Posts tagged with

marketing

The key to good marketing is to understand your customers’ needs and develop a plan and framework that surrounds those needs.

Everyone that runs a business has a desire to grow the business and be successful. The most effective way to grow and expand your business is by focusing in on natural or organic growth. Natural or organic growth can be boosted in four different ways.

1. Acquire and grow your clients
2. Encourage and engage your customers to buy more products
3. Encourage your customers to buy more expensive products
4. Encourage each customer to buy more profitable products

All four of these will increase your revenue and profit.

So now let’s focus on the first point, which is to acquire more customers. Why? Simple… by acquiring more customers you increase your customer base and your revenues then come from a larger base, a larger base is a safer business, it’s the old saying, don’t put all your eggs in one basket!

So how do you use marketing to acquire and grow your customer database?

1. The golden rule and by far the most important point, create or have created a strategic marketing plan
2. Focus, research and guide your product development to reach out to customers you aren’t currently attracting
3. Competitor analysis, price your products and services competitively
4. Ensure you develop your message and materials based on simple solution marketing, don’t over complicate your business or brand

Some might say Batman and Robin are the all time favourites for battling crime.

Maybe so, but when it comes to battling grime, there can only be one duo and they cleaned up a storm together at this years Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The team from Muc-Off were using their highly innovative range of cleaning products to clean and detail the sports cars as they left the race track and entered the public viewing paddock. With a limited water supply to hand, there could be only one answer…the V-17 from Mobi.

This was the first time the V-17 was demonstrated to the general public and with cars valued in excess of 1.2 million there was no room for error.

The V-17 is the first ‘fully portable pressure washer’ to hit the European market place and with its large 17 litre water tank and built in rechargeable battery, the Muc-Off team were free to move about cleaning the sports cars.

Before taking your new product to the market place or face the Dragons, it’s essential that you go through a number of stages. Here are the top 10 tips from newbrandguru.

1. If you come up with an idea or discover a unique product don’t ask family or friends if they think it’s a good idea. For a number of obvious reasons, they are unlikely to give you an unbiased opinion.
2. Talk to total strangers if possible, who will not be worried about your feelings or their situation if they are negative.
3. Don’t give away your secrets. If you have an idea for a product that solves a problem or makes life easier, ask people if they have that type of problem, how they feel about it and whether they would buy a product that solved that problem.
4. When pitching your idea to a company for funding or looking for backing of any kind, practice your presentation. Be precise, be accurate, know your product, make the benefits and USP’s clear, gain an idea of how big the market is (numbers of population, financial projections), production costs (if any), suggested wholesale/retail prices and most importantly, set yourself realistic sales objectives.
5. Carry out some simple research. Ensure you have the answers to any likely question to hand. Investors and business people will expect you to have done your homework and not just gone steaming ahead without any idea of a business plan.
6. Understand your limits, know your strengths and weaknesses. No one can be master at everything. If you are good at inventing things it doesn’t mean you will also have an excellent business mind.
7. Don’t try and do everything. Most small businesses fail because the principal is spinning too many plates. Something has to give and it is usually the mental or physical health of the individual.
8. Surround yourself with experienced and talented people. Taking on partners with the skills and experience you lack means that you can delegate responsibilities. You have people you can rely on, more time to concentrate on the areas you understand and support in times of crisis.
9. Just having a good idea doesn’t make for a good business. The bankruptcy courts are full of people who had a good idea and no business acumen.
10. The internet is a fantastic source of business and where most businesses waste money and fail to make an impression. Do not make the mistake of thinking that a cheap website has any chance of being found in the search engines. The companies making millions on the internet are investing good money in having a strong web presence, so get smart and build a social media plan into your marketing.

Many businesses are tightening up their belts and cutting their marketing budgets. These are tough times indeed and many companies are laying off employees, but it is important to understand that cutting your marketing budget can often cause more harm to the growth of your business than you realise.

Studies have shown that companies that continue to market during tough economic times often see growth, where as businesses that cut their marketing budget will often see a decrease in sales.

It’s not time to cut the marketing budget, it’s time to re-evaluate your marketing and analyse what is working and what’s not. Take time to explore new options of marketing that cost less, but can still deliver the results you are looking for, simple savvy marketing that keeps your business at the forefront and several steps ahead of your competitors.

You simply cannot ignore the financial difficulties our country is facing, so understand the importance of marketing during the recession, learn how to set a marketing budget that you can work with, and talk to newbrandguru about no cost to low-cost marketing solutions that you can begin implementing today.

Man it’s a crazy old world we live in, day by day this digital world evolves at a speedy rate, leaving you sometimes feeling as though your on the shelf, out of touch and just not down with the kids!

It seems only last week we were standing over the fax machine in the office, feeling proud at how such cutting edge technology would ease our working lives…remember the thermal roll?

Now look at us, it would seem that communication has been made so easy, never before have there been so many avenues and routes to effectively get your message across. But don’t let this get you down, you need to grab this communication bull firmly by the horns and hold on…if you don’t, you might get left behind!

At newbrandguru we make an effort to run a jargon free zone, we stay on top of what’s what and who’s who but we keep it nice and simple. If there are any aspects of your marketing that leaves you feeling dazzled and puzzled, don’t fret…pick up the phone and talk to the team, we are happy to help.