marketing for small businesses

Friday, October 12, 12

Robert HuntHunt Consulting DFW - Managing Partner

VP Sales/Marketing and Business Development B2B Industries

such as Aerospace, Composites, Printed Circuit Board,

Wireless Telecom and Financial Services Industries.


“Marketing”

QUICK QUESTIONS BEFORE WE START -

Who in here uses Marketing in their business?

Who has a Marketing Plan in writing?

Who feels they are EFFECTIVELY using Marketing?


“Marketing”

The Hunt Consulting DFW definition of Marketing:

Marketing is the activity of creating your message and communicating this with your prospects, customers, partners, and society at large to achieve your business goals.


MarketingAlthough the primary result we seek in most marketing is to increase profits, there are many activities that Marketing does that do not generate immediate sales.

๏ Build Awareness and Preference๏ Build partnerships๏ Engage the prospect and the customer๏ Educate the market, and other influencers (government

๏ It aligns all parts of the company as ONE


Marketing should NOT be a random series of projects but rather a Focused effort based on a Specific plan, with a clear understanding of what results to expect.

Marketing efforts succeed when you align all your resources behind a clear and compelling vision.

Marketing


Marketing Terms ๏ Out-bound - “YOU TO THEM”

- Direct Mail- Advertising- Face-to-Face events- Email Marketing- PR

๏ In-bound - “THEY TO YOU”• SEO - help them find you• Organic Ranking - takes time• Pay-Per-Click - pay to be found • Re-marketing (build awareness)• Social Media Marketing


๏ Brand ID - how you WANT your product to be perceived in the minds of the customer. Also Brand awareness, Brand preference.

๏ Social Media - internet sites where you do not PAY to place your message but you cannot always control it either. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs, Customer Review sites (YELP)

๏ Mobile Media - information that is optimized to perform on phones and tablet devises. This and this is the fastest growing sector today.

๏ SEO - Search Engine Optimization means you adjust your website and other content so it can be found easier than other peoples information.

๏ Organic Ranking - means your information shows up at the top of a search page without paying to be there.

๏ PPC - Pay-Per-Click is where you place an ad or link and are charges when someone clicks on it and goes to your site.

OTHERS?


Current Trends in Marketing

Inbound has grown over Outbound due to SEO and Social Media.

Video is a powerful tool for marketing that can educate, engage, and increase ranking.

Shaveclub.com


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI&feature=player_embedded




A Word on SEO

“The Great Migration from Penguin to Panda”

Don’t waste money on SEO unless you are committed to providing real and consistent content. Google awards rank to who they determine to be the BEST companies based on the Google scale of excellence. Items like the number of Google Circles, Authorship of content, Devaluation of Exact-Match Domains and Landing pages.


Current Trends in MarketingMobile media is growing and will be the format of choice going forward.

Content is King with prospects and for Ranking on search engines like Google. Everybody should be creating their own content - EVERYBODY.


Current Trends in MarketingCustomers expect you to be listening to them and engaging them where they prefer.

New technologies like Augmented Reality or NFC (Near Field Communications) are created all the time.


“You CAN Afford Marketing”

Marketing is an INVESTMENT and you should expect an ROI just as you do when you buy a new machine.

Marketing involves more that running ads so even if you don’t have a budget to spend outside the company, there is plenty to do inside that is part of telling your story.

Align your existing resources and start more campaigns as you see results.


“How Much should I Spend on Marketing?

Harvard Business Review CLV Calculator

Amount of profit generated from selling one item as a result of a marketing effort.

- Additional profit seen from repeat orders

- Profit made by selling at a premium

- Profit from reduced operating costs

- Profit from Referrals

Total Lifetime Value Divided by the Cost of the Marketing Effort = ROI


Social Media is a low-cost method to connect with your market, and is proven and trusted - use it.


PR is Basically FREE


Marketing Plan

Before you start any marketing efforts, you need to define the following:

- Know who you are

- Know your goals

- Know the situation


Know who you are

How can you get prospects excited about you, when your own team is not sure who you really are?

๏ What is your vision and mission (no seriously).๏ What is your Culture, what really matters to you.๏ What do you do, sell, provide the market.๏ How do you want to be known to your Employees, your customers, competition, and partners.


Know your goals

How can you know if your marketing is aimed in the right direction, unless you have clear direction?

๏ Increase sales - how, how much, why๏ Launch new product or into new markets ๏ Change to meet demands of the market๏ Increase customer loyalty and build Brand Advocates๏ Hold onto your culture (Small Giants)


Know the Situation

Factor in everything that can affect your results

๏ What stage are your products in their lifecycle๏ Are your products considered a commodity๏ Is the market moving in a new direction๏ Do you have the cash to move while others hide๏ Is there a new regulation coming that will affect you


Marketing Plans - Internal vs External

Internally, we will communicate with our team and build unity of culture along with an understanding of our Brand ID and how to deliver excellent customer service.

Externally, we will communicate our unique selling point with a compelling message to each of our target audiences through the best channel.


