One thing is for certain: You do NOT have the time it takes to devote to marketing analysis for your business. You are busy getting clients, getting jobs done or products made, and getting everything ready to do it again tomorrow.
Marketing is not something that you can throw out there willy-nilly and expect it to work like you want it to work. Which is a good question. What do you want your marketing to do?
What marketing can do for your business
Believe it or not, there is more than one reason to market your company. Some people think marketing and advertising are synonymous and the only reason to do either is to get more clients. That is a big purpose, but it for sure isn’t the only one. For instance, you might want to:
- Increase awareness of your brand. Seeing your name, logo, colors, people, and vehicles around town bring you to mind whenever a potential customer needs you. No one needs a plumber every day but seeing your plumbing company consistently over a period of time makes it much more likely when someone does need a plumber, they call you.
- Attract talent to your company. Business owners today lament the difficulty they experience in attracting and retaining good workers. If you celebrate your employees, their personal and professional accomplishments, like on social media, your chances increase. When the public sees how you value your employees and treat them well, they watch a little closer and when it is time for them to make a move, they gravitate toward you, because they want to work in a supportive and appreciative environment.
- Educate your customers and the public at large. An informed customer can be your best customer. When you share your expertise, maybe even share DIY tips, your customers learn about the problems they have and come to trust – and then rely – on you and your team. Some people don’t care how plumbing works, but they want to be sure YOU know how it should work if you are doing work for them. Education about your services and products is not giving away the knowledge you have. It is building credibility and trust.
Exactly WHERE do you put your brand?
These are just some of the ways that your business benefits from marketing. But another important element of marketing is WHERE you do it. The general rule is you want to be where your customers, or potential customers spend their time. And the where isn’t necessarily a physical place. It could be a magazine they would read, at sports events they attend, or local festivals and fairs. That’s why it is so important to know not just the gender, age, or profession of your customers. No, you need to understand what they like to do and where they go to do it.
- If you are marketing to homeowners, you might choose to advertise on billboards on major routes on their commute to work. Likewise, depending on your service or product, connecting with real estate firms and teams and building relationships with them might be fruitful.
- If you are marketing to the aging population, you might focus on senior-related publications, senior centers, activities, and even the day trip buses.
- If you are marketing to families, sponsoring or supporting the school or community athletic programs might be beneficial. Not just athletics but supporting the arts in schools and programs in churches are places where you will be in touch with families.
- Then there is the digital world. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram keep people connected and let people get to know you and what you offer. In addition, blogs can be targeted to different markets, and they keep the content on your website fresh and continually re-indexed by the search engines like Google.
Why this aspect is important to EVERY business
Marketing is BEING PRESENT in the marketplace. Marketing is showing and telling how you can solve the problems people face. They might like you, but the reason they call your business is because they need help. That means your customers need to know about you, your business, and what you can do for them.
Effective marketing can do that. It takes time and it takes an experienced hand. So, while you are busy serving your customers or building your products, a marketing company, like NuMedia Marketing, can be analyzing the best strategies and the best places to put marketing to work for you. Call us at 317-563-7235 and let’s get started working for you!
