It’s 2022 and you are off and running! You’re busy thinking about your goals and how you are going to crush this new year. But hold on there. A business doesn’t reach those big sales goals without some effective marketing. You can have the best product or service in the business, but nobody will know this if you market yourself poorly, or worse, they don’t know your brand exists.

The foundation to your marketing is a solid brand. Start there first. A good brand strategy drives a successful marketing strategy. Your brand should carve out your niche, speak your ICA language, drive creative strategy and inform business decisions. When you understand the core message you need to communicate to your audience, you can make informed decisions throughout the marketing process and your positioning becomes the soul of your brand.

Identify Your Primary Customer
The first step in developing an effective marketing strategy is identifying your target audience. This is a segment of people who are your ideal client. Do the research to figure out who your ideal client is, their age, gender, income, education, geographic location. Delve deeper into their interests and pain points. 

Size Up the Competition
Look at the experience your competition is promoting within their brand through the messaging they use. Is their audience the same as yours or can you offer a new solution to an untapped demographic? These details will help you pick out your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and learn from their mistakes. Making their weaknesses your strengths gives your brand an advantage. 

Establish Your Brand’s Position
What is your unique-solve for the target audience? How are you solving their pain points better than your competition or meeting them where they are now? Make sure this is something you can hang your hat on and defend in the court of public opinion…or social media.

Tell Your Story
Write a brand statement and three key messages that your audience finds authentic and relatable. Develop your story by establishing what experience you are trying to promote through your brand and what niche you are serving in the marketplace. Using consistent messaging across your promoted experiences will allow your audience to stay engaged with your brand. 

 Polish Your Visual Brand
Catch the eye of your customers. Consumers notice your visual brand before they even look at your messaging or products. Polish all aspects of your visual brand: logo, website, social media, signage, fonts, colors, photos, and illustrations. Design your brand to be professional and engaging, with a uniform theme across all media. 

 

 

Define Your Goals
What is the purpose of your marketing? Are you trying to increase sales or gain more market share? Are you building awareness? Answering these questions will help you to create measurable goals across all aspects of your marketing strategy.

Effectively Reach Your Audience
This is when your customer personas from your brand strategy come into play. With a deep understanding of who your customers are and what they’re interested in, begin reaching out to them through resources they are familiar with and where they hang out. Be a part of the conversation or ad space on digital platforms, radio stations, social media, and other media outlets that are high traffic venues for your demographic.

Utilize Low-Cost Tactics
Marketing is a pricey business, especially if you are a new company. Use low-cost marketing resources and tactics to help raise brand awareness. Take advantage of networking events in your area or partnerships to reach potential customers. Social media content is an organic way to sell to customers. Join the conversation or start your own dialogue.

Build Awareness By Taking Your Message to the People
Whether you are B2B or B2C, find your audience with paid digital or traditional media. Utilize high-traffic locations for your marketing. Billboards get lots of eyeballs seeing your ads. Sponsoring events can also help to get your name out there and align your brand with causes you care about. And don’t forget, digital marketing. There are many options available at several price points. 

Increase Engagement Online and Off
Hosting events within your community increases engagement with your customers. Special events for loyal customers including previews of upcoming product lines increase engagement with these customers and encourage more buying. Virtual events can help you connect to people if you can’t be together in person. We’ve had success with live shows for retail companies debuting new merch,  collaboration events hosted by a variety of businesses, sponsorships for virtual conferences and entertainment events. 

Win Press Coverage and Influencer ❤️
Create an engaging pitch that’s direct and shares a news-worthy angle. Include relevant statistics, photos, and materials in an accessible way (bullet points, attached folder). Refrain from writing your release as a sales copy. Keep your pitch short – 5 lines maximum and answer the five w’s: who, what, where, when, and why (they should care). Use these same tactics for social media influencers that might be a good fit for your brand.

Measure Results and Pivot
Don’t let the results of your brand development go unnoticed. Keep tabs on progress by tracking sales and client activity, social media following, and website traffic. This shows whether or not your tactics have worked. Keeping a timeline of when these changes occur will allow you to look specifically at what events/posts/ads supported your growth.

If you feel your current brand is holding you back from a successful marketing campaign, we can help! Grab a spot on our calendar to schedule a free 30 minute consultation.