Oct 28, 2015 Written by Guest
Have you started thinking about your marketing strategy for 2016? If not, now is the time. As budgets and plans are put into place, they are often a copied from previous years. If you are doing this for your marketing strategy and budget, note that marketing has changed. How prospects and clients find you, research you and buy from you has evolved. An online strategy is no longer just for large retail businesses, but for everyone's business, including B2B.
Just two years ago, who would have thought Instagram would take over the world of social media? That LinkedIn would become the most powerful recruitment platform, taking significant market share from Monster and Indeed?
Marketing strategies are important.By planning out your year, it ensures that you have clear goals for your company and a roadmap for achieving them.
At Marketing Eye, our marketing strategies are very detailed. They incorporate marketing objectives, brand, digital and all other tactical aspects of marketing that may be implemented over any given year. Our marketing plans are not cookie cutter, but based on your industry, goals and events planned for the year. Marketing plans need to tie back to the overall business plan for the year.
Mastering a marketing strategy isn't easy. What is most important is that your marketing strategy is relevant and developed specifically for your business. . When a marketing strategy is developed, it is essential to look at the strategy and make sure that it isn't generic. Overarching strategies are important, but it's the tactical elements that really matter.
B2B marketing strategiesshould incorporate:
Website
Singularly, the most powerful marketing tool you have, your website, is crucial to your marketing strategy. If you treat your website as a brochure, you are creating the single biggest opportunity for reaching your customers. A successful website is the hub for your online presence and it needs to represent your brand, your point of difference and reasons why people should choose you over your competitors.
If you didn't make the deadline for mobile friendly websites dictated by Google back in April, then don't expect your business to be sitting anywhere where your prospects can find you. We all walk around with a computer in our pockets and purses, if your site isn't mobile friendly, then you are invisible online to prospects. Think of it as paying rent on a store front with no signs.
Mobile-Friendly websites are worth the investment.
Search engine optimization
Thousands of people find Marketing Eye each week through search engine optimization. Once they arrive at Marketing Eye's website, they then can choose to contact us or, at the very least, connect with us on social media. Ensuring that you have invested in SEO is imperative to prospects finding your business, and once the investment has been made and maintained, you will find that the results speak for themselves and the ROI is on your balance sheet.
Don't be hidden on the web, most people don't go further than page one (or two) on Google when conducting an organic search.
Social media
With 70,000 plus followers on Twitter, almost 20,000 on LinkedIn on various Marketing Eye accounts. Research has shown that 60% of buyers check out new service providers on social media, making it a more commonly used source of information than formal referrals and recommendations.
Don't disregard the power of social media. Even if you aren't active on social media, many of your customers are. You're not marketing to yourself, so be where your audience can find you.
Content Creation
Content creation is a great tie-back to social media and web design. You must differentiate yourself from your competitors and provide your customers with useful information.
Stagnant websites are not optimized websites, so think about how you add fresh content to your website. Does your website say anything unique about your business? There are many industry where companies may appear to be a commodity. Differentiate yourself so you are not viewed as one of the same.
What are you saying on social media? Yes, this is a great place to look for new hires, but provide your customers with valuable tips and ideas. Share wins, awards, new products and ground-breaking ceremonies. Better yet, share a blog that your customers will find helpful.
Share content that differentiates you and offers something valuable to your customer.
Don't let 2016 creep up on you without a plan for making a strong impact in the next year. Marketing and planning take time, start now so in January you are ready for a strong year.
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