The beginning of the year is often a good time to take a step back, regroup, and evaluate your business from a fresh perspective. For many small business owners, a sales plan for the year has already been pre-established, but how do you plan on accomplishing your sales goals without a marketing plan?
Your marketing strategy will help drive your sales. With almost 30 years as a business owner, I’d suggest taking this time to think about how you are going to achieve your sales goals by reviewing or creating a marketing plan.
The best place to start is by taking a closer look at your clients. Your customers and prospects are what will drive your company to reach your sales goals. How much do you know about them? Effective marketing relies almost completely on understanding who your audience is—such as their pain points and their reasons for choosing your company over your competition.
New approaches to consider
To gain a better sense of whom you are targeting and how you can appeal to them, we recommend starting with the following strategies:
1. Send a customer satisfaction survey to find out what areas you are doing well in and which need improvement.
This will help you gain a better understanding of who your target audience is, what they are looking for, as well as what they want and expect from you. Some areas you may want to focus on include why they prefer your company compared to your competitors, what they think of you when they consider your products or services, and what their appetite is for a new product or service you are launching.
2. Conduct some basic research into who your competitors are – what do they offer that is different from yours? Are their price points the same?
Look into other businesses that offer comparable products or services. Focus on what you can do differently, or better, based on the research you conduct of your competitors. What can you incorporate to make your products, services, or your overall company, better to provide your customers top service? Check out your competitors as if you were a customer (also known as “mystery shopping”) to understand your prospects’ current experience with these companies.
3. Conduct pricing research to properly investigate what your competition is charging for their comparable product or service, particularly if you are planning to launch a new product or service.
Remember that you want to choose pricing that is competitive, but attractive to potential customers. It is also important to align your new products or services with ones that you already offer as part of your repertoire. Keep in mind how you intend to promote your product or services to achieve your sales targets.
To thoroughly understand the market your company is operating in, you must first conduct market research. Some areas this may include are getting to know your customers and prospects, understanding your competitors, and conducting a full analysis on comparative pricing.
At CreativeWorks Marketing, we can help you alleviate some of the guesswork involved. Contact us today for more information.