Ahhh!! Competitors!!!

They’re everywhere – doing their thing...

Marketing and selling their products and services in front of your target audience – yes, OUR target audience!!

It’s so frustrating – right?

Well, actually... competitors can also be good for OUR business...

They can be an invaluable source of information and inspiration – and ultimately help us plan our marketing and sales strategies!

How?

To begin, we need to consider who exactly we're competing with...

Initially it may seem obvious who your competitors are. But it’s not always straightforward as so many factors affect customers’ purchase decisions.

For example... thinking like one of your customers, what are their options? Say they work long hours, yes they could purchase from you – but who else offers the same solution? Who offers more? Your competitors may not be the same as you first thought.

If we then take a closer, more in-depth look at which...

The prospect of marketing your business can be overwhelming, especially when your budget is tight.

But don’t despair! Often the most simple and cost-effective ideas can produce the best results.

Here are my 10 quick and easy tips to spend less and market more!

1. Blog – Still one of the most effective ways to share your knowledge and expertise as well as position your brand and extend your reach. Engage with your desired audience in a more informal way - search engines love them too!
   
   
2. Network (Offline) - People buy from people! It’s a two-way process - making connections and building mutually beneficial relationships.
   
   There are plenty of local and regional networking events from BNI to Network B2B, Chamber of Commerce to FSB. If you can’t find a suitable networking event – why not set up your own?
   
   
3. Network (Online) - Currently over 250,000+ social media groups - region, sector and...

STOP!

Before you spend a penny on your marketing...

How about doing a quick marketing audit?

Marketing can be an expensive activity for your business, so it's good to know what's working and what isn't long before you invest your hard earned cash.

For a small business, a marketing audit doesn't need to be too in depth, just concentrate on the important factors which have a big impact on your business operations, resources and spend. Such as:

Your target audience

Your proposition

Your marketing channels and tools

Your measurement and control

Do you know what your ‘customer journey’ looks like?

Or how many touchpoints your audience experiences from being a cold prospect to a warm hot lead?

The customer journey refers to the process someone goes through, from being a member of your target audience to becoming a customer/partner.

And, every person who has an interest in your product or service, will experience that 'journey'.

As business owners, we need to consider each time a person has any form of contact with our brand - more commonly known as a ‘touchpoints’. Research tells us that the average number of touchpoints someone undergoes before they become a customer is eight.

The more targeted touchpoints we can create – the better!

Brand touchpoints can include a wide range of marketing activities including:

The list doesn't need to be too exhaustive, just consider your target audience - who they are, what they do and their pain points (this is where you can offer a solution) and more...

Hands up – who loves SPAM?
(and I don’t mean the canned cooked pork stuff you used to get at school)

The plethora of unsolicited emails and calls that we still get bombarded with on a daily basis.

Let’s face it, nobody does and yet it’s still cluttering our inboxes – unwanted offers and promotions – quite aggressive sometimes – for products and services that would never appeal to us.

As the quote says, spam exists because of bad targeting...

• not understanding or appreciating our target audience
• their personalities and characteristics,
• their roles and responsibilities and more importantly,
• their ‘pain points’ and how we can provide a solution for them.

It’s surprising how many businesses think they know their customers and yet, there’s very often a gap between the basics they already know and, the behaviours and preferences that are key to reaching their target market and selling to them.

Defining who your potential...