NOTE: All your GOALS should

๏ Align with your Vision of the Company๏ Be Measurable and Attainable๏ Be in Writing๏ Be Assigned to Specific People๏ Have a Time Table and Due Dates

* These Marketing Goals will direct you to run specific campaigns.


Marketing Campaigns

Example: Increase Sales, B2B Sector, 15% Y/Y

Factor in everything that can affect your results -

๏ What stage are your products in their lifecycle๏ Are your products considered a commodity๏ What share of the market do you have๏ Is the market moving in a new direction๏ Do you have the cash to move while others hide๏ Is there a new regulation coming that will affect you


WHERE CAN WE FOCUS OUR MARKETING?

๏ Sell More to your Existing customers๏ Sell Other products to your Existing customers๏ Find New customers in Existing markets๏ Find New Markets that need your products๏ Offer New Products to all the above๏ Move Prospects through the Sales Funnel

Marketing Campaigns


People vary in how they make a purchase decision. Your message to them needs to be different depending on where they are in the Sales Funnel

Marketing creates a process that communicates with the prospect at each level of the funnel.

Marketing moves prospects through the Sales Funnel


Tell Your Story

Educate the prospect on your USP.


Listen

Plan

Measure

Optimize

Marketing Campaign Creation


Listen

๏ What do our target customers want? ๏ What does the market think about our products?๏ What are the barriers to entry for new markets? ๏ What is the total market available?๏ Where do our customers go for information?๏ What trends can affect our growth?๏ What is our competition saying in the market?๏ What do our employees feel we should be doing?


LISTEN: Learn from your Employees and Customers.

Unfortunately, most marketing content is created without the help and insights of those closest to the customers. Get input from the source so the content will connect with it’s intended audience.

Who creates your marketing content?


Plan

๏ Adjust our offering to meet the needs of the market๏ Develop our Unique Selling Proposition (USP)๏ Create ownership Internally of our Brand ID๏ Research communication options to drive ROI๏ Optimize Database system for leads and customers๏ Create Campaigns to reach audience๏ Set goals, time table, and metrics๏ Create Sales Funnel for driving leads


PLAN: B2B Campaigns

๏ Private Events to increase retention and get referrals. ๏ Exhibit at trade-shows and industry conferences.๏ Social Media Marketing - create LinkedIn Company

page, form groups, and run ads to targeted prospects. Create blog to find new leads and educate market.

๏ Use Webinars to support and train customers.๏ Email blast to database directing to webinars and blog.๏ Use Video to educate the market and increase ranking.๏ Advertisements in targeted Industry publications.๏ Partner with other companies to grow


Measure

๏ Measure conversion rates generated by each campaign.๏ Research and evaluate new channels of lead generation.๏ Track website ranking and adjust to optimize SEO.๏ Run A/B campaigns for SEM to maximize results.๏ Monitor Social Media for feedback and trends.๏ Track ROI of Face-to-Face events.๏ Compare results of each campaign.


Optimize

๏ Follow prospects through sales funnel to see trends.๏ Use Social Media to refine new message to targets.๏ Determine future campaigns based on ROI.๏ Be aware of how competition reacts to your

marketing and adjust as needed.๏ Adjust marketing efforts based on changes in the

industry, consumer preferences and the activities of our competitors as we move forward.


What You should be doing today

Even if you don’t have a marketing team or budget.

๏ Get your employees focused on the vision and start internally.

๏ Learn from your existing customers - talk with them.

๏ Monitor your competition.

๏ Watch for Market trends “skate where the puck is headed”

๏ Solidify relationships w/ customers, partners, the community and industry.

๏ Be ready for the time when you can start marketing.


Questions from the TAB group

How to chose between hiring a marketing leader as an employee or use an outside consultant. ๏ What are your goals and current resources?๏ Do you have a team to implement all these items?๏ Can your team do these with Excellence?๏ Can you keep up with all the activities required?๏ Can an outside consultant provide the resources you need to get this done at a lower cost?



What to look for in a Marketing Leader

Experience in doing the things mentioned above. Many marketing activities can be contracted out to service providers (video, SEO, PR, etc) but they all need to follow one Marketing Plan that is based on the things we looked at today.

This person also needs to have a strong knowledge of Traditional and Current Marketing practices and resources.



Calculate the ROI or bang for the buck (Return - Investment) Investment

We also looked at the Lifetime Value of a Customer as a more accurate calculation, but this equations eliminates those assumptions for a simpler view. It is complicated to determine the “return” but whatever system you come up with, it can be used to compare campaigns and see which is more effective.

For example, compare the ROI of Marketing to the cost of adding another Sales person and see if your marketing is giving you the kinds of returns you want.

= ROI



Marketing to Affinity (or Partnership) Marketing

Affinity Marketing is a great way to share customer bases between two companies to market each others products. This partnership can be great if the partner is trustworthy and the value exchanged is fair to both sides. There also need to be a connection in the mind of the customer such as Car Insurance company partnering with auto-repair company.


214-551- 3768

[email protected]

Thank you. Now go do Excellent Marketing


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marketing for small businesses

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