Video 3 MARKETING - 7 KEY FOCUS AREAS TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

Description Spend time on the things that matter most so you can trade more profitably and enjoy the lifestyle you set out to achieve in the first place.
Unless you have a marketing background, aligning yourself with a good marketing consultant could be one of the best investments you make. They will help you shape and implement your marketing strategy, test and measure marketing campaigns, teach you all the acquisition cost jargon you need to understand and most of all give you line of sight on your return on investment.
But here’s the thing, no one knows your business better than you do and it will save you time and money if you become an active participant in the marketing process – and your consultant will love you for it! Make sure you know your limits though and be clear on budget expectations. Starting small with a test and measure approach is definitely the way to go. Here are a few things to consider before you engage a marketing expert:
KNOW THE BASICS
I think it is time to move beyond the 4 P’s and rather focus on some of the key elements that will lay the foundations and support your marketing strategy across the board. First thing is to know what your ideal customer looks like or more specifically target the right market segment that will benefit most from your product or service.
Secondly, take a real hard look at your business and work on coming up with an honest evaluation on what differentiates you from your competitors (please do not spend only 5 minutes on this and end up with quality and service – that is just sheer laziness!). Lastly, create and communicate your value proposition – don’t be shy, be proud and let people in on your secret but do it in an authentic way.
MARKETING STRATEGY
Once you know the basics, you may be surprised at how much easier it is to integrate with your internal or external marketing team. Familiarise yourself with the different marketing options available to you and as a small business owner it will be extremely helpful if you are well versed in understanding important concepts and how they can make an impact by increasing brand awareness, customer consideration and conversion rates.
Try and get up to speed as quickly as possible by learning the key differences between various marketing strategies such as direct vs indirect, outbound vs inbound, online vs offline, push vs pull and B2B vs B2C channels.
Whether you look at the top, middle or bottom of any sales funnel, it is important to realise that both the sales and marketing functions are intricately linked, and their inherent successes or failures completely depend on one another. Simply put, these two vital areas go hand in hand and close collaboration between them is critical to growing your business.