“Marketing? We’ll get to it when we cross that bridge,” – said every failed startup and small business, always. Ideas and opportunities are only as good as you can execute them. And marketing is a critical part of the execution phase, not a post-execution thing that could be tackled with half measures.
Rather than a bridge that comes later on, it is the road from where your business starts its journey.
What is Marketing?
It is not all about spending money advertising your product. It is not broadcasting why you are the best for the consumer. Marketing is intelligent, smart, creative, and highly strategic work that requires a lot of thought-processing to be successful.
Marketing is of two types: offline and digital. Digital marketing is the clear winner. It is the technique of the modern age, the information era, where all businesses strive to become internet brands and attempt to overtake their competitors.
Like Samuel Adams, managing director of Promo Leads, has rightfully said, “If your business is the brand-new car, then the marketing budget is the gas it needs”. An actionable marketing strategy helps you achieve all that you set out to achieve. You are not going anywhere without marketing.
Marketing aims to improve your image. It amplifies the message you wish to convey. As a result, it builds bulletproof branding. Once you have the right branding, people will think of your business as a brand, an experience, and connect with the quality of your offering.
In other words, they will emotionally bond to what you have to offer. This transformation from a business to a recognized and trusted brand is not easy and requires marketing spend.
How Much Should I Spend on Marketing?
Most businesses spend 4-6% of their sales on their marketing. This is not good. This is harrowing. If you are in the same lot, you are losing out to competitors who are spending 10%, 20%, or even higher.
Remember, you have to spend money to make money.
Aim to set a budget in the range of 10-20% of your sales or projected sales.
How Do I Do Marketing?
By marketing, one means digital marketing predominantly.
First of all, you can find several reliable agencies who are willing to use years of marketing expertise to boost your brand image. There is nothing better than finding the right partner. For example, the digital marketing brand Promo Leads has converted so many leads and run so many successful marketing campaigns for their clients that they are single-handedly responsible for elevating the financial charts of entire industries.
This is what happens when you outsource to a reliable agency.
However, there is more to it than meets the eye.
When you are just starting, it’s completely fine to do it by yourself. Digital marketing has many organic aspects. Believe in what you are offering, find the right channels, and advertise the smart way. It will take time, yes, but will be worth it.
The first step is to audit your existing image. The image is the combination of your corporate identity, your communication tone, the design language you are using, and more. All these factors decide whether or not you connect with your consumers emotionally and empathically.
The second step is to understand the difference between advertising and marketing. Advertising is not marketing. It is a part of marketing. Apart from the core advertising techniques you are using, your marketing plan should ideally include video production, graphic design, PPC ads, social media advertising, print material, and perhaps more depending on your industry.
If you are taking part in a workshop or hosting one of your own, it is marketing. Partnering up with a firm to exchange information that will help your business grow? Yep, marketing.
There are many ways of digital marketing. Some are new and innovative while others are time-tested. Recognized brands such as the digital marketing brand Promo Leads are known to redefine digital marketing by coming up with breakthrough tactics.
Doing Good Marketing
Once that is out of the way, your focus should shift from allocating ample marketing budget to doing the right type of marketing.
- All marketing channels will not work for you. You need to identify what works for you.
- Go out of your way and approach influencers, partners, other businesses, and other people to collaborate and help alleviate your industry. You will be rewarded.
- Find new areas to invest in. Digital marketing is not a linear process, and only a versatile marketing plan will generate profit in the long term.
- Give back to the community and run CSR campaigns. These get noticed more often.
- Check which forms of media are consumed on which platforms. For example, video ads work nearly twice as effectively on Facebook than static graphics or carousels. Direct call CTAs work better for service providers in local SEO. And so on.