Sure-fire marketing plan in eight easy steps

1. Know your customers

Firstly, you need to identify your target market. You probably have an idea of who buys from you but make sure you:

• Define your target market in detail
• Write down who your target market is.

Spend time finding out about your customers’ preferences and habits, to help you focus your promotions more effectively. To get the best return on your investment, look at the way your message is structured, worded and designed – and where and when you advertise.

2. Study your market

Market research is an effective way to help find out about your target market. Conduct online or in-person surveys, or simply ask customers for feedback when you see them next.

Ask questions such as:

• Why do you purchase from us?
• What could we do better?
• What additional products or services would you like us to offer?

Customer responses will highlight what works well and will help you attract more purchasers. This feedback can also help improve the service you offer – and encourage positive word-of-mouth referrals. Show that you’re listening and improving where you can, and you’ll gain greater customer loyalty.

3. Identify your competitors

Find out who your direct competitors are and gather as much detailed information about them as you can. Try:

• Visiting their website, social media sites and any online presence to better understand how they communicate to their customers. Compare your message to encourage their customers to switch
• Likewise, lock in any of your customers that may be tempted to leave with offers, loyalty discounts or even just special attention
• Reviewing their advertising, promotions and how they position in the marketplace to develop a unique selling proposition.

If you want consumers to differentiate between you and your competitors, come up with a fresh marketing and advertising approach. Your competitors’ weaknesses will present opportunities for you to market your points of difference.

4. Determine your competitive advantage

Sit down with your staff, advisers and mentors to brainstorm the best competitive advantage for your business. Your competitive advantage can be anything that sets you apart from your competitors in your target market such as price, service, product, delivery, location, exclusivity or brand.

It should be something that:

• Makes you stand out from the crow
• Exploits a gap in the market that your competitors haven’t thought about
• Suits your business and the current market condition
• Is important to your target customers.

After you’ve worked out your competitive advantage, use it in all of your marketing. Ensure that your competitive advantage is clear in any customer communication.

5. Create a promise

A promise helps clarify what the most important aspect of your business is to your customers. You want the customer to value your promise, or guarantee.

For example, if you offer a product or money-back guarantee, stand by these assurances. Your customers may tell others you stand by your promise, generating trust in you and your business.

6. Make it simple to do business

Ensure it’s easy for your customers to interact with your business. They want to have enjoyable experiences regardless of what product or service you’re selling. Exceptional service is one area that should be non-negotiable. Consider the following:

• Your business is easy to find
• Someone always answers your business phone promptly
• People get the answers and information they need
• It’s easy for customers to purchase from you
• Online queries are answered immediately
• You’ve set up auto-marketing responses.

7. Build an ecosystem

It’s vital you develop an integrated marketing strategy that makes sure all your promotions, advertisements, and marketing communications convey the same unified brand message and consistent brand values.

Maximize the opportunity to cross-market your message. For example, if you create a piece of marketing content, amplify this piece by:

• Ask customers to register to download from your website
• Post in Linked In and add a comment
• Reply to any likes or comments
• Print the content and hand out to customers
• Encourage staff to email the content to prospects and leads
• Syndicate to partners or industry groups.

Create once, seed into all your business channels many times.

8. Evaluate your marketing and update your plans

Measure the return on investment on all your marketing efforts and update your marketing plans based on what works and what doesn’t.

Some returns are easy to quantify, like the number of sales or the value of sales generated from an advert or promotion. Others are harder to put a value on, like the number of followers gained on social media or the number of visitors to your website. Some are a lot more difficult to measure, like customers’ perceptions or increased brand awareness.