2021 was an interesting and challenging year for many, both professionally and personally. As I write this we’re not sure how 2022 will unfold. So how do you decide what marketing to undertake? What should you be doing and how do you kickstart your marketing so that your business can move forward in 2022?
It’s easy when we don’t know what is in store for us to take a step back and wait to see, but taking the first steps with your marketing will put you back in control and ensure you’re business is moving forward.
Here are 5 steps to kickstarting and improving your marketing as we head into 2022:
Do some research
So often we assume we know what customers are thinking, what they want. But do we really know this? Jeff Besos talks about how at Amazon, he used to bring an empty chair into the boardroom, to symbolise the customer and get the board thinking about the customers and not assuming they know the answers themselves.
There’s plenty of information at your fingers tips - your sales data, website data. You could even push the boat out and ask customers directly. Ask them about their experience. Get feedback on what you offer and what else could you offer. What do they like about your business? Why do they choose you?
Don’t just look at your customers in isolation - look at your competitors too. What are they currently doing? Knowing what you know about your customers, what could you offer them instead? For more on what you can learn from your competition, check out this blog.
2. Decide on a goal.
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Benjamin Franklin
How many times have you heard Benjamin Franklin’s saying “Fail to prepare and prepare to fail”. Great marketing all starts with knowing where you want to go. Decide on a goal whether that’s sales, a number of new customers, launching a new product, designing a new website.
If you have a goal you can keep yourself accountable. Putting a goal out there will give it the best chance of being achieved. Once you have your goal, make sure you share it. Research shows that by sharing it, you become more accountable for the goal and much more likely to meet it.
3. Review your online presence
Online continues to grow, so even if customers can’t buy your products or services online, they will still be conducting their research there. So you need to make sure you’re clear about what you have to offer and make it as easy as possible for them to purchase or take the next step in the purchase process.
With more people online though, it is harder to get noticed. So you need to find ways to stand out. This can be through what you are offering or how you offer it and where you offer it. Consider the following questions about your online presence :
Are you making the most of every page on your website?
How easy is your website to follow?
Is it clear what you are offering and why they should choose you?
How are you enticing people to visit your site?
Are you on the right social media channels?
Do you have useful content on your social media channels?
Are you using them to engage customers?
4. Invest in your marketing.
It is well documented that when a recession is in progress, those that invest in their marketing will benefit from significantly better growth coming out of the recession than those that don’t. There is no reason to believe that this won’t be the case as we emerge from the Covid -19 pandemic.
But we’re not just talking here about money. Invest your time in making the right marketing choices - who to target, how to position yourselves, where to focus your communications.
If you’re really struggling with your budget, download my Free Marketing In Lockdown Guide. Follow the 10 free ideas to move your marketing forward.
5. Review your Brand
Many businesses have adapted during the pandemic, whether that’s moving online or offering new services. You may decide this is a temporary state or you may think you want to continue down this path. Either way, it is worth reviewing your branding to ensure it supports these changes. As businesses evolve, their branding needs to reflect their new position or offering. Changes could be as simple as your tweaking your brand identity - the look and feel of your brand. However, you may find you need a more fundamental change of your positioning and your brand.
So to recap, the 5 steps to take to get your marketing on track in 2022 are:
Do some research
Decide on a goal
Review your online presence
Invest in your marketing
Review your brand
If you need help, with any of these steps or prefer to have a list of actions to work through, why not download my 10 actions to get kickstart your marketing in 2022.