Many young companies turn their attention to certain advertising tools, thinking that the point is in the selling site. Or that it is important to start working with bloggers. Or that investing in social networks will definitely bring them recognition, and after all, customers. Is this true? The article tells you what a young brand needs to build a promotion strategy and which channels are most effective
The very first thing a company needs to do is lay the marketing foundation. It is marketing that will help you determine and evaluate: in what market, for what audience, at what price you can sell your services or products. Proper use of marketing tools helps save a lot of money that could be spent on testing various advertising channels. In addition, marketing involves quite a few low-budget tools that launch and stimulate recommendations across the web, and therefore sales.
Step One: Market Analysis and Planning
First, let’s analyse the market. What players are already there? How does the target audience act? How much demand is there for what you offer? You can not rely only on your own instinct or the assurance of friends. They almost always fail. Analysis here is more important than self-confidence.
What is important to do?
1. Do a list of competitors: direct – the ones who solve the same problems for about the same money; indirect – those who solve the same problems, but for example, in a different way or at a different cost.
2. Run customer development – chat with potential customers.
Next, we look at the audience who we are going to sell to. It is important to be as specific as possible about your target group. There is no segment composed of solvent males/females 18-60 years. Each target group has its own values, motives, and problems.
Based on the initial data, draw up a step-by-step plan. Prescribe goals for 20 years, for 10, for 5, for 2 and for a year. We take into account the volume of planned sales, coverage, and prescribe specific steps and tools.
Step two: branding
Let’s get down to design and corporate identity. This is the face of a brand. Without it, a brand is more difficult to remember, and there is also no sense of professionalism. Instead of a brand, there is some abstraction in a consumer’s mind.
Corporate identity always includes:
1) logo
2) corporate colours (usually 2-4 colours)
3) corporate fonts (1-3)
4) instructions (guideline) – a document where all these are fixed for further work with designers (it doesn’t matter whether you order business cards, a website, pictures for social networks’ prosiles or signs).
The guideline will save you from situations in which designers distort your logos, offer banners and flyers in incomprehensible colours, and other mistakes that happen here and there in the creative business.
Why is design important? According to statistics, in order to be remembered, you must reach out to a potential customer at least 6 times. But not just to get seen in the text or at the exhibition, but to interact with your final visual and emotional image. In order for those contacts to be effective, it is necessary to correctly demonstrate all your colours, fonts and use a logo in printing and on the Internet.
Step Three: Promotion Channels
Next, it is important to create as many points of contact as possible. Touchpoints are situations or places where a brand comes into contact with a consumer. Websites, signs, business cards, social media design and much more. These are things that once you invest in, you get a constant stream of customers. Simply because you have become easy to find and you are ready to contact your client.
As for the advertising itself, study different channels and promotion mechanics. In some businesses, it is enough to work regularly with bloggers and have a simple website, in other businesses you will need to perform high-quality work on social networks. The type of promotion depends not only on your niche, but also on the resources that you have. People, skills, talents, budget.
There are no identical schemes that would be perfect for everyone. Sometimes it’s just enough to embed a countdown on a site to run a successful sale, and sometimes a lot more should be invested in brand recognition. It is important for the owner of a small business and a start-up brand to be able to understand what works and how. Even in order to be able to competently delegate the tasks.