A Personalized Marketing Strategy for Your Small Business 

One can’t underestimate the importance of having a Personalized Marketing Strategy for Your Small Business. As a business owner or manager, you probably already know what you want to accomplish this year, this month, or even this week.  For example, you might want to increase online sales year over year. Maybe you want to increase sales of a certain product this month. Perhaps you aim to improve your business’s reputation or image over time?  Whatever your goals may be, a clear-cut marketing strategy will make them more attainable, and give you an edge over your competitors.

A good Marketing Strategy provides a blueprint or outline for what needs to be done in order for you to quickly and effectively accomplish your goals.

To build brand credibility, it is important that your Marketing Strategy is customized to your business.  Advertising is not “One Size Fits All.” Even within the same industry, while it is important to do research and be aware of what your competitors are doing, you should have a personalized marketing strategy for your small business, your customers, your geography etc.  

Keys to Setting Goals: 

The first step to creating a solid, personalized marketing strategy is to identify and set your goals. 

1. Be Specific. Don’t be ambiguous.  Instead of “I want to increase online sales,” try, “I want to increase online sales by 15% year over year.”  
2. Make Them Measurable.  Your goals should consist of metrics that you can monitor and measure to determine your strategy’s effectiveness.  If it’s not measurable, it doesn’t count. 
3. Make them Achievable. Only set achievable goals for which you have the adequate resources, money, and time to make them possible.  
4. Be Realistic. Don’t set goals you can’t achieve.  If your Food Truck sold 100,000 hot dogs last year, it would be unrealistic to set a goal of 1,000,000 for the upcoming year.  
5. Set A Timer.  Set a specific period of time for achieving your goals.  Don’t leave it open ended.  At the end of that time assess whether or not you were successful and whether or not to continue to chase that particular goal.  

Research

Next, do your research.  Take the time to thoroughly research your competition, market trends, target audiences, and other insights. The insights you research now will help you personalize your marketing strategy. 

What You Should Know: 

1. Your audience. Understanding your customers/audience and their buying habits and desires is key to developing an effective strategy.  This will dictate how you communicate with them.  Are they more likely to respond to a targeted email or an ad on social media?  What does your research indicate?  
2. Your competitors. Understanding your competition is critical. Knowing what online strategies they are using will help you determine if a similar approach could work for your business.  Keep track of how your competitors market and promote themselves.  It will provide you with key insights.  
3. Market expectations. Look for emerging patterns and industry trends. Augment that information/data with research on users’ demands, and you will have a pretty good idea of what’s to come.  

Information that you discover during your research phase might change or impact some of the goals you set previously.  Adapt and adjust your goals accordingly.  

Once you’ve set your goals and done your research, it is always important to involve your team members or stakeholders.  Getting their input can enhance your overall marketing efforts, and outlining a clear and concise work load for everyone involved will help set expectations and keep everyone on track.  

Define Your Message

The fourth step is to define your message. 

1. What is your core messaging strategy and what do you want to communicate? Your message should align closely with your marketing goals.  For instance, if e-commerce businesses focus on promoting seasonal offers or products.  Their goal is to boost sales.  But, on the other hand, a B2B advertiser is more likely to ask a user to connect with them by filling out a form or requesting more information about the business.  
2. Keep your messaging concise and consistent.  Stick with the 1-2 themes that most effectively get your message across.

Cross Channel Presence 

Finally, it’s important to maintain a cross channel presence.  

1. A solid and detailed marketing strategy coupled with multiple platforms and channels allows you to reach the right audience and get your message across more effectively.  The more places they see you, the more likely they are to engage with you.  
2. Concentrate on generating engagement and interaction among your audience while establishing several touch points.  
3. Keep your message clear and similar across all platforms and touch points.  

Once you’ve finalized and implemented your marketing strategy, be sure to leverage accurate insights and information as you go to help you achieve your campaign’s main focus.  If you stick to a detailed plan and don’t get off-course, you should see an increased return on your investment.   

Let us help you put together a personalized marketing strategy for your small business that is focused on your goals and utilizes the latest research, market trends and cross channels to reach your target audience. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your marketing plan and strategy for 2022, reach out to schedule a call. We look forward to hearing from you!