Last week, a few members of our creative agency attended the Basic Bananas Marketing Blast-Off Workshop in Sydney. We thought we’d tag along to see what Small Business owners are thinking about in the marketing space, then deliver you some great takeaways and learnings post event in this blog post.
Marketing Blast-Off is a three and a half hour intensive workshop. It’s designed to help SME business owners and marketers discover the steps to make their businesses stand out from the crowd, attract new clients and add more money to the bottom line. The workshop is run by the owners of Basic Bananas, a small business marketing education company led by Franziska Iseli and Christo Hall.
Busting Marketing Myths
Marketing enables a company to get the products and services which it offers out into the marketplace and in front of potential customers who are interested in purchasing those products and services.
Marketing is half science and half experience and creativity. It is important that an organisation does not only focus on one marketing avenue but rather utilises different avenues which will allow as many doors as possible to be opened.
- “I don’t have time for marketing”
Many people use this simple excuse to avoid creating a marketing plan and dedicating the necessary resources towards devising, executing and refining a successful marketing strategy.
- “I don’t need to understand marketing”
Another common reason that many companies’ marketing plans are either defective in their planning, execution or refinement. While company owners and managers may not necessarily need to be a marketing expert it is essential that you have a good grip on marketing and its activities to avoid bad service from a supplier or employee.
- “I don’t need marketing, I have enough clients now”
We all know that while times may be good now that may not be the case 3 or 6 months from now – it may not be even the case tomorrow. Marketing and its associated activities put the groundwork in place for lead generation 24/7/365.
- “I’m not ready for marketing”
Use an expert if you don’t have time. By starting a marketing plan and/or activities, big or small, today you can begin to get insights into your consumers, industry and market.
- “I can’t afford it”
An effectively planned and executed marketing strategy will provide return on investment – it is as simple as that. Prioritise funding for marketing in your budget.
- “My business is different”
While your business may appear different in service and/or products offered it is still a business at its core. All businesses have a similar marketing processes, one of the only refinements in a company’s marketing plan are focusing on the core competencies of your business.
Why Marketing? It’s in the Why
Many well known brands know what they represent. Once a company’s brand is prominent enough that they have achieved either total or average consumer recognition they can refine their marketing to touch consumers in different ways. Apple is a prime example of a brand which is selling its products based on emotion and passion – Apple doesn’t need to say its passion for the highest quality products is why you should buy it, that is a given based on how they are perceived and how they place themselves in the market.
Things to consider:
- What draws people into your business? What draws people into purchase your products or services? For example, what do bookkeepers sell? They sell piece of mind and time.
- What differentiates your company from the competition? Possibly nothing but marketing can position your company and products/services in such a way that the consumer perceives they are somehow receiving extra value – this can allow a company to charge a premium for its products/services.
- A company’s marketing should equal the thoughts and needs of the people we want to connect with.
Understanding your customers
Your company’s marketing should speak to the problem(s) and challenge(s) faced by your clients or their desired outcome. A key component of the marketing strategy is to do the necessary market research to learn about your industry, competitors and above all your clientele.
Demographics
Find out everything you can about the customers you are trying to connect with. Find out their:
- Age
- Sex
- Class
- Personal Insights and Interests
- Needs and Key Drivers
Customer Personas
Once you understand who your client base is or potentially could be you can create customer personas for each type. Try to keep the number of personas limited by finding common traits between the likely many, many groups. The customer personas will then empower you to identify, understand and provide solutions for the needs of and the challenges faced by your clients.
Things to consider in this process are:
- Understand the market volume and your company’s market penetration
- Standout for the value that your products/services offer and deliver
- Psychographics – Find the emotional trigger of your clients and where possible demonstrate additional added value
- Create leave behinds (follow-ups) when a project is completed
- Understand what gets Leafcutter through the door and then refine and capitalise on this approach
- Cater for the wants of a client which may be different from the actual needs – it is ultimately the client’s final decision at the end of the day
We hope you’ve learnt some key marketing tip about how important marketing is for your business, stay tuned to the Leafcutter blog for more insights, education and industry news.
