Let’s talk about some hard truths when it comes to marketing. More often than not, when we begin work with a client, they want to jump right in. But that’s not where we like to start. Instead of jumping in headfirst, it’s essential to know the mission and vision of your biz, who your ideal client is, and what funds you have for marketing, for starters.
So let’s jump into where you should really begin when it comes to marketing your business.
Mission and Vision - Knowing the “why” behind your business is essential to promoting your brand. A mission and vision statement helps define the overall direction of your company, establish purpose, and give guidance for what you want to achieve. It’s where you not only inspire your team but help define what makes you different from your competitors. We use the mission and vision for marketing to get a feel for who your business really is. What do you stand for? What’s the why behind what you do? And as we mentioned before, this should set you apart from your competition and is “marketing gold” for us in the industry.
Pro Tip: Try doing a “word dump” for your business by writing down every word that comes to your mind when you think of your biz.
Marketing Budget and Tracking - Now, let’s talk about that marketing budget! Keeping tabs on what you’re spending on marketing is vital to gauging the effectiveness of your marketing strategy. For example, we have a current client that was spending $10,000 a year on billboards. When we asked, “How many leads have you received from those billboards?” they couldn’t tell us. You see, because they weren’t tracking the leads from their billboard, they couldn’t determine the return on their investment. And that’s why setting a budget and tracking the results is so important!
Pro Tip: When selecting a budget, make sure it’s within a range you can handle. The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends spending 7 to 8 percent of your gross revenue for marketing and advertising if you’re doing less than $5 million a year in sales. Your net profit margin – after all expenses – is in the 10 percent to 12 percent range.
Ideal Client - Tell us something: How can you promote your business if you don’t know your ideal customer or client? Right? Right! Knowing who you’re selling to is vital to your company and successful marketing. As marketers, we use your ideal client to choose marketing mediums, strategies, and more. So how do you determine your ideal client? Easy! You can employ social listening, analyze historical sales data, or send out surveys to your customers.
Pro Tip: Check out our blog “Defining Your Audience” for some more in-depth tips.
Marketing Plan and Strategy - Here at Iron City Social, we’re big fans of a marketing plan and strategy. Why? Because it includes everything, we’ve mentioned above and more! A marketing plan and strategy set an excellent foundation for advertising, provide some real insight into your business, and develop a way to track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Think of it as a complete roadmap when it comes to marketing your business.
Pro Tip: Don’t worry. We’ve written several blog posts about this and have some free templates available! Check em out here.
Need more help? Reach us at contact@ironcitysocial.com or (256) 648 - 3210.