Did you know that you have a marketing family? Well congratulations you do! Everyone does, it’s just that many people don’t actually realise it!
A marketing family is full of individuals who you can rely on to refer contacts your way and support you professionally. Some will be closer to you than others and more prolific but all have the potential to provide you with new opportunities and valued advice. All you need to do is identify who they are and reciprocate accordingly.
Social Media a term that we’re all starting to use pretty frequently yet for many with responsibility for marketing it remains a daunting subject.
The pace at which social media is developing is nothing short of amazing. Just 2-3 years ago hardly anyone had so much as heard of Twitter (it was actually launched back in 2006) and I recall well the day over 6 years ago that a colleague at the time first introduced me to LinkedIn, though it’s only recently that it’s really taken off.
A few weeks ago I was asked to deliver a short session for a group of new start up businesses, my challenge to give them some marketing advice! Where on earth to start, I thought and what can I share with them in just half an hour that won’t freak them out! So I went back to my early marketing days and decided to start at the beginning as I had done all those years ago, ‘get into the right habits from day one’ came springing to mind.
If you’ve been running your own marketing for a while can I make a suggestion?
Take a step back and review what marketing methods you’ve been using for the past few years. What you’ll probably find is that you are repeating the same campaigns and relying on the same marketing methods over and over again.
When it comes to business to business marketing, particularly for those of us in the SME space, relationships really do count. Love or hate networking, you really should include it as a key marketing tool. But why?
The simple fact is that people buy from people. Therefore, the wider that your network of connections is, the greater your referral business will be. It’s the ripple effect; if you provide a great service for a client then they will recommend you to their contacts and so on. However, building a network isn’t as easy as might think.
When was the last time that you stood back and reviewed your brand? Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, in all honesty does your company image accurately reflect the quality of service that you provide and is it appropriate for your target audience. If not then it’s time for a change.
In the same way that DNA defines our individual, unique characteristics your brand captures the DNA of your business. I’m not talking literally of course but think of your brand as a combination of the personality characteristics, traits and beliefs of your business – the aspects of your company that make it unique. Pull these elements together and you have an image that your business is giving to the outside world – your brand.
