Category: Strategy

How Do I Create a Marketing Plan?

18/11/2019

When running a small business it’s easy to forget about the importance of marketing. You’re often so busy with the day-to-day running and management of your business that sitting down to discuss a marketing plan is probably way down on your to do list. But not implementing a marketing plan could mean you are missing out on creating new contacts and customers.

Why do I need a Marketing Plan?
If you don’t currently have a marketing plan you might be asking why you even need one. Maybe things are ticking over nicely, you’ve got Google Ads working, you use social media to advertise your business and you have a nice growing customer base. But without a marketing plan how do you allow for key holidays and seasonal dates (Christmas, Easter, Bank Holidays etc)? If you have a 12 month marketing plan you can be much more strategic in your actions rather than just reacting to changes in the business climate. You can schedule in to cover for the key dates in your calendar across all media platforms. Within your marketing plan you will ensure you cover all your marketing channels available, including email marketing, website, blogs, social media and printed marketing. There may be aspects you haven’t explored in the past such as CRM systems (Customer Relations Management) and PR (Public Relations).

It makes much more sense to be a head of the game and know you’ve got all your bases covered rather than having to play catch up and potentially miss out on some great advertising opportunities.

Where do I start with a Marketing Plan?

SWOT Identify your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Decide what you want to achieve Your marketing plan should be linked to your business goals, both short and long term. Be conscious of your business objectives and have them in mind when writing your marketing plan.
Know your customers To gain an insight into your business and where it stands try asking your customers their opinions. If your business is new use other research (online insights, conferences, networking etc) to establish how you need to ensure it will be a success.
Research your competitors This step is vital if you are a new business. You need to know what your competitors offer that you don’t, and try and decipher how they might react to your business so you can plan for any potential aggressive tactics (large discounts etc..).
Strategies You need to decide how you will achieve your marketing plan. Looking at your customers and target customers you will need to determine how you can best reach them, ie email, print, advertising etc.
Budget It’s important to have a budget set aside for your marketing and you need to stick to it.

If a 12 month plan seems like too much to tackle because you are simply too busy running your business then you can try a 3 month plan. Here you would focus on short term goals and then branch out from this once you’ve completed it.

How do I make sure my marketing Plan will work?

Stick to it! There is no point spending time writing a marketing plan and then ignoring it. (time is money remember!). It will only work if you follow it.
Make it achievable Sounds obvious but it can be so tempting to have a dream plan rather than one you can actually achieve. Keep short term and long term goals in mind.
Get outside help! Too busy? Too overwhelmed? No problem, utilise a marketing expert and get your marketing plan up and running in no time!

Need help? We are happy to point you in the right direction, talk through and ideas you might have or work with you to develop your marketing plan. Contact Creative Remedy.

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What is Digital Marketing?

18/9/2019

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Digital marketing is simply utilising digital channels (search engines, email, social media etc) to connect with current and prospective customers.

The internet has given rise to multiple ways to connect with customers and given the fact that we are spending more and more time online, it makes sense to ensure your business is targeting all the available digital channels.

Creative Remedy - Digital Marketing Peterborough

Email Marketing Is sometimes overlooked, email marketing can generate high engagement rates. A good email marketing strategy can mean the difference between a one time buyer and a loyal customer. Try to send an interesting and relevant email at least once a month (weekly is ideal) to make sure you are always at the forefront of your customers minds.

Website Content It’s so easy to neglect your website but if you want to generate new leads and reach out to your customers then it’s vital to keep offering interesting and informative content. By updating the content on your website regularly, you are more likely to keep customers returning and attract new customers via search engines and social media etc.

Blogs Just like a good email marketing campaign, regular blogs are a great way to reach out to new and existing customers. By including an informative, interesting blog into your marketing strategy you can advertise your skills and offer invaluable information to your customers whilst highlighting your knowledge and expertise.

Social Media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat. Utilise all the social media platforms to further strengthen your online presence. Reach out to customers on the platform of their choice.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) In order to drive your website’s organic page position it’s vital that you publish relevant content and update it regularly and include keywords for each page. SEO is the best way you can help your website stand out to your customers from the thousands of others.

