How to audit your marketing and revise your strategies
As we slowly exit lockdown and life returns to some type of normality, are you revising or making new plans for your marketing and sales strategy for the rest of the year?
🤔 Will it be the same as previous?
🤔 Focusing on the same customers and target consumers?
🤔 Using the same marketing tools and channels?
🤔 Spending the same budget?
🤔 Hoping (and praying) for the same results as this time last year?
If so - STOP!
Before you spend a penny more on your marketing, conduct an audit.
Far too many businesses make the mistake of throwing money at the same marketing and sales activities, not really sure what they will achieve - hoping it will go back to the 'good ole' days'!
Business has changed.
Consumers have changed.
Marketing has changed!
Marketing can be an expensive activity for your business, so it's good to know what's working and what isn't - long before you invest your hard earned cash.
For a small business, a marketing audit doesn't need to be too complicated and in depth.
You just need to focus on the important factors that have a big impact on your business operations, resources and spend.
But how?
Step 1:
☀️ Create a list of all the tools and channels you currently use and then review and score them out of 5 – where 1 is 'Not Effective' and 5 is 'Extremely Effective'.
Ask yourself:
- Has this tool or channel provided a return on investment in the past?
- Were you reaching your goals before lockdown?
- Brand awareness and engagement - check your Google Analytics and social media metrics (most platforms have them included).
- How are your competitors marketing their brands? What tools, channels and content are they using – is it working?
- Is it a good time to change what isn’t working? Maybe try something new?
Step 2:
☀️ Once you have completed your audit, the next stage is to take action and plan a revised strategy for existing and new consumers, as follows:
👉 Articulate your proposition (What actually is it? F&Bs? USPs?)
👉 Define your target audience / customer personas
👉 Choose the most appropriate tools and channels (based on your customer personas above)
👉 Create content based on the 4 E’s – Engage, Empathise, Educate and Entertain.
👉 Don’t neglect your website – consider driving traffic to a specific landing page for a more personalised strategy
👉 Prepare a schedule – key days / dates / times and responsibilities
👉 Define which metrics will help you measure your strategy – what’s worked and what hasn’t?
If you want to talk further, need some help and guidance – feel free to contact me here and we’ll fix a time to talk.