The current global market is not a kind one. Even large corporations are taking a hit. As a result, smaller enterprises need to be a lot smarter about the ways they market their businesses.
Reducing the marketing budget may seem like a good tactic to save money, but in the game of marketing, it’s not necessarily about how much you are spending but what you are spending it on. You cannot scrap marketing entirely, but there are ways to get your name out there without pummeling the companies bottom line.
New is not always better
Companies make this marketing mistake far too often. They think that they need to constantly keep things fresh and new if they are going to bring in prospective clients. This thinking is not completely flawed. But there is no reason to get rid of tried and tested methods simply because they are not revolutionary.
If you do not have a great new idea to replace the old working one, then go back to the drawing board. This is not the time to take a gamble on a half-baked marketing scheme.
Automate like your company depends on it
When you build a business, you should not only be concerned with what you are spending money on but also what you are spending time on. This is the digital age. Use the best marketing automation tools that will work tirelessly to put time back into your employees’ hands.
Time is precious and it’s wasted chasing down promising leads as opposed to creating them. Time is literally money here. If there is a tool available to deal with segments of your marketing needs, then use that tool.
Good grammar is your friend
If there is no new marketing campaign on the books, then this may be time to go back and perfect what you have done before. Is there a grammatical error in an otherwise successful previous campaign? Maybe there was a placement issue that gives the impression that there is something off?
Going back and fixes these seemingly small errors can work wonders on an existing marketing tool. This kind of error- analysis would speak volumes on your company. It will tell the public that you care about what you do and you pay attention to the finer details.
Listen to the market
Market data collection is a fundamental part of marketing. But this data will serve no purpose if you are not listening to what it is saying. It could be telling you that customers buying patterns have changed, that they are responding differently than what you expected.
If this is the case, then you need to digest this information and then pivot in the direction that it is pointing. This alteration in thinking will aid in the creation of efficient marketing campaigns. The selling point here is that efficiency equals cost-effective.
Are your current clients happy?
New clients bring in new revenue. This aim should not be forgotten. But there is the question of your current customers.
Are they happy with your product or service? Have you been paying them the attention that they feel they deserve? A good business plan is to add new customers to an existing base, not bring in new customers because the old ones are leaving.
Put some time aside to talk to your current customers. See what they have to say about the company. Hear their praise and complaints. Both of these will deliver wonderful insight into what you should be focusing your efforts on. They will be able to tell you what worked on them and what didn’t.