Bath Marketing Agency

I’ve got a website, I can relax now…

Paul TagentLeave a comment

Marketing for any business these days almost certainly includes having a website that sets out your stall. But I am going to just throw it out there and say that businesses can have huge (and sometimes unrealistic) expectations when having a website.

Sometimes organisations think that having a website is just a box ticked in the marketing box and that, once done, the person responsible should get a pat on the back from colleagues and then the phone will ring off the hook and their inboxes will fill up with enquiries within minutes of launch.
Similarly, sometimes organisations go through the process of designing and building a website, make a bit of a fuss when it’s launched and then leave it unattended for months or even years at a time or unmaintained so none of the working elements are updated and yet they still feel like it should be the gift that keeps on giving with an indefinite ROI.

I want to ask you all one simple question……what is having a great website that works on smart devises, is great in Google, is fast to load, is always working and gives your organisation a global platform worth to you? What would it actually be worth in money, in stress and in time.
Like millions of others, I pay to insure my house, insure my car, insure my company, insure my health……I also invest in training, have an accountant, research new technology, stay fit, have quality time outside work, attend seminars……but how much do you invest in your website?  How much per calendar month do you invest in making sure it stays live, optimised, up to date and secure?

To me the answer is simple. A website should be everything to your business and justifies investment and constant maintenance as a minimum.

Without a website, how do people realistically find you? How do people get in touch with you? Where would people go for due diligence?

So…..if you do not value your website, no one else will.

Although a hugely vital “shop window” for a company, many may have the money to invest in a website, but simply don’t like spending it and will often engage a cheap company or one man band to knock up something for them or, Heaven forbid, go to a DIY website company and do it themselves. Once done, they then leave it alone until it eventually crashes or is so out of date they don’t even refer to it.

In 2019 we’ve seen a real trend in organisations wanting advice as to what to do with their websites. People are now seeking advice about how they get them to “work” harder or what they need to do to boost their positions in Google or even, how to maintain them. Yes, websites can be done yourself and can be done cheaply and left unattended, but, please don’t!!

 

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The Marketing Challenge for the Small Business Owner

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The challenge for so many small business owners is that they have little idea or time to make marketing actually work. The majority are experts in their fields, but they simply don’t have the time to become experts in the ever changing world of marketing.

So what happens? Rather than taking a strategic approach, most SME’s marketing efforts are the result of reactive decisions that usually come with unrealistic expectations. Their marketing mix looks can look like a mix of tactics and tools from a variety of in-house and external sources.  On a good day, the business owner doesn’t truly know what is working.  On a bad day, they feel like blowing it all up and cutting of the marketing investment all together!

If any of this sounds familiar, a very good option is to take a step back… and that “step back” involves creating a strategic marketing plan. Developing a marketing plan is, in my opinion, the best chance at success, and this is why.

It Provides a Guide

The best thing a marketing plan does for a small business is it provides a route, of sorts, to follow. It keeps you (and everyone on your team) on the same page when it comes to the direction your business is heading and how it’s going to get there.
So what does this guide look like? The specifics will vary, of course, but there are some basic components that I think every marketing plan should have:

SWOT Analysis – This is basically a snapshot of your business. Who are you? What is your unique selling proposition? What are your strengths and weaknesses relative to the competition? These are all questions you need to answer.

Target Audience – Before you can start marketing, you need to clearly identify who your best customers are. You can break the information down into key demographics, such as age, sex, geographic location, etc.

Marketing Goals – It wouldn’t be much of a plan if you didn’t set goals, now would it?! Your goals should clearly state what you want to happen and by when; a sort of list of realistic objectives.
Marketing Strategies – Your goals are what you want to happen, your strategies are how you make them happen.

Budget – If business growth is a priority, marketing MUST have a dedicated budget.  Too often the small business judges everything marketing related on cost. Marketing is an investment NOT a cost!
Yes, there are ways to market your business for free, but those methods will only do so much for your business. Eventually you’re going to have to shell out some cash, whether it’s for Facebook ads, new business cards or a website revamp.

As mentioned above, budget is one of the main components of any solid marketing plan. You’re a small business owner, so you know just how important it is to have a budget and stick to it. It’s just as important when it comes to marketing, which is why creating a marketing plan is so critical.

Getting the best out of advertising

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If you make your advertising professional to look at and I would bet that your ad will stand out from the crowd especially when a great deal of media houses seem to offer “free design” if you book an ad – how does free design ensure that your ad is on brand and is delivered with the due care and attention it needs?

Anyway, at the risk of me repeating myself from previous posts, DON’T forget the response mechanism – one of your aims when running an ad campaign is to generate some sort of response, so make sure that your ad contains your organisation name, the address, a phone number and possibly a website URL. (You would be amazed at the amount of times I have seen ads that miss out this sort of vital information…..including a competitor of a client of Bath Marketing Consultancy‘s client in the legal sector who saw fit to run an ad promoting a particular person within their firm, but omitted the persons details in the ad as well as the address of the business!!)

I digress. When purchasing advertising space there is one key word to keep in mind……negotiate! I have yet to meet any company that has paid “rate card” for its advertising space so nor should you. If need be, just make an enquiry and sit back as the sales person will call you time and time again to clinch the deal often making the deal more attractive each time! Sometimes you can wait until the very last minute before agreeing by which time the sales person is desperate! (don’t forget sales roles are commissioned based so every sale is vital for a sales person).