Pay Per Click (PPC) This form of marketing requires advertisers to pay a fee every time a user clicks on one of their ads. PPC ads can be seen at the top of search pages such as Google Ads but are also on lots of other search partner networks. This form of marketing can be particularly successful when run alongside other forms of marketing.

PR This is a cost effective form of digital marketing, working alongside traditional printed press releases in the newspapers and magazines. These are posted through the newspapers and magazines own online channels such as their websites, social media and blogs.

Video It’s not a new marketing tool but it’s definitely proving it’s worth. It’s great for small businesses as it’s an inexpensive way to tell your story, showcase your products and services, give customers a peek into your operations and introduce staff. It’s an easy way to truly engage with your customers. Be sure to keep videos short and informative and try to add humour to keep your viewers attention.

Digital Marketing covers anything digital including including office welcome screens, these can be great as an introduction to your products and services for visitors, welcome screens also help increase social media engagement. They are a clever way of creating a call to action, help up-sell products and services and let you offer promotions. Digital Marketing also spans out across in-cinema local ads, electronic advertising boards and bluetooth marketing.

In order to promote and strengthen your brand, be at the forefront of your customers minds, it’s vital you maintain a strong, consistent digital marketing strategy. An effective digital marketing strategy will drive sales and increase customer engagement. In order to be seen by your customers you need to be online, it’s where most people spend most of their time and how most people prefer you to reach them.

What do you struggle with in your digital marketing? Do you feel bamboozled by the tech involved in online advertising?

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Why Do You Need a Communications Strategy?

3/6/2019

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A communication strategy is a plan to enable your business to reach your customers through various communication channels. It’s vital for a successful marketing campaign to deliver a consistent brand message and something you should seriously consider for your small business.

Why Do You Need A Communications Strategy?

A communications strategy requires you to address a number of key areas:

Identify your target audience: it’s so important to really know your customers/potential customers so you can tailor your marketing to their needs and interests.
Research the competition: find out who your competitors are, look at their strengths and weaknesses.
Analyse your existing marketing (including social media).
Devise a plan and a strategy to cover all marketing channels. Make sure you have all the resources you need to be able to support all the channels you want to address.

What marketing channels does a communications strategy cover?
There are a number of marketing channels you can cover in your strategy including:

Email Marketing - newsletters/e-bulletins
Website Content - Home page design, landing pages, products & services
Blogs - Case studies and blogs
Social Media - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn etc
Print Collateral - Stationery, folded leaflets, flyers
Vehicle livery and exhibitions stands
Everything!

There are probably several relevant marketing channels for each individual customer/ target audience so it’s important to ensure your brand message is consistent across all these channels.

Once you’ve identified your audience and marketing channels you can then start building a plan. Compiling a communications strategy will allow you to make informed marketing decisions, you will know exactly what, why, when and who you are communicating to. This will give you a much greater understanding of your customers and you’ll be able to tailor your communications to them and promote your services more effectively. You’ll be able to build on your brand awareness, maintain customer trust and ultimately increase your profits!

Think of your communications strategy as the plasters that stick all the different roles together which will result in one coherent message across all the different channels.

You know what you need but you might not know how to bring it all together effectively… we can help you create an effective communications strategy by deliver a consistent brand message with a better customer experience.

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The True Value of a Good Logo Design

16/5/2019

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A logo for your business is often under-rated in terms of value and order of priority when it comes to setting up your new business. Often your business card, website and marketing collateral will follow your company logo design and colour scheme.

We believe a logo is one of the most essential branding elements when forming your company’s identity. (after all it will be with you for the life cycle of your business).

The best logos are:

Simple
Memorable
Versatile
Original

The best logo's are usually creatively clever but simple, are designed to appeal to your target audience, and have a story to tell. Your company logo can influence potential customers' expectations of the products and services that your company offers.

Why is a logo important to your business?