Planning is the key to success in life. Forget any other saying that contradicts this. Having plans keep you organized, saves time, gives you a sense of control, makes you feel confident, gives you a sense of direction, reminds you of your goals and objectives, prepares you for problems, etc. I could go on and on about the advantages of planning because that's how numerous they are.
Marketing strategy is a plan, a long-term plan of a business whose goal is to make sales and profit by understanding the needs of customers and delivering those needs to them. This is not a dictionary definition but I'm sure you get the gist. You have a strategy already? Good. Is it effective though? Read till the end to find out what you aren't but should be doing.
1. Offer value, solve a problem: Why did you start that company? What do you hope to achieve? What do your customers need? Once you have answers to these questions, your marketing strategy will do its job with little adjustments from you. If you're not offering a solution to a problem currently, please find a problem, create a solution and let the world know how much of a genius you are.
2. Engage your Audience: I know. You already know this, but please keep reading. When I say engage, I don't mean bombard them with content that only describes your product. I don't mean crack jokes all day. I also don't mean post unlimited videos. I mean, do all of that moderately and don't forget promotions. Everybody loves freebies. Don't go bankrupt, but also don't keep a tight leash on all your products. Not everybody will come back for more, but the few that do, will not only be willing to give you their money, but also their trust. And believe me, when I say, you need that trust for the success of your business.
3. Take advantage of influencers: Influencers are a huge part of marketing. They've got hundreds and thousands of fans that listen to them for entertainment and even information purposes. In other words, you need them. Find Influencers that can represent your brand, and what you stand for. Reach out to them. It will not be easy, but it will be worth your time and effort. You'll be surprised at how much better they are at conveying your message to your customers. You cannot be shy at the beginning of a startup and still be shy 2 months later. 2 months is a long time, but I'll give you that. You cannot be overly sensitive, and you can't be emotional. This is business, you will be rejected at some point but you need to keep pushing.
4. Enact affiliate marketing: Affiliates? Yes, please. Affiliates, another massive tool in marketing that you cannot afford to ignore. These people have strong salesmanship skills. They are aware and are confident about that skill. All you need to do is offer them a fair percentage of their earnings, and if it's a good deal, they'll make your business their own. Fear not! They won't steal your business, they'll just drive sales to places you probably never knew existed.
5. Be smart when choosing your marketing medium: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, WhatsApp, etc. These things just keep increasing, and everyone keeps creating an account. Did you read that? I said everyone is creating an account on these platforms. Don't be everyone, this is not about you but about your business. There is content on all of these platforms, real engaging content. But your target audience prefers some over the others. Find out what those preferred platforms are, that's exactly where you should be. You can decide the best social media platform for your business here
If you've been doing all of the above, you're doing an awesome job. Thank you for reading through. If there are one or more things that you have completely neglected, it's a good thing I just reminded you. Do it, watch your results improve. You don't know how? We can help you.
Author: Halimat Atanda, Content Strategist
If you are interested in making more sales, read this blog post: The 4 Keys To Successful Sales
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