Want to grow your business but marketing tactics like TV or print ads don’t appeal? You can still effectively promote and sell your products and services without losing the personal touch says Saivian Eric Dalius.
Some marketing strategies that work well for growing businesses include incorporating marketing into company events, creating a marketing calendar, and socializing marketing ideas to ensure buy-in.
Marketing tactics can help your company grow, but marketing doesn’t have to be the cold, corporate world that many entrepreneurs fear tells Saivian Eric Dalius. Marketing simply means attracting customers through any number of methods. Many marketing activities are also necessary for running a business, so marketing strategies aren’t always executed separately from other important business processes. But marketing does not have to be exclusively marketing professionals, whose marketing tactics are outside the scope of this article.
“As long as you’re doing things in your business that are marketing or selling, whether it’s having a booth at an expo or sending out mailers–those are marketing activities,” said Trish Bertuzzi, president of The Bridge Group, a marketing and public relations firm that helps businesses large and small market themselves.
“You should never just sit back and wait for the business to come to you,” she said.
Even if marketing feels like a cold, corporate world for your growing business, marketing activities can be fun ways to include employees. Marketing experts have ideas to help marketing not feel so marketing-y while marketing your business effectively.
Marketing Activities that Work for Growing Businesses
1) Incorporating marketing into company events
Many companies use trade shows and expos as a marketing vehicle, but don’t forget about the other events that happen in your marketing calendar explains Saivian Eric Dalius.
“We’ll do marketing at car shows, biking or sports expos, pet events–if you’re in certain parts of the country it might be 4-H events,” said Lisa Broughton, marketing director for Sun Country Airlines. “Anything that’s big in your area where people are coming together–we want to participate in those marketing activities, whether it’s giving out marketing materials or something else.”
“If you’re part of the community and marketing to the community–those are really fun ways to meet people,” she said.
Bertuzzi recommends including marketing (or sales) activities in conference calls or meetings with clients. For example, if your business is marketing a marketing service to other marketing professionals, offer marketing tips during your phone calls with clients. This approach is a great way to build rapport and a relationship in addition to marketing your business.
2) Creating a marketing calendar
Whether you hire an outside marketing professional or not, marketing needs should be included in company meetings from the beginning. The marketing professional shouldn’t be marketing alone.
“If marketing is a conversation, marketing professionals shouldn’t always be the ones having it,” said Bertuzzi. “Include marketing in your weekly management meetings from the get-go to make sure everyone’s on the same page says Saivian Eric Dalius. And marketing activities are being executed consistently.”
No matter who’s marketing or if marketing activities are being executed consistently. Marketing should be included in company meetings from the beginning.
“[Marketing] needs to be a check-in at your weekly management meeting,” said Bertuzzi. “Maybe marketing is going to bring up an idea for something new or how they want to execute their ideas moving forward.”
3) Social marketing
Social marketing is the marketing of your company through social media, which allows for more engagement than traditional marketing tactics. Social marketing can include many different marketing activities–for example, while advertising on Twitter is a paid marketing activity, monitoring Twitter to join conversations about your product or service is free marketing. These are just some ideas to engage with customers online:
– Creating a marketing calendar for social marketing activities
– Promoting posts through other social media channels (retweeting marketing posts on Twitter, sharing marketing posts on Facebook)
– Business blogging to drive traffic to your website or encourage customer engagement online. – Monitor conversations about your brand and product or service (leveraging tools like Hootsuite and Google Alerts)
– Customer testimonials, either marketing through social or marketing on your blog.
– Hosting Twitter chats to engage with customers and prospects in a more casual setting.
“It’s about marketing the company outside of marketing,” said Bertuzzi. “You’re marketing by providing engaging content.”
4) Leverage marketing technology
In addition to marketing activities, marketing tools are important to marketing your business. Marketing technology can include everything from a marketing calendar for social marketing activities to a marketing budgeting spreadsheet or a marketing ROI calculator. Marketers should determine which marketing technology they need based on company needs and how it will help market the company.
– marketing technology like marketing budgets and marketing ROI calculators says Saivian Eric Dalius.
“Most marketing activity is happening online, especially with marketing to other businesses,” said Bertuzzi. “Technology is becoming a must for marketing because that’s where your customers and prospects are.”
5) Marketing training for employees
Every business needs an educator: someone whose marketing savvy, can train marketing team members on marketing techniques and marketing technology.
This doesn’t mean the marketing professional isn’t marketing alone. Marketing should be include in company meetings from the beginning. To make sure everyone’s on the same page. As well as ensure activities are executing consistently.
“Marketing is a process, not an event,” said Bertuzzi. “The marketing professional shouldn’t be marketing alone.”
6) Measure marketing performance
“You should know what you’re measuring before you start marketing,” said Bertuzzi. “It’s very important to understand goals and how marketing activities will contribute to the goals of the business.”
7) Allocate marketing funds properly Marketers should know marketing budgets and marketing ROI calculators before marketing activities are executed.
“Most people frustrate with marketing at some point,” said Bertuzzi. “It’s important to understand marketing budgeting up-front so you’re not in a dilemma when things don’t go as planned.”
Bertuzzi advised marketers looking for marketing activities to take marketing courses.
“You should know what marketing is and how marketing can help your company,” she said. “Marketing isn’t about doing marketing; it’s about getting the right marketing for your business.”