Stop Marketing and Start Campaigning
No, I haven’t lost the plot. It’s just that many of the micro business owners I interact with aren’t marketing. They’re doing something they call marketing, but it’s more a lot of ad-hoc, online and offline ‘chatter’. Marketing is planned and strategic. Planning and strategy are imperative because marketing is the thing that carries the key message of a business to a specific target audience in order to achieve an overall business objective.
So, What is Marketing?
Keeping it simple:
- Marketing is a constant, consistent range of activities across a wide variety of channels, both online and offline
- Marketing has objectives and measurable targets
- Marketing is not a ‘quick win’ solution
- Marketing costs money. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, but it does need a budget
This is why I believe many micro businesses need to stop doing what they call marketing; because what they are doing is likely to be having very little impact on their business and profitability, while having a massive impact on their time and stress levels.
Does this Mean You Should Do No Marketing?
Absolutely not! I believe that micro businesses need to do two things:
- Create a marketing plan
- Start campaigning
Campaigns give marketing a boost. Marketing is constant and consistent delivering a key message to a target audience. Campaigns take place within a designated timeframe; campaigns are designed to achieve a specific objective such as an event, an offer or a promotion; campaigns are created to reach a particular group within the overall target audience of the business, such as VIP clients or repeat business from customers who haven’t purchased anything for the last three months.
Four Key Stages in Creating a Marketing Campaign
Stage 1: Planning
- Define the goals and desired outcomes for the event, offer or promotion – for example, 20 repeat orders, 50 attendees at the event, turnover £5,000
- Define the client group – for example, customers who previously spent more than £250
- Set the event, offer or promotion date(s) – for example, 1st to 5th December
- Create the title of the campaign – for example, One Day to Day One: Creating Your First Profitable Campaign, Course or Programme
- Create the content of the event, offer or promotion – for example, 1-day, VIP Strategic Success Marketing Campaign Planning Day
Stage 2: Build-Up
- Start a social media campaign blogging, Tweeting, posting etc. on topics connected to your event offer or promotion [NB: this is not a sales or a ‘buy me’ message]
- Use email marketing and newsletter to drop hints about what is coming
- Network as widely as possible to make new connections
Stage 3: Launch
- Increase your social media output – be more specific about what is on offer
- Ensure that your diary is clear and has enough space to enable you to handle enquiries or take-up of the offer.
Stage 4: Analysis and Follow-Up
- Measure the outcomes of the campaign. Did you reach your target? What went well? What didn’t go well? What will you do differently next time?
- Set the follow-up process into action
- Send a personalised thank-you all those customers or clients who took-up the offer
- Post out a general thank-you message across all social media channels – ensuring people know what they missed – perhaps they will be at the front of the queue next time!
If you’ would like to discuss your micro business marketing and campaign strategy in more detail, why not book a FREE Discovery Call with me today?