However big your business is, and
however dedicated your marketing department, it never does any harm to
review the ‘hardy perennials’ of good marketing practice and ensure
that they are established in your organisation. The advent of New
Technology opens up all sorts of possibilities for new marketing
techniques. These marketing tips are a combination of new thoughts and
reminders of what has been shown to work time and again.
1) SWOT Analysis.
Other business planning techniques may come and go but the SWOT
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis remains an
ever-popular method for focusing thought. When developing a SWOT
analysis, concentrate on the top 3-4 items in each category. Remember
to match strengths and opportunities against weaknesses and threats.
2) Research
Conducting
regular research amongst current and prospective clients has always
been a first principle of good marketing practice. The advent of online
survey templates such as surveymonkey.com make this process incredibly
easy. There is now absolutely no excuse for failing to research
opinions and buying practices regularly amongst your target market .
3) Scenario Planning
Preparing
for the future requires creative thinking. When conducting forecasting
or scenario planning, it’s often a good idea to open the session up to
non Board members. Research shows that an individual with more
background information about an industry does not necessarily have a
greater predictive ability, only greater confidence that they are
right. Furthermore, younger members of staff are often better at
thinking creatively about the future.
4) Intranet
Most
large companies will have invested in an internet website but they
don’t always look at the potential of a corporate intranet for boosting
staff morale and efficiency. Where a company has several offices in
different locations or employs a number of remote workers, an intranet
can be an excellent means of exchanging advice and information between
members of staff. Encourage people to post sales tips on your message
board or run a monthly/annual competition for suggestions. (This
virtual equivalent of a suggestions box in the staffroom can also be
achieved via a dedicated email address ‘suggestions@xyz.co.uk’).
Companies operating an intranet for communications purposes can find
that it offers great cost savings and the potential for a paperless
office.
5) Understanding Competitors (1)
When
conducting a competitor analysis, look beyond the obvious. Not every
company of the same type as yours is actually competing with you
directly. (This may be because they are based in a different location
or targeting an audience that has no overlap with yours.) On the other
hand, a different type of company may have a product or service that
does compete with yours – for example Financial Advisers and
Accountants both offer financial advice and televisions are as readily
available from a supermarket these days as from a specialist electrical
store.
6) Understanding Competitors (2)
At a consumer level, your competitor companies are those that compete
with you to obtain “share of wallet”. So if you’re trying to sell an
investment product by direct mail, your offering may arrive on the same
day as a holiday brochure. You need to be sure that the way you sell
the ‘concept’ of your product works even against ‘lateral’ competition.
7) Public Relations
PR can be defined as “managing the corporate reputation – the
projection of your company’s image to stakeholders and the public.” PR
is not optional – whether you choose to plan is. Get involvement from
the highest level, know what you want to achieve and make sure that you
measure the results. As a company grows bigger and recruits more staff,
its profile with the Press (or newsworthiness) increases. This is where
it is worth remembering that – unless it is handled properly – not all
news is good news. Sometimes, your corporate bad news won’t reach the
public domain, but it is always good practice to plan for this
eventuality. Draft a positive Press Release (even if you decide that
you don’t need to issue it) and coach your directors/spokespeople for
handling aggressive media questioning.
8) Competitive Intelligence
Once
you have identified your key competitors, keep an eye on their
activity. It is important to be aware of how, where and what they are
advertising. Look out for any competitor special offers or other
marketing ploys that might affect your own plans.
Take note of which competitor strategies are repeated – this can be an indication of initial success.
9) Affinity Marketing
Affinity
marketing means selling your product/service to a partner
organisation’s customers/members using their endorsement. Critical
factors for successful affinity marketing are:
1) The strength of the relationship between the partner organisation and its customers/members.
2) The means by which you can access those customers/members. (Is this a database or ‘high street’ marketing proposition?)
3)
The quality of the data held by the partner on its customers/members.
For example, if you want to target people over 50, you need to know
that your affinity partner can provide details of age.
10) Worksite marketing
This is a form of affinity marketing. It is normally an
employer-supported programme whereby you use the employer as a ‘host’
to facilitate the sale of your goods or services to the employees.
Worksite marketing can have the advantage of enabling you to reach a
large audience in one go. However, the build up to the opportunity can
be a long and involved process and it requires two stages – the sale to
the employer and the sale to the employee before there can be any
success.
11) Mystery shopping
One
way to ensure that you are providing your customers with an excellent
level of service is to ‘live the customer experience’ for yourself. In
the guise of a mystery shopper, contact your own sales or customer
services line and see whether you are happy with the way in which you
are treated. Remember – in an ideal world – the marketing department
isn’t just the people that handle the specific marketing projects it’s
EVERYONE and the details – such as how the ‘phones are answered and how
your staff dress for client meetings – all count.
12) Exhibitions
When
you have a stand or presence at an exhibition, make sure that your
whole presentational package ties together. The literature handed out
on the day should help people to recall the stand and the products or
services on offer on the day of the exhibition. Because exhibitions are
not necessarily a regular occurrence, you can use them to pilot or test
new marketing propositions. (Dare to be different – try a competition
or product demonstration.)
Make
sure you have clear objectives for attending the exhibition and ensure
that the people manning your stand are properly briefed about what they
are – be it to collect business cards or opinions, or to sell the
product there and then. There is an art to manning a stand in order to
be perceived as politely welcoming rather than a barrier to entry.
13) Segmentation
This is the art of breaking down your entire client base into sections
in order to facilitate a more targeted marketing approach. The most
obvious segments are: gender, age, income and geographical location.
Don’t spend too much time worrying about perfecting your segmentation
parameters to the nth degree, just make a start and test as you go. Any
segmentation is better than none.
14) International marketing
Before
launching your products in another country, it is important to
understand whether any aspect of the local culture or legislation will
act as a barrier to success. Find out about local distribution methods
and conduct market research. Always ensure that marketing materials are
originated in the native language rather than simply translated from
your own.
15) Branding
Don’t
take too many liberties with your brand. If you are diversifying by
offering a new product or targeting a new market, you’ll need to
consider whether the association of your existing brand’s
attributes/values will be a benefit or a hindrance or whether you need
to develop an entirely new brand to support the new direction.
Phew!!!! Thats done, which i hope raises conversation or helps young marketers out there
