The back to school vibe is all around – we’re heading back indoors, back to full work days (so long, summer hours!), back to the strategy boards and ready to take on the fourth quarter of 2018. Right now is the best time to take advantage of the energy of the season and use it to revitalize and jumpstart your business marketing. Take a look at the four strategies below for some tips on how to freshen up your marketing, prepare for the end of the year, and launch campaigns that will hopefully increase your sales and your bottom line.
- Get very clear on your brand. Powerful messaging requires a strong identity. Before you launch any marketing campaign, you must be clear on your brand – what you stand for, how you want to appear in the world, who you are targeting, and why you’re the best solution for them. Now is a great time to do some branding exercises or even attend a branding workshop. By being crystal clear on your brand, you’ll be able to figure out marketing avenues that are more aligned and intentional.
- Launch a thoughtful and action-oriented email campaign, and then complement it with social media efforts. As many of you know, I believe email marketing to be paramount to any successful marketing plan. Set up an automated campaign, a drip campaign or just a few e-blasts within a third party email distributor, like MailChimp, and be super intentional with your messaging. When complimenting your efforts on social media, focus on where your ideal customers are located – are they on Facebook? Twitter? Snapchat? Wherever they are is where you need to be.
- Find like-minded brands and influencers to collaborate with and cross promote. Once you have figured out your brand identity, including the specific audience you’re targeting, you can align with those businesses that may have similar audiences but provide different services. For example, if you own a yoga studio, check out brands within the “health foods” or “yoga clothing” industries. Broaden your company’s awareness by aligning with them and creating strategic partnerships.
- Take a look at what your competition is doing. Instead of trying to look at what they do and snag their ideas, you would create a “strategy canvas,” which is a visual representation of your business in the industry. On this canvas, you would map out what the competition is doing, from their pricing to their offerings, and then map out your business, with the intention of differentiating yourself. I discuss this exercise in depth in my blog post about the Blue Ocean Strategy book. The exercise requires leadership, creativity and really trying to revolutionize the industry.
Through these four tips, you’re well on your way to ending the 2018 on the right foot. Each one does take some time and effort, but none of overwhelming. How do you plan on jumpstarting your business this season?
Need more help? Check out my 1:1, group and self-study offerings: https://christinagiordano.com/offerings/