Most business owners convince themselves that word of mouth is all they need to make a profit.
Entrepreneurs dream of achieving a profitable business, but the journey to business success is less of chance but rather strategy.
Profitable businesses understand their market and customer’s needs and interest, in order to suffice the demand.
So, by now you should know why you’ve selected the product or services you offer and matched them with features and benefits that coincide with a particular customer niche. Where are your customers located, how old are they, are they male, female, adult or children and how many of them are they?
Then you will need to determine the best and most cost-effective means of reaching your customers; leveraged on how many customers you require to break-even.
Here are seven handy pointers to help you devise a cost-effective marketing strategy.
1. DEVISE A DETAILED PLAN
Any good plan will feature short to long term goals; develop a sound plan that evenly appreciates both short and long term sale goals, which sometimes overlap.
Short term strategies boost sales and gain new customers, by introducing them to your brand; illustrating your appealing selling points as the best option in the market.
While long-term strategies achieve long-term brand awareness which ultimately increases sales in the long run; encouraging business for years to come.
2. SALES CONVERSION RATIO – DO THE MATHS
Vague indication of the financial objectives leaves everything to chance. The aim is to have a clear plan to journey from starter to expert with dominating market share. So ask yourself:
- What are my start-up and operating cost?
- What is the cost of acquiring a customer?
- What is the break-even point?
Businesses normally take three to five years before they can generate enough customers to break even.
It’s important to figure this out.
3. BUILD A QUALITY REPUTATION
This often takes time to become an expert, with a track record of proven results even in the sale of products.
Ask yourself, why would my customer return? Implementing customer retention practices is important to ensuring your business stands the test of time. Here are a few FREE strategies you can implement:
- PR – As the saying goes, “All press is good press”, but we are specifically seeking press that will lead customers to the conclusion that you are the best option, with a blooming reputation to boot, so they can only expect the same.
- Charity or Community Donations – giving back to the community is also a super way to gain popularity but ensure your approach is genuine
4. ACHIEVING CUSTOMER CONNECTIVITY
Many businesses try for years to connect with their customers only to maintain them as their first choice.
Connectivity is personal, down to the individual customer’s lifestyle wants and needs.
Social media offers a means of collecting such consumer data through engagement. Try new age digital mobile marketing, to best gain similar objectives at an affordable rate.
5. CREATE A NETWORK
“No man is an island” and the same applies to business. Network and create business connections with other related businesses. This can broaden the horizon of your initial business plans and can potentially allow industry dominance.
Network and create business connections with other related businesses. This can broaden the horizon of your initial business plans and can potentially allow industry dominance.
Today social media allows people to connect with one another. The best part about that is that it’s FREE. All you need is a mobile phone and you’re good to go.
6. CHOOSE THE RIGHT MARKETING
We are in the age of a digitally advanced consumer, giving rise to Digital Marketing Services, which are more thorough and cost-effective. That’s great!
However, some conventional marketing mediums like Leaflet Printing in Manchester are low cost and can help capture the consumer’s attention.
7. OUTSOURCING
Small to medium-sized businesses may find it more profitable to outsource. Outsourcing can help you speed up your marketing objectives. Why?
What not many know is that outsourcing something you’re don’t excel can speed up the speed of which work gets done. Many businesses make the mistake of not outsourcing and trying to do it themselves which not only cost more time but more money in the long run.
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