Would you like regular clients, but you don’t have a marketing plan in place to make this happen?
Recent research shows that businesses who have a marketing plan are more likely to grow than those who do not.
If you spend your time planning your marketing, it will help you get more clients and you will find it less time consuming and more rewarding.
It can be a challenge to be effective if you haven’t developed your unique value proposition, analysed your competitive environment, or chosen your target market.
You need this for your marketing planning, and this forms your marketing strategy and is particularly vital if you want to make profit.
Listed below are eight reasons why strategic planning is essential for you to grow your business and achieve success.
1. Stand out from the crowd.
If you set yourself apart from your competitors, you can win more business. Think about what makes your services and business unique and feed this into your marketing content. Tell people why you are different so that you stand out. Share stories that resonate with them so that they come into your world.
2. Make the most of your time.
You are a small service-based business owner, with limited time. If you create a strategic plan, this will help you to keep focused and it will also eliminate wasting your time chasing up leads that are unlikely to convert.
3. Build a stronger brand.
Strategic planning enables you to think ahead about your marketing messages so that you can be consistent. If you are consistently repeating your marketing messages in all your client communications, you will increase brand awareness, and people will remember you and recognise your business.
4. Make more profit
When you position your business differently to your competition, your clients won’t be able to compare your services with your competitor’s offering, so you can charge a premium or avoid discounting.
5. An effective marketing plan that you can actually use.
If you take a strategic approach to the messages in your marketing, your communications will enable you to speak to the clients who want to hear from you. Focus on their problems, how can you help them solve them? As a result, this will drive the effectiveness of your marketing spend through better placement and timing.
6. Be clear about who you are or what you stand for.
If you have thought through what you stand for, you can be more confident with your strategy. You can confidently communicate this in your marketing which not only gives you clarity about what to say; it helps you with your authenticity. By being true to yourself, you attract the people you want to work with, and whilst this can lose some people, they aren’t the people for you.
7. Be real and influence how you are perceived
You are speaking to people with your marketing. Position your services in a way that meets the needs of your clients. Share your messages and give them proof that you understand them. Clients will purchase solutions from businesses they trust, who can solve their problems.
8. Seek out opportunities
Find ways to get technology to work for you. Automate business systems and processes. See if this helps you reduce your costs and improve your client experience.
Start your marketing planning today. If you need any help, I share lots of advice like this in my Facebook Group. Ready to Grow? Marketing Hub. Join here.
Hello, I am Claire Taylor, owner of Totally Taylored Marketing. I provide consulting and strategy to small service-based business owners who are ready for a marketing plan for their business.
Totally Taylored Marketing helps you create content that speaks to your customers and only put your marketing budget where your fans are. I work with you to maximise impact and minimize the time, energy and spend on your communications.
If you need any help contact me here.