Developing a marketing strategy for your business is hard work and involves an enormous amount of planning and preparation to ensure that the things you are implementing work, and work well. Quite frankly, if you aren’t going in to 2018 with a solid marketing plan in place or are unsure of the plan you’ve put together, your business is sure to suffer, or at the very least, not bring forth the growth you’re aiming at.
A Marketing Strategy That Works
In order to achieve the goals you’re after in 2018, both online and off, you should be considering implementing the following into the marketing strategy for your business:
Get Found Via Digital Marketing
Any marketing strategy for your business that’s worthwhile and results in a good ROI, not to mention great conversion rates, heavily involves digital marketing. Online is the way of the world, and without embracing that to its fullest capabilities, you’re only losing money. A well-rounded digital marketing plan includes:
- SEO – your website should be bringing in quality traffic that stays, and it should do so organically. Want your site to be on page 1 in Google searches? You need SEO to get there.
- SEM – pair this with a great SEO plan, and utilize sponsored advertisements (PPC) on search engines to increase the traffic to your site as well as climb the ranks in Google searches.
- Social Media Marketing – majority of consumers now head to social media first to find out more about a company. What billboards did twenty years ago, social media marketing is doing now.
- Email Marketing – make sure you’re staying top-of-mind with your readers by implementing an email marketing campaign. You’ll build loyalty, trust, and brand awareness.
Move to a Responsive Website Design
Responsive website design is the ticket to ensuring visitors stay on your site, whether they’re looking at it on their desktop while at work, their phone on the train ride home, or their tablet while they relax after dinner.
While you’re at it, you’ll want to make sure that the marketing strategy for your business includes keeping UX at the forefront. UX (user experience) means the difference between someone coming to your site and staying, allowing for conversions, and someone jumping ship as fast as they can. A great UX includes:
- A responsive website design
- A fast-loading site, ensuring you keep the user’s attention
- A clean, well-designed, and visually attractive site
- A guided user experience that allows users to easily find what they’re looking for
Take Advantage of External Marketing Efforts
If you’re looking to further your efforts and expand your reach, you may want to consider external marketing. While the internet controls the vast majority of sales and ROI for your business, there is still a great market for things offline. As a business owner, you should know that companies advertising online and not utilizing external marketing efforts are diminishing their chances at other income streams.
Some external marketing efforts that still are very much contenders in profitability and growth for your business today are:
- Billboard Ads – these can be digital or otherwise, and believe it or not, they’re still an effective marketing strategy. The next time you’re driving to work, look around. How many billboards do you see? My guess is, quite a few.
- Print Marketing – newsletters, magazines, and newspapers are still actively enjoyed and sought after by users as a way to obtain their information. No matter how many people go online, there will always be those that prefer print.
- Direct Mail – if you’re still getting as much mail as we are daily, then you know as well as we do that this is still a great way to get your brand out there.
No matter what efforts you’re putting forth with the 2018 marketing strategy for your business, keep in mind that you only get back what you put in.
If you’re looking for a company that can provide you with the return on investment you’re truly after, look no further than Connections Marketing. Our marketing strategy plans are all fully customizable and created to fit your budget and goals, so that you get exactly what your business needs. No more. No less.