This week’s blog post is all about you, the marketer! What are your next marketing strategies? What are your goals for the year?
This month we will be talking about what to do after you launch your new product or service. We will go over different ways to promote it, how to handle feedback, and what to do when its sales slow down.
The first step in this process is to make sure that your initial launch was successful. If it was, then great! You have already achieved your goal of expanding your brand. Now comes the hard part – keeping up with all of these tips.
That is why I asked our community to share their top tips and tricks as well as talk about what worked for them. While some may call this spam, I see it as valuable information that helps other business owners like yourself succeed.
Create a marketing plan based on your target market
After you have determined what products and services you will be offering, next is determining who your target audience is!
What kind of people use your product or service? Who are they talking about your product/service to? If you have no idea who your ideal customer is, then it is very difficult to create a business plan that accounts for more failures than success.
You must know who your customers are so that you can produce targeted advertisements or messages that appeal directly to them.
By creating content that targets their needs, you make the chances of them buying from you much higher.
Develop your website
After you have done some research, determined your strengths, and gathered all of your materials and assets, it is time to start creating your business’s online presence!
Start by picking an appropriate domain name. You can use our tool to help you find the perfect web address for your business.
You will want to own this URL permanently so there are no changes or cancellations later. Make sure that you always have access to this site so you do not run out of money due to service disruptions or theft.
Now, you need to pick either Google Apps (for free) or Microsoft Office 365 (paid monthly subscription) as your hosting account.
These two sites make it easy to create websites and upload files and content quickly and easily. It also provides security features such as spam protection.
Create a promotional plan
After you have determined your budget, what products or services are important to your business, and an idea of what activities will help promote your business, it is time to create your promotional plan.
Your promotional plan should include the following components:
Date – Make sure to schedule enough time for all of these events. This could mean weekly visits to the mall during lunch hours, monthly meetings with other members in your group, or yearly gatherings.
Location – Find out if there are any local events that would be helpful for your company’s exposure. You can also pick up some publicity by holding your own event at yourslef t.
Activity – Pick one thing per week to do to spread word about your business. These can range from having a small talk about your product or service, writing a review, hosting an event, etc.
Distribute promotional materials
After you have done all of your marketing, it is time to distribute your materials. This can be doing an end-of-season sale, hosting a giveaway, or passing out flyers or pamphlets.
Running an online store means there’s always something to do! You will be keeping up with your website by yourself as well as responding to messages and emails. Doing some last minute shopping before Christmas may also boost sales.
Running a business takes work but don’t hesitate to get help. There are many resources available to start-up businesses like yours. Many local universities offer free business classes so why not take one? Or if you feel more comfortable in that area, ask around for people who could use your services and help them gain access to those services.
Don’t forget about social media! Post updates, pictures, and videos to keep your followers updated on what you are working on.
Host events
After you have done all of your marketing, it is time to host an event or events! This can be anything from hosting an open house at your business, to holding a fundraiser for a charity that fits with your brand, to having a grand opening or launch party for a new product or service.
If you are trying to gain attention for your business, then organizing a food festival may be the way to go. People love to talk about eating, so why not get some publicity while helping others?
For example, one professional organizer’s (our own) company had its annual spring gala where they awarded top organization achievements in their field.
Another organized a “Clean Out Your Closet Day”, where they gathered items for donation and community members came and picked through them. Many people don’t know what to do with leftover material goods, so donating them is a great way to spread kindness.
Hosting an event is a good way to promote your business and contribute to the community at the same time.
Identify your unique selling proposition (USP)
A few years ago, people would have said that buying new gadgets was a surefire way to make yourself look more professional. Now it is very common to see business owners taking pictures with their phones or tablets every chance they get!
That is not to say that having smart devices is not impressive anymore. But what makes you different from someone who does not has one? If you are not sure what your USP is, start thinking about how you could position yourself as an expert in this market.
You can do this by creating content targeted at people with similar gear, offering value-added services for users, or developing products themselves. The best way to figure out which of these apply to you is through testing and observation!
If you already have a smartphone, use that information to determine whether there are any additional features you want and need.
Develop your brand
After you have done all of the other marketing activities, it is time to develop your brand! This can be doing new things with your style or position, changing how you present yourself, or even making significant changes to what you sell.
Your brand represents who you are as a person and what you stand for in this world. Yours comes from experiences and memories of you as a person, events you attended, places you visited, things you learned, and more. These all combine into what people perceive about you!
Keep exploring new areas, learning new things, and incorporating them into your life and career will strengthen your personal brand. You may want to start by looking at our list above and picking one concept to focus on. Once you do that, learn about it and see if there are any ways to apply it to your lifestyle or career.
This will help you connect more with the idea and give you some ideas for how to implement it into your life.
Create a social media presence
After you have determined what types of Social Media Sites make sense for your business, the next step is to create these profiles! This can be done through sites that offer free accounts such as Facebook or Twitter, or through paid services like Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.
If you are more experienced in marketing strategies, then creating your own profile pages is an excellent way to showcase your talent and potential customers may find you via search engines. However, if you don’t feel very comfortable doing this yet, there are many great service providers out there who can help you get up and running quickly.
Some people start off paying a monthly fee but eventually decide they want something better, so it is worth looking into the possibilities. Many companies will also help you design your page, pick colors, and install the necessary apps so you don’t have to worry about those things.
