Tips for Building a Marketing Strategy as an SME
Even in 2018 and in the midst of the “fourth industrial revolution”, marketing still takes a backseat in many SMEs, especially sales focused ones. Marketing could potentially make your cold calls warmer, your business rank higher on Google, and ultimately bring more leads into the company if done right.
When it comes to recruitment, there are some impressive statistics surrounding employer brand, but there are reflected across most industries too:
‘75 % of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job’ Source: LinkedIn Talent Solutions.
“78%’ of consumers say personally relevant content increases their purchase intent” Source: Marketing Insider Group
A great marketing strategy will support your business goals, as well as your mission and values as a company.
There are two things you should ask yourself before you dive head first into establishing a marketing strategy:
1)Who are your ideal customers/audience and why?
2)What makes your business different? What are you key selling points?
Answering these questions will be your starting point. Then, before you get going, remember these key things:
Identify your business goals
Marketing should be aligned with your company goals. What do you want to achieve in the next quarter? How can marketing help you get there?
Determine your REALISTIC marketing goals
Don’t expect your marketing team to get back to you with a list of leads they’ve generated through marketing (although look into gated content or LinkedIn’s Pipeline builder for examples of lead generation). 50% of the job is brand awareness and building that ‘trust factor’.
Do your Market Research
Take a look at what your competitors are doing. Decide whether you want to compete in the same market, or stand out from the crowd.
Take a Customer Journey
Be the customer. Knowing what your customer experiences as they go through the sales cycle will help you establish your touch points. The average customer has 6-8 touch points with your brand before they ‘buy’. How are you going to manage that?
Be personal
Customers are significantly more likely to interact with your brand and company if the content put in front of them is relevant. Whether this is based on their previous interaction history (where have they clicked, or visited before) or their personal information (gender, interests, job etc.)
Marketing isn’t something you can dip in and out of, and expect big results. Careful planning and investment (both financially and time-wise) that support your business goals will become invaluable.