As Entrepreneurs, we are often tougher on ourselves then most other people. We give up those late nights of partying, those new sneakers we wanted and we even sometimes go as far as to reinvent new lost cost recipes like ramen noodles and hot sauce to save money. By the way, if you just thought that was a good new recipe idea, please think again. Yuck! As Entrepreneurs, while we have a saving mindset in an attempt to afford branding and marketing our business and that’s a powerful, profitable, mindset are we approaching our marketing from a regimented and smart perspective. Let me give you some things to consider.
Are you borrowing money, reaching in the couches for change or praying for a way to fund your marketing? So many people think that they should be doing more in their marketing. I’m here to tell you, more channels is not always necessary. Your process should be the focus to drive success. When was the last time you paused in your marketing and analyzed your results? Starting your Marketing and Branding plan is like starting a diet plan. Let’s say you are on a weight loss journey and you hired a personal trainer for 3 months as one of your starting points. After 3 months of following their direction, “eating right” and exercising, you have gained 10 pounds, would you rehire them for another 3 months? Oh and by the way, if you are on a weight loss journey, don’t be offended.. stay focused, you can do this.. it was just an example. Now, one could argue that the best way to start is by determining your objective, setting goals, doing your research, creating a plan (that could include a trainer), executing that plan and measuring your results. Your marketing and branding strategy should follow this similar formula. Here’s some advice. Don’t rehire the trainer until you measure your results and see if it will add value. Same with branding and marketing! Here are a few tips that might just make the entrepreneur journey a bit smoother in this regard.
- Determine your objective: is it to increase sales, bring a product to market, increase brand awareness? First, it’s important to understand what you want to accomplish
- Set Goals: Give your ideas reasonable time to manifest. The timing depends on the goal, the strategy, your budget and a number of factors. Need help with that? Email me at [email protected] and let’s talk
- Research: if you are attempting to go at this on your own, which is awesome, do your research to ensure you are going at your strategy the proper way. Be sure you have already identified your target audience through market research and be sure you are speaking to them in a voice and vernacular that resonates with them.
- Create a plan for Execution: Set metrics of success for your program. Be creative. When you can, use marketing automation tools like Hootsuite for Social Media or Google AdWords for Ads so you minimize the risk of error.
- MEASURE YOUR RESULTS: Don’t rehire the trainer without seeing comfortable results. Use tools like Facebook insights or google analytics, depending upon your strategy to determine did your impressions or fans increase over time? Are they filling out your forms or engaging with your content. Did you achieve your success metrics?
Starting with these basic steps will ensure that you are relieving yourself of some of the pressure of eating ramen noodles because you need to execute a marketing strategy. Rome wasn’t built in a day! It’s ok to take branding and marketing progressively. Start in a small channel, maybe even something free or low cost like Social Media and be consistent. If you are using social media as your marketing funnel strategy, post daily if you can and be consistent in engaging with your audience. If daily is too much, (trust me I get it, I get extremely busy too) I would suggest at least 3-5 times per week. Consistency will give you more and better data to analyze and it keeps you more connected to your audience. Remember, always analyze and measure your results before you rehire the trainer. You will be glad that you did!
