How To Develop a Marketing Strategy To Take Your Business To The Next Level
Getting ahead in business is a matter of finding your voice. A game-changing creative strategy depends on clearly identifying the mission statement and values that you want your business to embody. These are what resonate with potential customers and help to create lasting relationships not dependent on fleeting promotions. To get ahead, smart businesses need to inject a few human values into an increasingly automated world – focusing on creating an authentic persona which they can communicate to the world through every means possible. But what strategies can you adopt to elevate your marketing to the next level and create meaningful relationships with your customers?
Be A Human
Sometimes we get so caught up in sales funnels, targets and driving behavior change that we lose sight of what customers actually want – the human touch. Instead of using the push model of regurgitating features and benefits, news about the service and sales promotions, rebalance your messaging to include some approachable content. Useful tips, asking customers’ opinions and joining in conversations without the sole aim of boosting your bottom line are all great ways to get started. These activities raise awareness and create a halo effect that will translate into profit eventually.
Find Your Unique Voice
The values that your business had and the problems that you exist to solve, give you something unique that cannot be instantly replicated by competitors. Today’s audience are looking for businesses with a soul – and they can spot the inauthentic ones a mile off. Finding the true voice of your business is a very worthwhile process for the connections it will gain you. Once you find the messages that sum it up, shout them from the rooftops. Make sure they are the main focus on your website. Add them to all the brand real estate you have – be that on your premises or on spaces such as Subscription Box Packaging or till receipts and invoice documents. Make it clear, make it compelling, and you will win customers over.
Connect With Influencers
People buy from people, so take your marketing game to the next level by leveraging some people’s power. Focus on finding small-scale influencers in your niche – they don’t have to have the most followers, but they do need high levels of engagement – and reach their audiences through them. This tactic can help you make inroads into new demographics, without the try-hard nature and big budgets involved in mass promotion. Get the targeting right and you’re guaranteed to spark interest. Take the time to find influencers that share the values your company has, as this creates a natural connection and synergy of aims. Take the time to explain to them exactly how your focus coincides with theirs, and where you see a fit. Invite them to connect with you and discover what your company is all about. Don’t be tempted to do this on a superficial level – the idea is to nurture a deeper connection. You can only do this if you have the right values. Humanise your buyers by bringing them to life with personas and move away from the purely analytical approach in favour of real relationships. Your brand experience should offer this much to the customer.
Emily Sprinkle, also known as Emma Loggins, is a designer, marketer, blogger, and speaker. She is the Editor-In-Chief for Women's Business Daily where she pulls from her experience as the CEO and Director of Strategy for Excite Creative Studios, where she specializes in web development, UI/UX design, social media marketing, and overall strategy for her clients.
Emily has also written for CNN, Autotrader, The Guardian, and is also the Editor-In-Chief for the geek lifestyle site FanBolt.com
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