OK so we are half way through the year and how is your marketing activity progressing? Have you meet your first six months objectives? Have you even reviewed your business plan? Have you got a business plan? Did you set objectives at the beginning of the year?
Most large organisations we have developed a plan for the year however this is sometimes overlooked by small companies or sole traders.
A business plan is essential for all businesses whatever the size. To ensure you know what you want to achieve and also whether you are achieving. It allows you understand which areas of your marketing are working and where you may need to make changes:
Check out these tips to ensure you are on target
- Profile your customer. Do you know who your target customer is? Do you understand them fully? What are their problems and issues? What solutions can you offer to solve them
- Establish a digital strategy. Part of your plan should include a digital strategy. This covers everything online so that is your website, social media, email marketing, blogs and e-newsletters.
- Website: is it up to date? Are you including content your audiences want to read? Are you uploading new content? It is not good enough to build a website and then leave it and not add new content. This will have a negative effect on your search results.
- Use the right social media platforms. To engage with your target audience and share your experience and expertise. Offer tips and advice which is beneficial to your audience.
- Blogs: Are a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field and a thought leader. Ensure you include quality content which your audience want to read.
- Email: Do you have a database who have given you permission to contact them? If so, establish a regular newsletter with updates and tips to about your service and product. Offering promotions and discounts.
- Content Calendar. If you are struggling to come up with content. Develop a content calendar to plan ahead. Target a subject per month, research the subject and find your content. This will help you to stay on track and relieve the pressure to write.
- Network professionally: A great way to build business relationships is to network. You may choose to network online, at a local business group or both. Networking offers the opportunity to build business relationships, access colleagues’ professional knowledge and advice and generate business referrals. Educating your network about what you have to offer and support the members of the group to grow their business.
The key to keeping on track is to have a plan, implement, evaluate it, review and make changes as required to keep you on target to achieve your business goals
