Your business is rolling along and you think your brand strategy is working. But is it? Are your marketing messages and materials driving the results you need? If not, it might be time for a marketing makeover.
You'll know it's time to go back to the marketing drawing board if you can identify any one of the following red flags happening at your small business. The trick may be to rebrand, adjust your value proposition or simply modify your existing strategy before these danger signs turn into unavoidable catastrophes.
1. Nothing matches.
Strong brands consistently deliver on their promises to consumers in every brand interaction. Inconsistent messages and visual imagery can confuse consumers, forcing them to turn away from your brand in search of one that does continually meet their expectations. If your website, signage, ads and marketing materials look like they come from multiple companies, then you need to redesign them so you communicate a consistent brand at all times.
2. You don't know what you want.
If you haven't mapped out your one-year and five-year goals, then your marketing efforts might not be helping your business. Take some time to determine your business objectives and then revamp your brand and marketing efforts to help you reach those goals.
3. You don't know how to connect with customers.
If you don’t know who you need to connect with and where to find them, then you could waste a lot of time building relationships with people and spending time in places that won’t drive the business results you need. Instead, define your target audience and determine what benefits and messages matter to them. Only then can you find where your target audience spends time (for example, watching television, listening to the radio, on social media, reading blogs, and so on), so you can connect with them and deliver the kind of valuable information and conversations they want and need.
4. You're talking only about yourself.
It's important to strike a balance between being social and only self-promoting. Socially, if you talk only about yourself all the time, no one will want to hang out with you. You should take the time to get to know people -- in person and on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn -- and build relationships with them. Cultivate these relationships to help build brand loyalty and advocacy. You shouldn't interrupt people with marketing messages. You also need to engage them with meaningful content and conversations.
5. The competition looks better than you.
If your competitors' message and look outshine yours then you might need to make a change. The idea is to stay ahead of the curve without copying your competitors' marketing for the sake of keeping pace. If you don't look and sound equal to or better than your competitors, then there is no reason for consumers to do business with you. Determine what differentiates you from your competitors and what benefits you can deliver to consumers that your competitors cannot. Once you know what those differences are, make sure the world knows them, too through your branding and marketing efforts.
While first impressions can be crucial, online consumers can move quickly. If they can't determine who you are, what you do and how you can help them in three seconds or less, they'll pass you by. Make sure the first impression you make is clear, concise and quick.
Marketing makeovers offer significant opportunities to stay current, jump ahead of your competitors, and appeal to wider consumer audiences. Don't risk alienating your existing customers with a marketing makeover that makes your business and brand unrecognizable to them. In other words, invasive plastic surgery of your brand can do more harm than good. Instead, pursue smaller changes that enhance your brand and business rather than completely reconstructing it.
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Comments:
This is a great checklist. We should all review these points regularly - even us branders!
Very good! Thanks for sharing Susan, it was very interesting.
That's a great example. I wrote about Ford being named one of the most improved brands of 2009 last year, and it is a great story. You can read that story here: http://www.corporate-eye.com/blog/2010/01/consumers-rank-ford-as-most-improved-brand-in-2009/
Martha, you're very welcome!
Chris, that's a great way to explain it - "embracing the pay-it-forward culture". I love it!
Susan, I completely agree with you. I always try to teach small business owners the importance of focusing on strategy for long-term growth supported by short-term tactics. It's too easy to get caught up in "get-rich-quick" claims and guerrilla marketing these days and forget that strategy has to come first or your just treading water.
You're absolutely right, Geoffrey. That's one of the reasons I wrote "30-Minute Social Media Marketing" - to show small business owners that you really can carve out just 30 minutes each day on social media activities and see real results in terms of brand and business growth.
In reality, most of these areas goes back to your company's competitive advantages. How you deliver your message and articulate your unique selling points, how you differentiate yourself from the crowd all boils down to your competitive advantage. One company that comes to mind who certainly did a great job at this is Ford. Check out what Ford did, to make their marketing a success. http://blog.smartadvantage.com/competitive-advantage-blog/bid/49457/Ford-Sparks-a-Fiesta-by-Marketing-Their-Competitive-Advantages
Susan - love these tips - good direction for new businesses as well as established enterprises. These days, businesses need to constantly monitor their marketing materials & efforts - see what's working and what isn't. Thanks!
Well said, Geoffrey. Too many small businesses put sales before a clear marketing strategy because they are too overly concerned with a strong balance sheet. Smart money is on finding ways to keep that balance sheet strong with proactive focused marketing that will drive sales, not vise versa.
This is valuable information, concisely delivered. I am recommitting to defining my target audience instead of taking a 'whosoever will, let them come' approach as a new business owner. Thanks.
Hi Susan! I love #4, particularly because it flies in the face of our self-centric culture. We easily buy into the idea that the way to gain clients or "fans" is to tell them all about us. It seems counterintuitive that the best way to gain respect is to make other people look good. Embracing the "pay-it-forward" culture requires a certain degree of self-confidence but it is absolutely the best way to increase our influence. Great piece - thanks for the timely reminders!
This was an excellent delivery of some extremely useful information. Many businesses are not well versed on how to effectively assess the state of their marketing strategy. I believe it's mainly due to the fact that marketing is done reactively instead of proactively. It just seems to be one of the many things that gets put on the backburner after the initial effort. The key is to build a strategy that includes ongoing tactical activities that continue on a daily basis. The real question becomes, as small businesses, where do we find the time.
Aaroneden, You're exactly right. Without clear goals, you're just treading water instead of moving forward in a strategic direction.
Well said, Jason!
I have to say that item#2 applies to many of us who are starting out. It's not that you don't know what you want, but you fear that all those efforts on your No.1 goal will lead to nothing - simply because what you want doesn't really matter, but what the customers want do. The last thing you want is to develop a perfect product that no one will buy.
I especially like #4 Getting others to talk about themselves makes them open up to you and before you know if you can identify their passions, connect with them and better help them with your product or service.
Thanks, Claude! I'm glad you like the article. It's important to always self-check that your marketing is on track, and these reminders are an easy way to do it.
Hi Susan, these are some great tips, not too many people know enough to put together a marketing plan and budget. This is a great outline to keep us on track. Especially the one where not to talk about yourself all the time. It's highly important to know, understand and educate yourself about the clients your targeted