You’ve got all the bases covered: you’ve printed up business cards, gotten a sign for your truck, put an ad in the paper, and go to the Chamber of Commerce networking event every month. But you’re not seeing any results and are hurting for clients! It may be time for a makeover.
If you’re not hitting a home run, ask yourself these five questions:
1. Do all your materials match?
When I’ve addressed marketing materials in this blog, I usually talk about making sure that all your materials match and look cohesive. I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH! If your business card, letterhead, website, and sales brochure all look like they came from a different company, your potential clients will go to a different company. One that has polished, professional, matching materials.
2. Does your competition look better than you?
They probably have things that match. But aside from that, look at what your competitors are doing to promote themselves: are they holding special events? Taking advantage of social media? Attending networking mixers? Being a visible presence in the community? If they have a clearer and more present message than you do, it’s time to start matching their efforts.
3. Are you connecting with your customers?
Last week, I wrote about social networking to expand your business. This is important on both a marketing level and image level: companies that spend all their time selling themselves, not attempting to connect and interact with potential customers, will die in today’s marketplace. As I’ve said before, it’s all about the user now. Every business should have some sort of social media presence. It’s a great way to find new clients and foster a solid relationship with existing clients. Interacting directly with the consumer balances out any self-focused sales message your company puts forth.
4. Do you know where your customers are?
Any great marketing strategy is still a failure if it doesn’t reach the right people! I’ve written before about defining your target market. To maximize your spending, put your money in the right place: the right community, occupation, gender, income, interests, etc… all factors that determine where your message will be most effective.
5. Do you know who you are and what you want?
It’s possible that your marketing message has gotten lost or muddled over time – take a minute to think about what you want potential customers to envision about your brand. Map out a 1-year plan and a 5-year plan, considering where you’d like your company to be and what you’d like people to associate with your offered service or product. Develop a few major objectives, so you’ll have some goals in mind.
We’re still offering a FREE marketing evaluation at Redwood – you’ll get to lay everything out, and we’ll walk you through some improvements your brand could benefit from. If you can’t figure out where to begin, contact us today!
