navigating 2023 - focus on impact & understanding, not budget cutting
If 2022 is anything to go by, then there is no getting away from the fact that 2023 is going to be just as challenging, if not more so.
Businesses in all industries are finding the current economic crisis tricky to navigate, even those who may not be directly affected are having to adjust their plans to be more sensitive to the struggles fellow businesses and customers are facing.
At a time of such financial uncertainty, one if the biggest temptations is to cut marketing budget. It gets placed at the bottom of the priority list and is often perceived as a luxury rather than a necessity.
This is NOT the answer.
Without effective marketing, how is your business going to be visible to your potential customers? Whilst expenditure may be reduced by some, the services and products you provide will still be required by many. By slashing your marketing budget, you will be seriously reducing your opportunity to sell.
Digital marketing especially is essential for starting conversations and building relationships. Enabling a high level of engagement that will ultimately give your business longevity.
Take a moment to think of your favourite brand, if they stopped showing adverts or putting their product in your local supermarkets, then you’d choose something else to fill that gap. The same would be true if you were to cut back or even stop your digital marketing.
So, we know how important it is to maintain that digital presence and keep showing up for your customers but that doesn’t change the fact that current financial pressures are REAL and business budgets are not endless.
What then can you do to focus your efforts, ensuring you spend your time and money where it will be most effective when it comes to digital marketing?
You need to firstly identify the areas where your marketing will have the most impact.
Double down on the investment you have in those areas.
Maintain a cohesive and engaging presence that your customer base can rely upon and turn to immediately when looking to fix the problem you solve.
Let’s look at this in more detail.
the importance of strategy
Your marketing strategy is the key to planning, executing and maintaining, an effective digital marketing presence.
What it most certainly is NOT, is a long, dusty document that reflects a single moment in time, becoming defunct within a matter of months and rarely referred to.
Instead, your strategy should be a detailed understanding of your business, your goals, you competitors and most importantly your customers. Additionally, you should consider this as a flexible document that is updated, adapted and referred to constantly throughout your marketing year.
As we discussed, situations change in a heartbeat. Business capability and customer requirements are always in flux and as a business your marketing strategy needs to be ready to deal with that.
Defining the most effective strategy for your business marketing is where I come in, seriously, strategy makes my heart sing!
I will help you to accurately analyse and compare the digital channels you should be working with, whilst taking into account your budget and resources. Together we will work to understand the specific areas that will the most impact – FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
When we talk about the impact we want your digital marketing to achieve, we refer to sales, leads and ROI, but its more than that too. We need to think about all the areas where your marketing can offer solutions and support to customers.
Identifying the right direction to move in with marketing is a skill, and I want to help you join the dots, bring all the pieces together to create an effective bigger picture. I can ask the questions that you might not have thought of.
understand your customers
Keeping your strategy flexible, means reflecting the fact that your customers wants and needs change and adapt over time.
Think about it, are you in the exact same position, as a consumer, as you were this time last year?
Whilst your core values may remain, do you have the same wants, needs and fears? Do you face the same challenges? Are the decisions you make based on the same criteria?
I’m guessing the answer to all the above is probably not. This is going to be exactly the same for your customers.
Truly understanding your customers is the backbone of what will give your business longevity.
The world we each live in is changing constantly, with ongoing economic challenges, a growing sustainability agenda and issues around the globe, your customers priorities have changed.
By getting to know to your target audience and building real-life insights to understand what is driving their current priorities, you’ll be able to engage with them more deeply. The knowledge you gain will allow you to create effective messaging, tailored specifically to their pain points and create an interaction that truly resonates with them.
choose the right channels
Digital Marketing covers a wide range of platforms. From websites, newsletters and blogs to podcasts and social media.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing you need to have all the bases covered and get an active profile in all the different areas. But that’s impossible right? Who has the time?
I am going to tell you a secret, you don’t need to be everywhere, even if you have the resources!
When you really understand your customer and where they spend their time, you can identify where you need to be and when!
You don’t need to run adds on every social media platform or push out weekly blogs that may never get read.
The key is finding out where your customers NEED YOU TO BE. Focus your energy on where you will see the most engagement and stick with it!
tailor your messaging
Using the right language to engage with your customer builds connection and trust.
I can tell you for free that you should never focus just on sales or generation of leads. When a customer feels like they are being actively sold to it can be a major turn off. You can lose them before you even get started.
Having a clear picture of who your customer is, what they need, and how they live, you’ll be able to reflect this through your digital marketing copy. Effective copy is essential.
Sensitivity and understanding of their needs is so important. Knowing what matters to your audience, what they care and worry about will allow you to show empathy. By understanding the challenges they face, you can speak directly to what concerns them most.
In addition, your brand values need to reflect the values of your customer. You need to show that what mattes to them, matters to you.
74% of UK customers consider brand values before purchasing
marketbusinessnews.com
So how do you achieve this connection? How do you truly meet them where they are ‘right now’ when it comes to your messaging?
By talking to them of course. No one knows your customer like they do.
I love coordinating consumer interviews, and as part of my ‘Customer Insight package’ I will do just that. Once we’ve identified your target audience, I will put together a series of indepth interviews that will allow me to develop your customer profile.
Drilling down in this way, will give us the key to your unique messaging, and the basis from where all your digital marketing should originate. I will provide you with a strong catalogue of on-brand messaging that really ‘speaks’ to your customer.
consider your resources carefully
Business gets busy, you get tied up in delivering your service or managing your staff and it’s easy to let marketing slip down the list of priorities.
But effective marketing is integral to the success and durability of a business.
So, what should you do? It’s a big leap to employ a marketing manager. Recruitment alone can be costly and time consuming, both resources you may be limited in. And despite my best efforts above, you may still be unconvinced it is necessary.
The solution? A freelance, online, digital marketing manager.
Using a freelancer gives you all the benefits without the hassle of recruiting a new employee. You’ll get reliability AND flexibility.
But most of all you’ll gain a highly skilled team member, who is specialised in the digital marketing field and you’ll lose nothing . . well, except all those unchecked jobs on your marketing to-do list!
start your 2023 with digital giraffe
Why me? I really enjoy getting under the skin of a business. To get to the heart of what drives them and what they really need to achieve the results they want, is one of my favourite things! I have a ton of experience across digital media marketing with the qualifications to match, so I can jump straight in and get to work.
What can I help with? First things first, and what I really love, YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY! We will get clear on what your focus is, who is your audience and how do you effectively reach them.
But I don’t stop there, I’ll roll up my sleeves and bring your strategy to life. Other than marketing strategy, I also cover content marketing, digital copywriting, SEO, PPC, social media, paid advertising, and email marketing and if I can’t do it, I know someone who can!
Then I will report back on results, they may not come instantly but with commitment and consistency, together we will achieve your goals and take your digital marketing to new heights!
How it works: Working with me means you are my priority, once I’m in, I am all in! I will be fully on board to make your business a success and you’ll have access to all of my marketing experience to make that happen.
Want to find out more? You can download your free marketing guide here.
Ready to talk to me? I’m ready when you are, just click here to book a free call with me to discuss what you need and how we can achieve it.