you order in bulk.

Next time you have a sales meeting with a client, you can provide them with a free mug as a gift or incentive in order to increase sales opportunities. Anyone would be happy to receive one, whether they use it for beverages, storing pens and pencils or simply keeping it as a collector’s item. They are perfect for improving business relationships and make great rewards, even for your employees if they have recently done a good job.

Promotional mugs will remain a popular choice for many companies to use for marketing their business. Without a doubt, they are one of the most useful items which everyone needs and will keep because of their everyday practicalities, particularly for drinking tea and coffee. Why not invest in your own range of printed and promotional mugs and watch your business grow?

For a business to succeed, the products, services, and messages that marketers are sending to consumers must fit upcoming trends to guarantee that marketing strategies meet what the consumers are interested in.

According to a forecast done by JWT Intelligence, a marketing and communications consulting firm, upcoming trends will be determined by different factors like advancing technology, the idea of shared responsibility, and the economic situation. If marketers consider these in their coming efforts to gain and appeal to consumers, they have a higher chance of keeping up with consumer needs.

Through the efforts of JWT in determining trends in the coming year, here are some of the changes in marketing, communication, and connection that marketers are going to see next year.

More Accessible Products and Services – due to the economic situation, marketers must find a way to make their products more economic-friendly. Consumers are faced with budgeting their money, but you still want them to purchase your goods. Try to reinvent products that will be inexpensive to consumers. Businesses can try to repack their products in smaller containers and sell them at a lower price, rather than offer bigger ones that may take them off budget.

Live a Little – consumers are more restrained now when it comes to purchasing products and services, but they are also found to willingly spend a little on things that will make them feel that they are not missing out on life. Marketers can take advantage of this by sending marketing messages on how consumers can still enjoy the pleasures of life with your product and services.

New Generation Business Owners – there are a lot of young entrepreneurs these days. Marketers need to create marketing and communication strategies that will appeal to these entrepreneurs.

Shared Value – due to cultural shifts and the rise of shared value, marketers must look into building their brands by establishing partnerships with local non-profit causes. This strategy will benefit the business through exposure and good cause, and at the same time benefits customers and the society.

Eco-Friendly Foods – consumers are becoming aware of the environmental impacts of food choices. Marketers can include in their marketing message about how their brand is helping the environment, in any way, in terms of producing goods. Consumers will be more inclined to go for products that are eco-friendly in the coming year.

Single Adults – because there are a lot of women these days that prefer to live on their own, marketers should reinvent their image of single adults. Successful women these days are buying their own property, therefore it is a good time to recreate messages that will appeal to single adults, especially to women.

A Dose of the Unexpected – reinventing randomness, different points of view, inspiration, and discovery will play a key part in upcoming trends. Giving consumers something different and random will benefit marketers if they want to attract and maintain consumer interest.

Touchscreens – touchscreen devices like tablets are really popular these days. It is interactive, easy to use, and appealing to consumers. Marketers can make use of these devices to attract consumers. Last year, Burberry placed iPads in their stores so customers can easily browse through their collections.

Redefine Aging – people are now more comfortable with and positive about aging. Marketers need to redefine how consumers view their age and the elderly. They can do this by choosing people with more depth and texture instead of the young skinny girls to represent their brands.

Premium Offerings – through technology, products are giving consumers the experience of receiving something more appealing. Marketers should focus on showing the premium offerings their products have to increase customer experience. Products can create unique and valuable gifts for others, such as the Postagram app by Sincerly. The app allows users to snap photos and send them as postcards; this adds a more personal touch to the postcard increasing its value for the customer.

JWT’s forecast results are based from a year-long study of consumer and market trends. The study used different research approaches to give businesses tips on what to expect from consumers this coming year. Businesses are dedicated to determining upcoming consumer trends because this is a way to keep that connection between consumers and what businesses can offer. Marketing strategies are also built on consumer trends to make sure that they hit the right mark with the way they communicate and market their products and services.