In addition, you have other “deals” which you could try in order to get the best value for your spend. Such as, you should be able to negotiate on colour and positioning as well or maybe even a full page for the price of a half page or a premium position for no extra cost!

One platform to be aware of is the enhanced directory listing such as Yellow Pages or maybe an online directory. Sales people will be looking to “up sell” a free listing and will usually quote all manner of increased visibility possibilities. However, it is very likely that they are approaching your competitors with exactly the same pitch so the pitch might live up to what actually occurs. In addition, if you approve a number of these enhanced listing sales, your total spend might become way beyond your budget.

Following on from media advertising there is advertising on the internet……..but that is another story!

"Marketing, marketing, marketing……

Paul TagentLeave a comment

..when does it ever end?\” Was a question I was asked recently. The person I was with ran a niche, online retail business dealing with a specific type of beach clothing and he was exhausted at the amount of marketing initiatives he had to learn and then juggle to get his business where he wanted.

The initiatives he was running were SEO, Social Media, Events, PR, Sponsorship and product trials and he was exhausted!

My advice was to try and put in place certain disciplines where he did certain things at certain times and to try and make these disciplines part of his routine. \”Easier said than done,\” was his reply! I cannot stress enough how important marketing is to a business and how, if done correctly, it can make the difference to a business succeeding or failing so that extra effort to make time for it can really pay off!

\”What do you do then?\”
\”All of what you do and probably more\” I said as even more colour drained from his face!

In all seriousness, marketing has always been something that shouldn\’t have an \”end.\” It is a process not a singular event and, if you are in business and want to establish yourself as a creditable brand, the hours must be put in. You are the one person who knows the intricacies; what your company stands for, why you are different etc.

In addition, you are very often a large part of the brand so do go to networking meetings, invest in a decent online brochure that you can amend as your business changes and be proactive. Once thing a business can sometimes find it has in abundance is time and using it as a positive rather than a time to panic can make a huge difference not only to your chances of success, but to your levels of enthusiasm.

It still amazes me when clients of Bath Marketing Consultancy tell me how great they feel to see their new website climbing the rankings, or see a magazine with their ad in it!

What is the best form of marketing for my business?

Paul TagentLeave a comment

This question has raised its head a number of times recently as we are entering a time where seasonal fluctuations for some businesses can mean a downturn in business, but, in all honesty, it is very tricky to answer this one.

As we all know, each business is different and therefore is likely to require different results from its marketing activity. i.e yes, sales are key, but what sort of sales and would increasing repeat business be a quicker way to increase revenue rather than driving new client acquisition?

So……….how do I answer this question of the “best marketing” without possibly coming across as evasive?? Well, I tell clients and prospects that the only true way of discovering what works for their businesses is to test initiatives. For example, don’t fall victim to the Chinese whispers that direct mail doesn’t work or advertising doesn’t work, try them and see what happens. Include reference numbers and/or unique phone numbers to gauge response levels.

Also, I have found that, as marketing budgets shrink, ROI expectations seem to be increasing and some clients seem to pin all their hopes on a quick fix to a problem. 

Talk to someone!

Stop this now! Marketing is all about identifying and fulfilling a need and this takes time. Don’t think of marketing as spending unnecessary money. Think of it as investing in the future of your business and building your brand. 

The true success of a brand is measured in years and decades not months so don’t give up at the first hurdle and, if need be, talk to someone outside of your business to see what he/she thinks.

To blog or not to blog…

Paul TagentLeave a comment

…..that is the question! For the first time in years, I have genuinely found myself at a slight loss as to what to write about this week. Since 2009, “The Marketing Expert” has written some 180 articles for this Blog; most of which have been dedicated to helping the small to medium business with their marketing by providing tips and/or sharing experiences and the feedback I have had has been incredibly positive so many thanks to my readers and keep the emails coming!

Anyway, I digress. In a nutshell, I have found the marketing industry has changed hugely in recent times and a great deal of initiatives that can now be employed are “free.” This might be considered a good thing by the business owner who can very quickly set up a website, a Twitter account, a Blog, a Linkedin account etc and start their online marketing.

Leave a good footprint

BUT, with these sorts of platforms being so readily available, I feel it is even more important to make sure that using them becomes a part of an organisation’s overall marketing strategy. Remember, everything one does on the world wide web leaves a footprint which can be seen by anyone or any organisation. This means that the emphasis for leaving a quality footprint is incredibly strong. 

So, what does putting a marketing strategy together actually mean and why do I need to do one? Well, the short answer to this is that a marketing strategy is about thinking and planning what your business wants to achieve.

In my opinion, an adhoc, knee jerk marketing campaign very quickly becomes inconsistent, hard to monitor and can yield very little actual value for your business. To me, it is absolutely paramount that any business gives serious thought to exactly what it is offering, to who and why before putting together a logo or any brand identity. In addition, just putting together a quick (cheap!) logo and bunging it up on a WordPress website and then Tweeting is not what I would call a creditable way forward. Cheap can sometimes work out to be very expensive.

My suggestion is to talk to a marketing professional about your plans; bounce ideas off someone so that you have a second opinion. I have lost count of the amount of times I have met a client who has been 6-12 months into their business having jumped straight in with both feet and pulled in every favour possible from friends and relatives who might “know computers” and have now found themselves wanting to back track and do it properly.

Clarity and authenticity are key elements for a business and investing (and I stress the word “investing”) in your business initially by working with a professional could make all the difference.