Your target audience’s needs are changing and so should your marketing plan
Super Bowl Champions don’t happen by accident. It takes consistent practice of plays that have been strategically assembled into the all-important playbook. A Broadway play doesn’t become a box-office sensation without months of rehearsing a pre-determined script. This same process applies to business.
A marketing strategy is a critical component to business growth as it identifies your target market, outlines your goals over specific time periods and ensures the efficient expenditure of marketing dollars. Having a plan in place makes it easier to adapt during changing circumstances, like when a competitor moves into your market or when a pandemic strikes.
Many companies do a good job planning how to operate when things work out as expected. Companies that survive in the long run, however, plan for flexibility in response to the unexpected.
“Having a marketing plan in place is more important now than ever,” states Kristen Thompson, Lead Marketer, Marketing Direction. “With the pandemic came panic; those companies with comprehensive marketing plans in place were more easily able to pivot as new priorities emerged.”
Plan to Shift Priorities as Needed
Marketing 101 has always been about incorporating several tactics into a plan as different channels appeal to different segments of your target audience. With the pandemic came a shift in focus away from face-to-face marketing towards more digital marketing. This is a trend that has been in the works for years, and the pandemic has only served to accelerate it.
“Brands and consumers were already moving online before the pandemic, but COVID accelerated their timeline and pressured them to embrace a digital transformation at a rapid pace,” says Kipp Bodnar at HubSpot. “What were once novelty features and services — like live chat — are now vital to day-to-day operations. Without these tools, businesses can’t engage or prospect customers like they could before the pandemic.”
Face-to-face marketing is not dead, and we all hope to see a bit of a resurgence in the near future. But what good marketers are doing now is searching for creative ways – new ways – to establish a personal connection.
For example, when trying to convey a brand’s value without the benefit of being able to build a relationship in person, consistency is key. “Customers need to feel that a brand is authentic, and authenticity comes from being relatable and consistent,” Thompson says. “Focus on creating content that adds value without blatantly promoting your brand.”
Plan to Build Brand Loyalty
Remember the tried-and-true 80/20 rule: 80 percent of your profits come from 20 percent of your customers. When trying to drive revenue in challenging times, don’t reinvent the wheel. Consider existing clients who already know about you and like your product or service. How can you provide them with additional value or reward them for their continued loyalty?
“Those customers that remained loyal to you during the pandemic should be your top priority before you even start thinking about attracting new sales,” states Jennifer Byrnes, GM, Shift Workspaces. “A good place to start is to create services and campaigns that target their new needs, but if you want to go the extra mile you should really look into rewarding those loyal customers for sticking with your business through these tough times.”
Which begs the question, how do you turn past clients into loyal customers? “True loyalty isn’t something you can buy; it’s earned through quality and consistency in your product or service, honesty in advertising and communications and conveying appreciation for the customers’ business,” Thompson explains. “It helps to engage with customers on a personal level, keep them informed during the sales process and quickly handle any issues that may arise.”
How Much Should You Plan To Spend?
“As a general rule, small businesses with revenues less than $5 million should allocate 7-8 percent of their revenues to marketing,” according to the Small Business Administration. This budget should be split between:
- brand development costs, i.e., website, social media, sales collateral, etc., and
- business promotion costs, i.e., events, advertising, etc.
Think of marketing not as an expense, but an investment that drives your sales. “A good marketing plan serves as a roadmap to help guide all business decisions and activities to ensure the focus remains on achieving success,” Thompson explains. “It should be built to flex and shift to account for business, industry or economic events.”
Labor (the person executing marketing) is often one of the largest line items in a budget. However, without someone skilled to create and successfully execute a brand’s marketing plan, goals won’t be achieved. Therefore, fractional or outsourced marketing can be a good fit.
It may surprise you to learn that utilizing the services of a fractional marketing company can come in at approximately half the SBA’s recommended marketing budget guidelines, including the cost of the staff needed to execute your plan. From strategic planning to skillful implementation, everything needed to keep your brand in the forefront can be acquired from a team of marketing professionals at a fraction of the cost.
