You can have all of the desire and ambition in the world when you first start up your business, but unless it is equipped with the tools it needs to survive in the competitive business arena then you’re doing it a great disservice.
Think of it as though you are taking your business out into the big wide world for the first time (which as a start-up you effectively are). Therefore it needs to have the tools to help it grow and prosper in the outside world.
In order to keep your business top of the pack here’s a list of the essential marketing tools your business needs.
Social Media
You may think that social media isn’t relevant to your business but trust me, it is. 71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals according to a survey. Ask yourself, do you really want to miss out on that?
Consider how often you use social media in your daily life, whether that’s to search for a company’s contact details, see what they are up to, read reviews, give them praise, or in some cases; make a complaint.
Social media enables you to connect with the consumer in a more personal and engaging way than any other platform. Keep yours up to date by using a scheduling tool to keep on top of posting, mentions and key topics related to your business.
CRM
‘But I know how to keep track of my customer interactions’. Wrong. Unless you’ve got a Customer Relationship Management system in place then you aren’t truly tracking your customers from start to finish. It also gives you invaluable insight into which channels are working for you and enables you to see who someone in the business has contacted in the last set time period.
There are so many different channels a customer can contact you on that trying to keep up to date manually will prove a nightmare. It doesn’t matter how a customer reached you, the key to retention is making every interaction count and managing customer expectations.
The best way to make contact count is through tracking and improving the process time and time again. No matter the scale of your business, every lead matters, so make every contact a customer has with you count.
Blog
There are often many articles out there which debate the need for a blog. But there’s really only one right answer when it comes to that topic. Yes it does. Fail to give your business a blog and not only is it losing out on a voice but it could end up slipping down the Google rankings.
A blog is your chance to expand your voice in the online world. What is it that you want to expand your leadership on? Build a strategy that enables you to become a thought leader in your industry, build your customer base and enhances your business and brand.
Whatever you do though don’t make your blog a vehicle for continuous sale messages. A blog is a place for you to add to your visibility and enable clients to find out more about you and your ideologies. If they want to make contact or make a purchase then make those details easily found, but they don’t need to be included throughout the body of your post.
Data
If you aren’t using data to aid your business campaign then you’re doing the equivalent of sticking your finger in the air and hoping for the best. In short, if you aren’t using data then your business doesn’t stand a chance in surviving in the current market.
Make Google Analytics your trusty companion (it’s the ONLY platform to use) and see where you should be putting your efforts and what’s working for you at present. Data will allow you to grow your business and make improvement where necessary.
You need data to not only inform campaigns and make sure you’re creating them to hit the target market spot on, but to measure how well they are performing too. Using data in campaigns creates a stronger emotional engagement with consumers.
