Running a business is a constant learning curve, from developing new products or services that keep up with demand, to developing new processes or systems that allow you to streamline your business and aim for more profitability. You’ll find that some ideas never take off from the planning stage and rightly so, and some that you implement will be as successful as you hoped they would be. The key is to make decisions based on facts and research.
When it comes to marketing, this is a massive area and includes everything from inspiring brand ambassadors, to ensuring that your business projects effectively its brand personality, with a clear message. So getting this right means understanding that message and making sure that it hits the mark to reach your core or target audience in a way that resonates with them.
Research, to get it right!
In marketing we are all ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’, basically we emulate and learn from those who came before us and look to replicate what they did well and that worked, whilst avoiding making or repeating mistakes.
A good place to start is to look at what your established competitors are doing, or businesses that have the same target audience as you and learn from them. By conducting regular research you can view practical examples of what works well, learn the language or tone that they use, or the images that have the most impact – as you know ‘a picture can say a thousand words’.
Have a strategy
Here at EnterprisingYou, we have helped hundreds of businesses, with many of them taking up the opportunity to attend online webinars and teaching sessions around marketing. This kind of learning can help you to bring together the theory, understand the concepts needed for success and put these into practice. When adding this to your own research, you can have a well thought out strategy, with a plan of action to keep you engaging with your customers in an effective way.
The magic of marketing doesn’t have to be hidden from you anymore - Don’t take my word for it, here’s an example feedback from one of our participants …
“Learning about how to get information via market research-It means that I can always be tailoring what I am doing to my customers and that my company can grow organically.
The USP information helped as I am a different company now that what I was when I first started and understanding what my USP was and what it is now are 2 different things, ever changing and that is okay.
Marketing a sale through advertising was the most beneficial part for me as I am getting traffic to my page, 4-5K view on my posts and videos but the engagement was not reflecting those numbers. I realised it was because I was not doing the action and desire part of the strategy. I put that in place the next day and received 4 paid bookings and 3 potential bookings”
If you would like to see how working with EnterprisingYou could help you with your marketing, contact 0161 667 6900 or email info@enterprising-you.co.uk today to speak to one of our Business Coaches for a diagnostic and eligibility check onto the programme.
More information about the EnterprisingYou programme can be found here.
About the author
Martyn Walsh
Business Coach at People Plus
Martyn is a Professional Trainer and Business Consultant, specializing in Creative Industries. He achieved worldwide success as a recording/performing artist with his band Inspiral Carpets and have run his own Record Label; Cow Records this ongoing success now spans over 25 years. He has undertaken business consultancy work all over the UK and currently he is a “Creative Industries Guru In Residence” for the British Library, where he host various workshops, panels and seminars.
