As you might expect, I get a lot of queries about marketing strategies. The most common is why a particular plan is not working for an individual or business.

Of course, this a big question, much along the lines of how long is a piece of string?

Most failing marketing strategies tend to have common problems associated with them, however. Heres my 6 reasons your current marketing strategy isn't working:

1. Your marketing strategy is not coherent

By coherent, I mean it doesn’t have joined-up thinking. All parts of your marketing strategy should fit together like a glove and each part needs to have a specific purpose and each part should compliment others.

You need to have a firm goal for what you want your marketing to achieve:

• Do you want to generate more leads?
• Build your brand visibility?
• Create a promotion?
• Support customers who have bought your product or hired your service?

 Check out my quick guide on the 6 essential elements your marketing strategy needs

2....

There are lies, damned lies and statistics.

If you’ve always been a bit wary of online statistics about marketing, you’re not alone. There are thousands of them out there and many aren’t true or get misinterpreted.

To help, here are a few I’ve dug out from the many to help inform your 2021 marketing strategy and what they mean.

1. Get your SEO right

According to BrightEdge, 68% of experiences online start with a query on a search engine like Google. SEO is still an important part of any marketing strategy. While getting it right takes time and effort it should continue to be a priority for your business in 2021.

SEO essentials for search success:

• Crawl accessibility (aka spiders) - ‘Crawling’ is what search engines do to look at your site and determine what information is on there.
• Compelling content - Once a person visits your site, you should aim to keep them there and give them the information they’re looking for. Blogs, news, product...

I’m sure we’ve all experienced it as there's so much of it about at the moment -

Impersonal…
Unempathetic...
Unwanted!

I'm talking about the plethora of unsolicited emails, advertising posts and messages that we receive for products and services that would never appeal to us.

This 'spam' exists because of bad targeting - not understanding your target audience, their ‘pain points’ and how you can provide a solution.

By defining who your ideal customer is and how to engage with them, will give you the power to one day, convert them into loyal customers.

So, before you invest any time, resources and hard-earned cash in your marketing and sales strategy – understand who your market is!

Sounds crazy, as it’s one of the fundamentals of growing a profitable business, BUT…

I’m seeing and hearing some horror stories at the moment where some businesses are getting it so wrong.

It’s a well-known fact the people will always...

As we slowly exit lockdown and life returns to some type of normality, are you revising or making new plans for your marketing and sales strategy for the rest of the year?

   Will it be the same as previous?

   Focusing on the same customers and target consumers?

   Using the same marketing tools and channels?

   Spending the same budget?

   Hoping (and praying) for the same results as this time last year?

If so - STOP!

Before you spend a penny more on your marketing, conduct an audit.

Far too many businesses make the mistake of throwing money at the same marketing and sales activities, not really sure what they will achieve - hoping it will go back to the 'good ole' days'!

Business has changed.

Consumers have changed. 

Marketing has changed!

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...

Email marketing can be a potent tool for marketing your products or services to people and can help to generate new interest in your campaign.

The right tools and a strategic approach often lead to increased engagement and a higher conversion rate. 

Here's my 5 tips for developing your email marketing campaigns:

1.  Build your list

Email marketing has the ability to generate high quality leads, but only if the right people sign up to your list. List building is one of the most important stages in the process. 

You need to obtain quality prospects, otherwise the information that you send out is not going to have the desired effect. 

Building a high quality list though takes time, patience and determination.

Ideas to build your list:

• Email subscribe pop-up on your website – free tools such as Hellobar.com (below) are really effective for capturing visitors email addresses.
• Similarly, create a dedicated landing (or squeeze) page to capture email addresses...

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...

If you’re not using video yet as part of your online marketing strategy, you’re in trouble.

Video is the most popular and effective technique your message across to your audience. Failing to use it is a missed opportunity of the highest order.

The good news is that implementing video marketing is easier than ever before. Platforms like Facebook and YouTube actively encourage it. Marketers have never had so much support.

Knowing where to start, however, can be a challenge. In this guide, we’re going to take an in-depth look at the tips, resources and strategies you should use when embarking on any campaign.

Want to learn more? Read on!

The Importance Of Video Marketing

In case it wasn’t clear from the introduction, video marketing is important. It’s so important, in fact, that Facebook’s EMEA vice president Nicola Mendelsohn has come out and said that he expects video to be the ONLY way that marketers will advertise on the platform by 2021.

Just...

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 want to get more engagement and business leads on social media?

Yes - of course you do!

But it's surprising how many people get it SO wrong when posting... 

So, instead of the usual 'Tips to get more engagement on social media ' post... here's three things you SHOULDN'T be doing.

Enjoy!